Att 5 - Public Comment — San Mateo City Council, February 2, 2026

1 From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:28 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Support for Keeping the Humboldt Street Bike Lanes

From: MARIA LUCILLE ALEGRIA >
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:12 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Support for Keeping the Humboldt Street Bike Lanes

Dear Members of the San Mateo City Council,
I am a resident of San Mateo and live in the Parkside neighborhood. I am also a teacher at San Mateo High School, and I regularly commute by bicycle using the Humboldt Street bike lanes. I am writing to express my strong support for keeping these bike lanes in place.

As part of this discussion, I reviewed the proposed alternatives and attempted to ride to work using Idaho Street instead of Humboldt. That experience made it very clear why the Humboldt bike lanes are so important. Idaho Street felt incredibly unsafe: there was not enough space for two cars to pass comfortably, and I frequently found myself squeezed between moving vehicles. At one point, I felt forced onto the sidewalk simply to protect my own safety. This is not a viable or safe option for cyclists, nor is it fair to pedestrians.

The Humboldt Street bike lanes provide a critical, safer route for people like me who rely on them to commute. They make it possible for residents to choose alternatives to driving, which benefits traffic flow, public health, and the environment. Removing them would push cyclists onto streets that are not designed to safely accommodate both cars and bikes, increasing risk for everyone.

I understand that parking is a real concern in many parts of San Mateo. However, I do not believe the bike lanes are the cause of this problem. Parking shortages are largely the result of zoning changes that allowed multi-family housing on single-family lots without requiring sufficient parking. Eliminating bike lanes is a short-sighted response to a much larger and more complex issue—one that is tied to housing policy and affordability, not bicycle infrastructure.

I respectfully urge the City Council to keep the Humboldt Street bike lanes and to continue prioritizing safe,

Malu Alegria

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:26 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Humboldt Street Decision

From: TJ Blair
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 9:30 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Cc: Nicole Blair
Subject: Humboldt Street Decision

Honorable Mayor and City Council Members,

Please fix the bike lane mistake on Humboldt Street and restore parking now.

There's no shame in fixing something you didn't break. San Mateo's North Central neighborhood has been the victim of more than a century of neglect and poor planning choices by previous administrations. The neighborhood continues to suffer from the legacy of exclusionary land use and zoning policies and the history of segregation in our city is reflected in demographic disparities, economic differences, and inadequate investment in infrastructure compared to more affluent neighborhoods. The high- density
population coupled with poor planning has meant that the area had a lack of adequate parking even before the bike lane project. For example, we have churches, businesses, and multi-family residences that have no or very little dedicated parking. We have two- and three-bedroom homes that have a dozen people (or more) living in them. The current City Council didn't create these problems, but you have a responsibility to mitigate them.

The decision to expend HUD CDBG funding on a project that removed parking for hundreds of residents and benefits a very few, mostly affluent people who don't even live in the neighborhood was wrong. In principle, most people in the neighborhood are not opposed to bike lanes, but this would not have been the highest priority for us - more
like a "nice to have". The fact that a prior Council voted to impose the parking removal on us at the wee hours of the morning, in a vote that was not properly on the meeting agenda, and was done over the objection of many residents in the neighborhood was bad enough. That the project used funds that would have improved the quality of life had they been used for their intended purpose only adds insult to injury. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY To RIGHT THESE WRONGS NOW.

2 In addition to this sad history, the city has frequently relied on incomplete and misleading data to support its choices. The counts of bicycle usage of the new bike lanes was so sloppy and poorly thought out as to be laughable. Anyone living or traveling through the corridor on a regular basis can tell you that the bike lanes are very rarely used by anyone. If these bike lanes were being used by residents of the neighborhood on a regular basis in a sustained way, we may be having a different conversation. But because they serve almost no benefit to local residents, your choice should be easy.

CHOOSE INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL RECTIFY NEGLECT AND DISPARITIES, NOT AMPLIFY THEM.

The fact that some of the loudest proponents of this bike lane project are not residents of the North Central neighborhood, or even of our city, should give you pause. The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) who pushed for this project, for example, are mostly not local and not familiar with our local issues or history-but they are skilled at manipulating local politics to have their will imposed. They are people with a single purpose and often have blinders on about what else is important besides bikable and walkable communities which, while a laudable goal, does little to improve the quality of life for people who cannot walk or bike to work and are more concerned with day-to- day
living than "nice to haves". Unbroken sidewalks, adequate street lighting, more and safer parks, pedestrian safety, more convenient parking -- all are things we would want before a bike lane. But the SVBC (and others) have shown through their disingenuous arguments that they don't care about anything besides having more bike lanes. LISTEN TO RESIDENTS OF OUR CITY OVER OUTSIDE SPECIAL INTERESTS.

The misleading arguments that have come from SVBC members and others have made outrageous and insulting claims. They frame parking as "vehicle storage" that only benefits car owners while forgetting that our streets and roads were paid for by gas taxes and many residents of our overcrowded neighborhood have few choices. They imply that residents of North Central are acting as if they are "entitled" to the parking in front of their homes which is a straw man designed to make us look selfish and completely misunderstands the living conditions in the community. And finally, advocates hint that the majority of residents in the neighborhood support the bike lanes which was not true when they were installed and unlikely to be true now.

Bicycling advocates love the safety argument. But safety measures on our streets are not "once size fits all" and, in fact, it is known that bike lanes can reduce safety in some contexts. Advocates argue that children will be unsafe if the lanes are removed but, in the years since the bike lanes were installed, I've never seen a child (and have seen very few adults) using the lanes. Anecdotal, but it points to a likelihood that the safety gained by the lanes is marginal. Safety improvements should be data-driven, not aspirational and we really don't have trustable data either on the safety of the area before or after the bike lane installation. Safety can be improved in many ways: speed reduction measures, stop sign daylighting, lower speeds with ENFORCEMENT, and shared streets (bike boulevards). Cyclist behavior is also a driver of accidents and something cyclists rarely talk about and I think we've all seen cyclists so blatantly disregarding traffic rules that it seems to be an epidemic.

One of my children was hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk in our neighborhood 3 when he was a teen. He was only mildly injured but the accident was not caused by lack of vicinity due to parking. Poor street lighting, and lax traffic enforcement in the area were likely culprits. The point being that, had the money spent on this luxury amenity for a few affluent people been properly spent on the kinds of projects the neighborhood needs, we would be safer. Cycling advocates ignore this inconvenient fact. Additionally, the removal of parking has created secondary safety risks including:
 Drivers circle longer looking for parking creating more congestion and distraction.  Residents double-parking, blocking sightlines, or stopping in travel lanes.  Elderly or disabled residents may walk farther, increasing fall or injury risk.

STOP RELYING ON INCOMPLETE/MISLEADING DATA AND SCARE TACTICS.

Yes, it will cost some money to right this wrong. But it's high time to rip this Band-Aid off and not fall victim to defective sunk costs arguments. While the city's failure to act over the last several years might not bother anyone else, residents of North Central continue to be severely affected and have their property values impacted on a daily basis. As you know, the full cost of the initial project did not come primarily from local tax revenue - so arguments stating a "loss" of that full amount are incorrect. Sure, it's a bad look to have to re-
do something so visible and expensive, but at this point, what are we waiting for? The project was poorly planned, poorly implemented, badly communicated, not fully thought through, and based on faulty data and assumptions.

I would love our city to be safer, more walkable, bike-friendly, and comfortable for all. Dedicated bike lanes are certainly a component of such a vision and, in many applications, are important improvements to the transportation infrastructure. This project has not been an example of that because it was ill- conceived, rushed, and pushed into being by people with an extremist agenda who lack connection to or understanding of the impacted community.

RESTORE PARKING NOW.

Thank you for your service to our city.

Todd Blair
.

San Mateo,

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 2:56 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Bike Lane issue in North Central

From: Brown, Brenda
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 1:56 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Cc:

Subject: Bike Lane issue in North Central

February 18, 2025

To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Brenda Brown, I am 79 years old, born
and raised in San Mateo. I am a homeowner and
have lived in North Central all of my life.

I am writing
to you regarding the bike lane issue facing our
community.

You have no idea how frustrating it is to come home
and there is no space to park my car especially
when relatives and friends come to visit me, and
they have nowhere to park. People from other
neighborhoods park their cars or trucks some for

2 days, I assume because they have nowhere to park
because the bike lanes are taking up parking
spaces. I have even witnessed people drive up with
one car, move that parked car and replace with the
car they drove up in.

As a taxpayer and a property taxpayer I would urge
you to reevaluate the bike lane issue in North
Central and to eliminate the parking issue that faces
our community.

Thank you for your consideration.

Brenda Brown

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 7:35 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: Fw: Bike Lanes

Get Outlook for iOS
From: joyce burns
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 6:11:52 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Bike Lanes

Attention, Mayor Lorraine and City Council members. I was unable to attend last night’s gathering regarding removal of the bike lanes in North Central San Mateo. These lanes must be removed and removed before something disastrous happens.

1) The streets are too narrow to accommodate bike lanes and yet allow normal use for vehicles and drivers, walkers and delivery vehicles. Blocked roads cause frustration and unsafe movement of pedestrians, bikers, vehicles.
2) The bike lanes are causing congestion, preventing normal transit. Risky driving behavior occurs when lanes are blocked.
3) The bike lanes are interfering with normal parking patterns which causes hardship for the residents—especially seniors who need to have parking near their homes due to mobility handicaps and carrying big, bulky, heavy items and parents trying to herd young children
and carry burdens.

Vehicles that are parked away from the owners’ residences are more like to be broken into causing more crime and damage.
4) Bike lanes are causing double parking which delays traffic and causes unsafe driving patterns. Double parking also causes bike riders to move into traffic where there are not expected and not being watched for— someone will
get badly injured.

We need safe places for bikers, but this must be balanced out by the need for the safety and conveniences of the great majority of vehicles that most people rely upon.

THE NEEDS OF THE MAJORITY MUST COME FIRST!

Please, City Council take care of the needs of the great majority of San Mateo’s residents. Act now for North Central San Mateo! And consider the chaos caused by the North Central bike lanes before putting bike lanes in other areas of San Mateo that were not properly planned to accommodate bike lanes.

Joyce and Leo Burns

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 6:46 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: Fw: Bike Lanes once again

Get Outlook for iOS
From: michael caggiano
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2026 10:37 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]>; Lisa Diaz Nash <[email protected]>; Adam Loraine <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>
Subject: Bike Lanes once again

Dear Boardmembers,

Here we are again. Well, I will just reiterate what I advocated for, some years back. Restoration of the lost parking for Humboldt should proceed apace. Bikes even with striped lanes are still not a safe place for riders when the speed differential with car traffic is as great as it is, on the present arterials like Humboldt, Delaware and Poplar and even San Mateo Drive. Using parallel side streets where that speed differential is far smaller is the way to go.

In addition, I still think we can persuade the North Central community to think seriously about more "one way side streets" to enable riders to have more space to share with the cars that will always be with us, but both cars and bikes would have more breathing room all around. The excuse I've gotten over the years is that folks will speed more. Well, there's nothing to stop that behavior everywhere else in town as well. So, I think the additional space is a good trade off, in my opinion.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. Get rid of those Bulb-outs (Bicycle Demolition Devices) as they are inherently dangerous for bikers. Another bad idea to begin with. Well, we all make mistakes so don't feel bad.

Cheers all, and I hope you don't spend another long long night.

Your neighbor, Mike Caggiano
North Central

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Monday, May 5, 2025 10:21 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Deryk Daquigan; Jay Yu Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: North central bike lanes
FYI.

From:

Sent: Monday, May 5, 2025 9:02 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Cc: Adam Loraine <[email protected]>; Lisa Diaz Nash <[email protected]>; Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>
Subject: North central bike lanes

Dear all Councilmembers,

I'm just making a short and previously mentioned suggestion. Looking at North Central as a unique creature in the City, I have two reoccurring ideas. One being keeping high volume and relatively high speed vehicles separate from bicycle traffic, and the other being converting all the side streets in our area to "one way", leaving the main streets as they are WITHOUT encouraging bike traffic on them.

That would leave bikers to simply share the road on side streets and have their option of going against or with traffic. I'd think it better to rely on two pairs of eyeballs than one. Plus, the speed differential is much reduced as autos don't travel as fast on side streets (hopefully). So there you have it.

Safe streets and no loss of parking.

Thanks for your attention.

Regards all, Mike Caggiano
HANCSM Boardmember

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Case, Daniel (Euler Hermes USA) < >
Sent: Friday, February 7, 2025 5:38 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo); Lisa Diaz Nash; Adam Loraine; Rob Newsom; Danielle Cwirko- Godycki; Nicole Fernandez; Clerk; Planning Commission; Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission; PR Commission Mailbox; City Mgr
Cc:

D C
Subject: Strong Opposition to Bike Lane Removal – Prioritize Safety and Sustainability Internal

Dear San Mateo City Council,
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the council’s decision to remove the Humboldt Street bike lanes in favor of restoring parking spaces. This decision is a step backward for the city’s commitment to safety, sustainability, and equitable transportation access.

The bike lanes were installed as part of a federally funded safety initiative in response to serious traffic incidents, including a tragic crash that left a cyclist in a coma. Removing them not only disregards the safety of cyclists and pedestrians but also undermines efforts to create a more sustainable and accessible city for all residents—especially those without cars, who make up a significant percentage of the North Central neighborhood’s population.

Additionally, the proposed alternative—a "bike boulevard" without designated lanes—fails to provide meaningful protection for cyclists. Shared roadways do not offer the same level of safety as dedicated infrastructure, and removing bike lanes will discourage active transportation at a time when cities across the country are investing in more bike- friendly solutions, not fewer.

Rather than spending taxpayer dollars to dismantle existing, functional infrastructure, I urge the council to prioritize safe, multimodal transportation options that serve all residents, not just those with cars. San Mateo has an opportunity to lead by example, fostering a city that is forward-thinking and inclusive. Please reconsider this decision and work toward solutions that prioritize safety, sustainability, and equity.

Sincerely,
Daniel Case

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information in this message, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential, may be legally privileged, and intended only for the use of the individual(s) named above. Be aware that the use of any confidential or personal information may be restricted by state and federal privacy laws. If you are not the intended recipient, do not further disseminate this message. If this message was received in error, please notify the sender and delete it.

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 1:16 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Comment on Humboldt bike lane
FYI.

From: Katrina Castillo
Sent: Sunday, February 9, 2025 10:10 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Comment on Humboldt bike lane

Hello City Council,

I am a North Central resident and writing to say how disappointed I am that the council is beginning the process to remove the Humboldt bike lanes. It's disheartening to me that the council is prioritizing spending funds that could be spent elsewhere, on any number of things the city needs, and instead is making Humboldt less safe for cyclists. I urge you to reconsider, or at least look into alternatives to balance the parking concerns and safety concerns, instead removing the lanes entirely.

Thank you for your attention.

Katrina Castillo

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 9:21 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Keep the Humboldt bike lane

From: Jacob Chamoun
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:43 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Keep the Humboldt bike lane

Hi San Mateo city council,

I'm a resident of the North Central neighborhood who uses the Humboldt bike lane to pick up my 2 year old toddler from daycare.

The proposals to remove the bike lane increase the risk of me or my family getting killed or maimed.

I urge you to pursue the unanimous recommendation of the Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission to explore a residential parking permit program (RPPP) for North Central so that (1) the challenging parking situation is addressed for the whole neighborhood, not just Humboldt street and (2) those who have the greatest need to park a vehicle in the public right of way are able to, and not just those who own and park a lot of cars like commercial businesses.

Jacob Chamoun

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Belinda Chlouber
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 10:57 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo)
Subject: Bike Lanes
Hi,

I strongly oppose taking out any bike lanes. I'm not sure why San Mateo is so bad about creating safe bike lanes and streets but it's very disappointing. I realize we have a strong and vocal property rights group here but it's not all about each individual property owner's rights. We have to think about our collective rights. Bikes are far better for the environment, and it's a future we should embrace.

If we need one-way streets to create safer streets with bike lanes. Then that is what we should do. I'm sure there are solutions other than taking out bike lanes entirely. Other cities have good bike lanes. I was just in Chico--they have fantastic bike lanes. Just ask them what needs to be done.

Thank you for all your hard work. I know it's not easy--especially since we have some difficult people in this town.

Belinda

Belinda Chlouber

website
email

Social Media

Fine Art, paintings, mixed media and prints inspired by nature, and poetry.

~ Find Joy in the everyday, while crafting a life rich through nature, beauty and compassion.

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:34 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: FW: Humboldt St bike lane removal

From: AJ
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 8:54 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Humboldt St bike lane removal

Dear City Council:

I urge you to keep the bike lanes intact on Humboldt Street. Considering that there are 3 schools in in the immediate area serving 10,000 students, removing the bike lanes would make an already dangerous road even more lethal for students riding their bikes to school. I also want to remind the council that no bicyclist is as well armored as a driver in a car, whether the car is moving swiftly or not.

Regards,

AJ cho

Sent via - email that plants trees.

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 9:15 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: San Mateo Bike Lanes - Humboldt

From: Tim D
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 9:06 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: San Mateo Bike Lanes - Humboldt

Dear City Council,

As a homeowner and resident of San Mateo I’d like to express support for more bike lanes and not the removal of the precious few we have.

My daughter attended school off of Humboldt ave at the current location of fiesta gardens elementary school for several years. We both biked and drove her to and from school and we found that driving brought traffic frustration which would sometimes lead to dangerous conditions around children. Biking, before the bike lanes, proved dangerous but also flexible and rewarding. The lack of protected lanes limited my willingness to use our bikes, unfortunately.

I should clarify that I am a cyclist. I spent years commuting across San Mateo from north Delaware St and later Burlingame down to my office at the crossroads (92 and 101). I’m no stranger to bike commuting and managing traffic across varying road conditions. But things are different when you have a child in toe and you need improved infrastructure to accommodate the needs of those less experienced.

With improved road conditions and expanded bike lane connectivity across our neighborhoods, we have an opportunity to improve San Mateo’s culture and accessibility for all ages. Sacrificing the few bike lanes we have for increased parking spaces would take us in the opposite direction.

Thank you for hearing my voice,
Tim Durkin

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Lander Foquet
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2025 9:07 AM
To: Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
Subject: Humboldt Ave Bike lanes support
Dear committee members,

Thank you very much for voting to keep the bike lanes on Humboldt.

I use these lanes almost daily for my commute into San Mateo to take my daughter to preschool, and my colleague uses them daily for his commute to SSF. It is disappointing that some residents prioritize having more parking spaces over maintaining a safe neighborhood, especially since every house on the street has ample parking in front of their own garage.

I appreciate your support in this matter.

Sincerely,
Lander Foquet

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2025 2:57 PM
To: Jay Yu; Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Christina Horrisberger Cc: Alex Khojikian
Subject: FW: Humboldt Street Bike Lane

From: James Ford
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2025 2:55 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Humboldt Street Bike Lane

Good Afternoon City Council,

My name is James Ford, and I am a District 1 resident. I am writing to share feedback on the council's recent direction to start the process of removing the bicycle lane on Humboldt Street from Second Avenue to Indian Avenue. I attended the December 4th, 2024 workshop at the Dr. MLK Jr. Community Center and can sympathize with the North Central community for the tangible hardship posed by the loss of roughly 200 parking spaces. At the same time, I cannot help but be disappointed by the council's decision to remove the lanes, especially given the lanes' proximity to San Mateo High, College Park Elementary, and the San Mateo Adult School. I worry that this choice will negatively impact the young families and students who spoke in favor of preserving the lanes at Monday's meeting; in addition, removing the lanes may make it more difficult for San Mateo to secure grants for street safety improvements in the future. On the subject of safe routes to school, I highly recommend San Mateo School District Trustee Maggie Trinh's thought-provoking letter to the editor in the San Mateo Daily Journal from this past Monday.

If we want families to feel comfortable sending their kids to school and to extracurricular activities by bike or by foot, the city must invest in both improved traffic enforcement of speeding motorists and enhanced street infrastructure, which includes a commitment to building out the city's 2020 bicycle master plan. In turn, these vital improvements engender a greater sense of confidence in the safety of our local streets.

Thank you,
James

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Chantal Eaton
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2025 3:42 PM
To: Jay Yu
Cc: Kathleen O'Brien; Matt Fabry; Kathleen O'Brien; Alex Khojikian Subject: FW: Public Comment in regards to Humboldt Street bike lane removal Attachments: 20250126_I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare - RWCPulse.pdf; 20250211_Rumble in the Jungle.pdf
Hi all,
Please see comment below.

Best,
Chantal

From: Gerd S from RWC
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2025 3:17 PM
To: Clerk <[email protected]>; Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission <[email protected]>; City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment in regards to Humboldt Street bike lane removal

...

To the clerk of the City of San Mateo.

It's really hard to watch how San Mateo Democrats keep messing this up.

It has been defined in the City's transportation plans, housing plans, age-friendly plans, general plans or the of course various climate action and sustainability plans that San Mateo needs more bike lanes. This was also determined by the San Mateo County Grand Jury report of 2002 and 2022.

So shame on San Mateo Democrats for failing our children for such a long time.

So what do local newspapers report?
For one "Bicycle Boulevards" don't work.In fact they have led to more crashes and collisions. They might work for some of these MAMILs or WILMAs - however they don't work for children, senior citizens and they become unusable at night time.

In the end it comes down to the fact that NC is an Equity Priority Zone, which translates to "if children in affluent neighborhoods deserve bike lanes, then children in low-income neighborhoods deserve them even more so."
Any other decision is discrimination. MLK is watching you. ...

PEEKING AT PLANS
Blog: I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare Sadly my Dream isn’t shared by the County of San Mateo or the San Mateo City Council. byGerd Stieler
January 21, 2025 11:06 amUpdated January 24, 2025 11:09 am Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Courtesy: Gerd Stieler Credit: Gerd Stieler It’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. week, a great time to talk about education and Safe-Routes-To-School. Last week, we discussed that “School Choice” has nothing to do with educational opportunity but was born out of all kinds of ulterior motives. This week, we do a reality check on our county’s Democrats. Have they been using “Equity” mostly just in pre-election slogans, or can they actually follow through after election season is over? We will be talking about “Safe Routes To School” and “Slow Streets,” but most of all, we will be talking about the equity problem of “Bicycle Boulevards.” “The time is always right to do what is right.” [MLK]
Time to get your program and your popcorn; this is a Drama in Four Acts.

Act 1: C/CAG is sharing the Dream
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” [MLK] In 2023, San Mateo County politicians were introduced to The Dream. They were taught how their old ways were rotten and that they had to change. Apparently, the politicians that were summoned to take the equity training were Diane Papan, Gina Papan, David Canepa, Lisa Gauthier, Davina Hurt, Karen Cunningham, John Goodwin, Stacy Jimenez, Christine Krolik, Alicia Aguirre, Michael Salazar, Adam Rak, Rich Hedges, Warren Slocum, Mark Nagales, Rico E. Medina, and a few more. It is unclear how San Mateo’s City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) decided that these people need the training. However, in the end, those students were explicitly mentioned in the disclaimer. We can also assume the framework has been read and ratified by all members of C/CAG, all city managers, all city council members and all San Mateo Democrats until an opposing paper with opposing views is ratified next time. Without this process, the Equity Framework wouldn’t be worth
the paper it wasn’t printed on.

If any of the old and newly elected San Mateo County Democrats want to speak out against Equity … speak now or forever hold your peace.

Question: Can you explain the plans behind Transportation Equity again? That is what this blog is for. So, after years and years of shirking the topic, the County finally took on the challenge of Equity and deserves our praise. Let us all look at the history of systemic racism in this county and how our county leaders are reckoning with said sad history.

In San Mateo County and across the nation, people of color and other underserved and underrepresented populations have and continue to face persistently unequal economic, health, and quality of life outcomes. Public and private institutions have historically contributed to these inequities through laws, policies, investment decisions, and other actions. C/CAG is taking steps to address Equity issues in San Mateo County. [C/CAG] Can I get a Hallelujah for C/CAG, “historical inequities,” and “taking steps”? “Equity entails removing systemic barriers and providing customized forms and levels of engagement and support for underserved and impacted communities to remedy past harms and underinvestment.” [C/CAG] Can I get a Hallelujah for C/CAG and “systemic barriers”? “C/CAG’ s project team conducted Equity Focus Area (EF A) mapping and data analysis based on C/CAG’ s program area themes, to identify social, economic, environmental, health, and quality of life inequities in the county” [C/CAG] Can I get a Hallelujah for “Equity Focus Areas”?
“My community has been underserved and neglected. We don’t have any public parks. We don’t have bike lanes. The lighting is scarce, and some streets are extremely dark at night. Sidewalks are non-existent in some streets. The community is dissected by two train tracks, therefore divided by those and other physical divisions.” [EFA Leader] Can I get an extra loud Hallelujah for “bike lanes in underserved and neglected communities”? Now we are all finally on the same page about the fact that Equity requires bike lanes in Equity Focus Areas. Amen. It looks like the County of San Mateo is finally getting it together and is really serious about equity – starting now! … wait, wait. Starting now!
1/26/25, 9:19 AM Blog: I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare - Redwood City Pulse https://www.rwcpulse.com/blogs/peeking-at-plans/2025/01/21/blog-i-have-a-dream-and-san-mateo-is-creating-a-nightmare/ 1/4 Act 2: Alexander von Humboldt comes on stage
While the county was still working on an Equity Framework benefitting the Equity Focus Area (EFA) called the North Central neighborhood, San Mateo was prepared and pushed ahead. Mayor Rick Bonilla and his staff used grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to undo some of the injustices done to North Central by previous city councils.

In the racist past of this county, money from grants like this would often go to inner-city highways, jails or parking lots. But not this time. This time, the city promised to install bike lanes on various streets, most prominently on Humboldt Street. North Humboldt Street leads to several schools and connects this neighborhood through the 3rd Avenue bike lanes to recreational opportunities along the Bay. San Mateo’s Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission also endorsed this Safe-Routes-To-School project. The commission cited the health, safety and environmental benefits for the neighborhood. So, basically, it is all the good stuff we would expect from a solid bike infrastructure project.

Nothing is controversial about better health, better education, less car violence, more safety, less air pollution, less congestion, and environmental benefits for low-income children, at least not for your average liberal San Mateo Democrat. So, in the end, then-Mayor Rick Bonilla pushed it through the council with a vote of 3:2. The two council members opposing equity for an Equity Focus Area (EFA) were council members Amourence Lee and Diane Papan – which might have been the reason Diane Papan received the special C/CAG equity training in the first place. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” [MLK] Anyways, in the end, three city council members did what was right and expected of them, and Humboldt Street in the North Central Equity Priority Area got the long-promised safety upgrades. The kids finally received their equity bike lanes.

Question: Can we quickly dive into the Equity Framework, please.

Oh, sure, we can do that. So, according to C/CAG and the County Board of Supervisors, San Mateo County has several Equity Focus Areas (EFA). The North Central neighborhood is certainly one. Redwood City along El Camino Real and Woodside Road is also one. Big parts of North Fair Oaks, East Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto are also there. All these areas are along the 101 highway and have to deal with more car violence, more noise pollution, more air pollution and therefore higher rates of childhood asthma than other neighborhoods. Anybody attacking those areas is basically attacking Equity and promoting what is known as Systemic Racism.

All C/CAG politicians and city councils were introduced to all the numbers and were made aware of this injustice. And, of course, every present and future council member has promised to remedy this bad situation driven by systemic racism in our city halls – at least during election season, they did.

So, what qualifies a neighborhood to become an Equity Focus Area (EFA):

Zero-Vehicle Households (15% threshold)
Low-Income (28% threshold)
People with a Disability (12% threshold)
Seniors 75 Years and Over (8% threshold)
Single Parent Families (18% threshold)
Limited English Proficiency (12% threshold)
Rent-Burdened Households (14% threshold)
People of Color (70% threshold)
From that, we can tell that the North Central neighborhood has many low-income households with no car access. There are plenty of people with disabilities and seniors who can’t or shouldn’t drive anymore. EFA means that rent-burdened households, seniors with little retirement savings and single-parent families deserve better alternatives so they don’t have to waste all that money on vehicles.

Why this last part is so essential becomes more apparent once you consider today’s cost of owning and driving a car. A new car costs on average >$50,000, a used car >$30,000 and insurance in California is on average >$2,300, with another adjustment coming from SB1107. The yearly cost of owning a car is now >$12,000, and the per-mile cost easily exceeds $2 for many models (source: AAA).

So just to make sure everyone gets the message: Equity Priority Areas (EPA), Equity Focus Areas (EFA), Community of Concerns (CoCs) – and whatever new names and definitions the county can invent for this – require and deserve bike lanes.

Act 3: San Mateo County is still creating the same old nightmares Of course, the report and the training happened way back in 2023 and before the elections. Let’s see if Equity is still in 2024 and after the election. So 2024 came and went, and just when the year changed to 2025, city manager Alex Khojikian and the San Mateo city council made the New Year’s resolution to put more equity focus on the Equity Focus Area of North Central. Unfortunately, they are using the reverse psychology story again. They are walking back equity like they did with the infamous
Equity HOT Lanes.

Our streets are made for Transportation. That is why San Mateo’s municipal code requires 2-4 spots for cars in garages and driveways. But instead of enforcing the rules, the city manager shirks his responsibility and takes the easy route. He thinks it’s OK to take valuable transportation space away from children and give it to the violators with cars. He wants to use more gas tax dollars to subsidize private car storage of a Home/Car Owner Association with too many cars. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” [MLK] In America, this kind of behavior is called Systemic Racism in Urban Planning – you know, the thing these guys promised in 2023 to never, ever do again. Plenty of solutions would focus on the bike lanes and compromise between parking and driving lanes. What makes it very questionable is that the city manager and council did not make any strides even to consider any of those solutions. No, they seem to be aiming right at school children and working-class people and with no sign of any remorse or ethics.

Act 4: What actually is Alex Khojikian proposing?
Alex Khojikian is proposing the same failed infrastructure that he proposed as assistant city manager here in Redwood City. He is running the same Big Bikeway Bluff city manager Melissa Stevenson-Diaz has been pulling off in Redwood City. Redwood City’s “solutions” come with nice names like “Slow Streets” (without making them slow), “Bike Routes” (unsuitable for children or older cyclists), and “Bike Boulevards” (that have zero benefits for cyclists). But these solutions never provide more safety.

So we in Redwood City already know that what Alex Khojikian is proposing is not safe for children. 1/26/25, 9:19 AM Blog: I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare - Redwood City Pulse https://www.rwcpulse.com/blogs/peeking-at-plans/2025/01/21/blog-i-have-a-dream-and-san-mateo-is-creating-a-nightmare/ 2/4 Walk Bike Cupertino agrees: Class III lanes (Bike Boulevards) oer no protection at all and Class IV lanes and Class I trails oer the most.

Any responsible city manager would aim toward the right side of this picture. That is what America’s Bicycle Capital has been doing for 50 years. That is what Europeans and their Vision Zero plans are suggesting as well. Now, when a city manager moves to the left side of this picture – there is a name for that. Whenever children in a low-income neighborhood are concerned, going left is what America calls Systemic Racism in Urban Planning. We have seen this kind of behavior in Redwood City on Vera Avenue Bike Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue Bike Route. In both cases old plans showed bike lanes and cycle tracks, but in the end all the kids got were “sharrows” aka “sharing the road” aka “non-infrastructure” aka “not safe” aka “systemic racism”.

The only viable “Bicycle Boulevard” in all of America … … is currently in Berkeley. Not on Bryant Street in Palo Alto, Morro Street in San Luis Obispo, Silver Avenue in Albuquerque, or Berkeley.

Google Maps shows the intersection of two Berkeley Bike Boulevards. Both have bike lanes, both streets have only one parking lane, and there is plenty of high-density housing in this area, too. High-density housing requires high-density transportation options like these bike lanes.
source: Google Maps (https://maps.app.goo.gl/kMXersWEyXCGeMuF9) After years and years of experimentation, Berkeley finally got smart and found the only solution to making their “Bike Boulevards” viable. At the intersection of Milvia Street and Channing Way, we see two Berkeley Bicycle Boulevards, and both have nice green bike lanes now. We can see a mix of classes II, IIb, and IV , but no class III anymore. Berkeley recognized that they had to move more to the right side of the Cupertino chart to be safer.

Let’s repeat that: only real bike lanes work!
If Berkeley is saying that affluent school children and college students deserve bike lanes to be safer, then the County Board of Supervisors (BOS) should make that a county-wide rule. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” [MLK] Would the Good Reverend be happy with San Mateo?
Q: Would the Good Reverend be happy with C/CAG?
A: He would agree that Equity Frameworks mean nothing if they are not lived and enforced.

Q: Would the Good Reverend be happy with the County Board of Supervisors (BOS)? A: He would agree that if BOS can attack a supposedly independent Sheriff, why not go after systemic racism committed by city managers? Q: Would the Good Reverend be happy with the City of San Mateo? A: This depends on Vision Zero city sides with the children, their bike lanes, the rich Home/Car Owner Association (HCOA), and their private car storage. … To Be Continued
This is a watershed moment for San Mateo Democrats. Let’s take a breather and let’s see how this is developing in February.

Actors to watch on the city council of San Mateo:

Mayor Rob Newsom Jr.

Deputy Mayor Adam Loraine
Lisa Diaz Nash
Nicole Fernandez (newly elected)
Danielle Cwirko-Godycki (newly elected)
1/26/25, 9:19 AM Blog: I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare - Redwood City Pulse https://www.rwcpulse.com/blogs/peeking-at-plans/2025/01/21/blog-i-have-a-dream-and-san-mateo-is-creating-a-nightmare/ 3/4 © 2025 Embarcadero Media
Actors to watch on the Board of Supervisors:

David Canepa (Board President)
Noelia Corzo (Vice President)
Ray Mueller (from Menlo Park – a rich community where leaders did provide bike lanes for children from affluent families) Lisa Gauthier (newly elected from East Palo Alto – an EFA where leaders did not provide bike lanes for children from low-income families) Jackie Speier (newly elected)
“In order to improve on Equity, you actually have to improve on Equity” [Zarathustra]
More Information
C/CAG’s Equity Action Plan
C/CAG’s Equity Framework Report and Training
C/CAG’s reverse equity story about HOT Lanes
Blog: Squatters, Rankers, and Dead Parkers
Blog: RIP or RSVP to Parking
Some history of “Bicycle Boulevards”
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.

Blog: The Big Bikeway Blu
1/26/25, 9:19 AM Blog: I have a Dream … and San Mateo is creating a nightmare - Redwood City Pulse https://www.rwcpulse.com/blogs/peeking-at-plans/2025/01/21/blog-i-have-a-dream-and-san-mateo-is-creating-a-nightmare/ 4/4 1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:31 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: 2/2/26 Council Meeting, My Email Bounced/unable to deliver at any address for "Mayor"

From: Douglas Handerson
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2026 8:57 PM
To: City Mgr <[email protected]>; City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]>; Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Zachary Dahl <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Christina Horrisberger <[email protected]>; Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>; Adam Loraine <[email protected]> Subject: RE: 2/2/26 Council Meeting, My Email Bounced/unable to deliver at any address for "Mayor"

January 26, 2026

This is to ensure that the letter of which I tried to send copies to each City Council member and the Mayor, from my phone, regarding the February 2, 2026 agenda item on Humboldt Bike Lanes, reaches our current Mayor, Adam Loraine, especially since it deals with broader city Infrastructure issues than just the Humboldt yay or nay decision next Monday.

The server responded to each of these three addresses for the Mayor, rejecting the send.

I think the correct one is [email protected]
.

But even that one was returned, unable to deliver.

Perhaps the City Clerk might help confirm whether all email routes for messages to the Mayor are functioning properly, please.

The original email's heading is "Council's February 2nd Humboldt decision making.

Council and Mayor Loraine, please let me know if you have not received that email.

The main recipient was Jon Mays, btw., and the City decision-makers were copied.

Doug Handerson

2 1
Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:31 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: 2/2/26 Council Meeting, My Email Bounced/unable to deliver at any address for "Mayor"

January 26, 2026

The server responded to each of these three addresses for the Mayor, rejecting the send.

I think the correct one is [email protected]
.

But even that one was returned, unable to deliver.

Perhaps the City Clerk might help confirm whether all email routes for messages to the Mayor are functioning properly, please.

The original email's heading is "Council's February 2nd Humboldt decision making.

Council and Mayor Loraine, please let me know if you have not received that email.

The main recipient was Jon Mays, btw., and the City decision-makers were copied.

Doug Handerson

2 1
Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 8:43 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: FW: Humboldt bike lanes

From: Martin Harband
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 7:49 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Humboldt bike lanes

We oppose bike lanes on Humboldt.

Thank you
Martin Harband

Martin Harband

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 1:00 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu; Bethany Lopez Subject: FW: Humboldt Street bike lanes
Hi there,

Please see the below email forwarded to City Council.

Best wishes,
Martin

From: Martin Harband
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 11:21 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Fwd: Humboldt Street bike lanes

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Martin Harband
Date: Wed, Aug 27, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Subject: Humboldt Street bike lanes
To: <[email protected]>

Please add this comment to the "Community Feedback " on safe-walking/ biking design concepts for Humboldt, Idaho and Fremont Streets.

Bike lanes should be removed from North Humboldt Street.

Bikes lanes should be installed on the lesser traveled streets in San Mateo, and not on the major automobile traffic streets. This is common sense. and will save lives ! Thank you.

Martin Harband.

--
Martin Harband

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 3:16 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Please Do Not Remove Bicycle Infrastructure FYI.

From: Jackson Hotaling
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 3:10 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Please Do Not Remove Bicycle Infrastructure

Hello,

Please do not remove bicycle infrastructure in favor of street parking. This is a step in the wrong direction if the goal is for the city to promote increased safety, healthier people, a stronger economy, and a cleaner environment.

Thank you,
Jackson Hotaling

Dear Mayor Loraine and Members of the San Mateo City Council, On behalf of Sustainable San Mateo County (SSMC), I would like to thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to sustainability. Your efforts to make San Mateo a more resilient and forward-thinking city do not go unnoticed. I am writing today regarding the upcoming February 2nd decision on the Humboldt Street bike lanes . SSMC’s mission is centered on fostering a sustainable, equitable and healthy San Mateo County for everyone.

Central to this mission is our steadfast support for active transportation infrastructure. It is through this lens of long-term sustainability and equity that we view the current discussion regarding the Humboldt Street corridor and request you reject any proposal that includes removal of any portion of those bike lanes.

Prioritizing Student Safety: Humboldt Street represents the longest stretch of bike lanes in San Mateo and is a critical component of the Youth-Based High Injury Network . With three schools in the vicinity and approximately 10,000 students navigating this corridor, the safety implications are profound. Protecting our youth as they commute to school is not just a policy preference; it is a fundamental responsibility.

A Matter of Equity and Inclusion: This corridor sits within an Equity Priority Area . For many residents, the bike lane is not a recreational luxury, but a vital artery for commuting to work and accessing essential services. In an area where a high proportion of residents cannot afford a car, removing safe cycling infrastructure in favor of street parking effectively prioritizes vehicle storage over the mobility and safety of our most vulnerable neighbors.

Climate Goals and Regional Leadership: The proposed removal of these lanes to install on-street parking runs contrary to our shared goals of reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Furthermore, the eyes of the region—and the nation—are on San Mateo. As other cities in the county look to your decision as a bellwether, removing these lanes could create a "chilling effect" on active transportation projects across San Mateo County.

Acknowledging the Challenges: We recognize that community solutions are complex.

Balancing the needs of local residents with the safety of the broader public is a difficult task that requires nuanced leadership. However, true sustainability requires us to lean into these challenges by choosing solutions that foster long-term health, safety and equity for all residents.

We thank you for considering the long-term impact of this decision on the future of San Mateo.

We look forward to seeing the City Council uphold its commitment to a sustainable and equitable transportation network.

Sincerely,
Sarah Hubbard, Executive Director

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:27 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Letter of Support re Humboldt Bike Lanes
Attachments: 2026 02 02 LOS Humboldt Bike Lanes for SSMC.pdf

From: Sarah Hubbard
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 9:57 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Cc: Mike Swire
Subject: Letter of Support re Humboldt Bike Lanes

Please see the attached letter from Sustainable San Mateo County related to the Council's February 2nd meeting regarding bike lanes along Humboldt Street.

Best,
Sarah

To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

Sarah Hubbard (she/her)

Set up a time to speak with me here

궁놓궎 궏 궐 궑 궒 놖 놗 궓 궔궕놔 놘놕 袨袩袪被袬袭 Get tickets now! The 27th Annual Sustainability Awards Celebration is set for March 25, 2026 from 5 - 7 p.m. in South San Francisco. Sponsorships available now.

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 7:34 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: Fw: Humboldt Bike Lanes - Please keep!

Get Outlook for iOS
From: Chris Jenny
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:11:51 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Humboldt Bike Lanes - Please keep!

Hi there Council,

We may be a bit of a silent majority here but there are plenty of us that live on Humboldt St that LOVE the bike lanes. I am a huge proponent of cycling and how it can help curtail traffic and pollution. We ought to be leaning into this more. I have been h
it by a car on a bike before and would appreciate anything the city can do to help make clean and efficient transportation safer.

Please keep the bike lanes in place and spend the $2 million continuing to improve our city elsewhere!

Chris Jenny

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Maurine Killough
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 10:59 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo)
Subject: Restore Humboldt street parking
Dear Mayor Loraine and City Council Members:

I am a longtime San Mateo resident and am a cyclist and a driver. As much as we wish everyone rode bikes we cannot but we all do drive cars and need parking. To strip away parking for all the residents on N. Humboldt for only a very, very few cyclists is totally unfair. I have seen video of the streets showing no cyclists for hours, yet the residents have given up precious parking rights for nothing.

As a cyclist, I never use that street! I stand with the residents who were surprised by this excessive act.

Please listen to those residents and to common sense and restore parking on N Humboldt Street. We are a community and need to join together on solutions that serve us all and make sense.

Thank you for taking action on this to restore functionality in that neighborhood.

Sincerely,
Maurine Killough

Maurine Killough
You are not IN the Universe you ARE the universe—an intrinsic part of it.

Ultimately you are not a person, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself. What an amazing miracle.—Eckhart Tolle

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Erin Livingston >
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 11:52 AM
To: Martin McTaggart
Subject: Please approve the Delaware Safe Routes to School Project as Originally Recommended By City Engineers
City Clerk Martin McTaggart,
Thank you for your efforts to keep the streets of San Mateo safe, especially for those who don't drive. I am writing to ask you to approve the Delaware Safe Routes to School Project as originally proposed by the City's traffic engineers. This design maximizes safety and comfort for residents and students who walk and bike, especially around several schools.

I urge the Council not to water down experts' original design in the interest of higher auto speeds. Auto congestion is currently tolerable, even on days when the Events Center is busy.

As we add housing units in this area, we need to make it safe for people to get around on foot and bike. Failure to do so will result in far more auto congestion, especially due to parents not feeling safe letting their kids walk , bike, or take transit to school.

Thank you for your consideration and please let me know whether you support the project in its current, safest form.

Erin Livingston

From: Allison MacQueen Felder
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:24 PM
To: Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Adam Loraine <[email protected]>; Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; Lisa Diaz Nash <[email protected]> Cc: Clerk <[email protected]>; City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: I Support the Humboldt Bike Lanes

Hello City Council,

Please include this public comment in the packet for the upcoming 2/2/26 City Council Meeting.

I am a San Mateo resident and support keeping the Humboldt bike lanes for the following reasons:

The Humboldt Bike Lanes…
 Create a safe, continuous bike network across San Mateo, connecting homes, schools, downtowns, and bus/train transit as the #2 project on the San Mateo Bike Master Plan  Are directly connected to the only 3 bike routes over the 101 in San Mateo (Peninsula Ave, Monte Diablo Ave, 3rd Ave), connecting eastern and western San Mateo  Provide essential protection on a truck route where overserved speeds are 35 mph—well above the 25mph speed limit (source: SM Dept of Public Works)
 Improve driver, pedestrian, and bicyclist safety on a corridor that was once the 5th most dangerous street in San Mateo County for all sources of travel (source: CCAG)  Are widely used, with over 10,000 bike trips per month (source: SM Dept of Public Works)  Enable Safe Routes to Schools for 4 schools serving 10,000+ students, including the new Fiesta Gardens K–8 school, the first neighborhood school in North Central in over 20 years  Reduce greenhouse gases and vehicle miles traveled, key priorities for the City of San Mateo, San Mateo County, and the State of California
 Are supported by the majority of residents on Humboldt St, North Central and across San Mateo (source: SM Dept of Public Works)
 Are supported by 17 PTAs, SMFCSD board members, and the City of San Mateo Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
 Save taxpayer money—removal would cost $1.3M+ and would jeopardize future grant funding  Preserve safety—removing the middle section would create dangerous, disconnected bike lanes  Further San Mateo’s commitment to Vision Zero made in 2015 and embedded into the City of San Mateo’s 2040 General Plan in 2024
Please vote to prioritize safety and sustainable transportation in the City of San Mateo on February 2nd.

Allison MacQueen

2 Co-Lead, Move San Mateo
North Shoreview (District 2) Resident

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Allison MacQueen Felder
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2025 8:02 PM
To: Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
Subject: Thank you - Humboldt
Hello S&I Commission,
Thank you for your service and thank you for your votes last night to preserve safe routes to school and safe multi-modal transport in San Mateo via the 1.5 mile Humboldt bike lanes.

I use the lanes twice daily
to get to Caltrain to get to work and on the weekends to get to downtown San Mateo and Burlingame. They are vital to my personal safety.

Bicycle use is growing, folks are figuring out there is a healthy, sustainable and inexpensive way to get around San Mateo and surrounding areas. Preserving and growing bicycle infrastructure helps tip the calculus for folks to consider multimodal transportation options.

Allison MacQueen
North Shoreview resident

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 11:00 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: FW: Bike lanes vs. parking on Humboldt

-----Original Message-----
From: Dana Miller
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 10:55 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Bike lanes vs. parking on Humboldt

Dear Council members, I would like to respecƞully make a recommendaƟon to the council as to the maƩer of parking removal and bike lanes on North Humboldt St. As an avid bicyclist and homeowner near Humboldt, It has been my opinion for several decades that the most eﬃcient way through San Mateo is to use either Delaware St.(south of Tilton) and or San Mateo Ave/California ave.(North of Tilton). Humboldt on the other hand is very ineﬃcient due to stop signs at the majority of blocks. As far as Humboldt goes, the most ideal soluƟon for all parƟes would be to restore the parking and make the enƟre lane a bike lane. In terms of safety, bicyclist deserve safe bicycle lanes and more emphasis should be applied to thoroughfare lanes, and in neighborhoods, just make the enƟre lane a bike lane.

I would also like to request that crosswalks be installed on Eldorado St. at 4th ave and 3rd ave. Both intersecƟons are located next to businesses that have large volumes of customers and limited parking. Many customers park across the street and try to cross in the mornings when it’s dark. It’s a very unsafe situaƟon for both pedestrians and drivers. Last and least is I would like to request the El Dorado St. sign (misspelled)at 4th and Eldorado St. be replaced with the correctly spelled Eldorado Street.

Thank You Dana Miller
Sent from my iPad

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:32 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Keep Humboldt bike lanes

-----Original Message-----
From: Flower Miller
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 6:44 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Keep Humboldt bike lanes

Hello City Council,
Please help to keep the Humboldt bike lanes. We have a lot of families in and out of our neighborhood (North Shoreview) who use these safe bike lanes to get to school and work on a daily basis. Our children will also use these bike lanes when they go to high school.

Our community’s safety is very important. We don’t need any accidents and deaths because we’re not giving them the safety that they need.

Thank you for your Ɵme.

Kind Regards,
Flower Miller
North Shoreview neighborhood

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Kolja Schluetter
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2025 5:04 PM
To: Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
Cc: Alex Khojikian
Subject: Thank You for Your Leadership on the Humboldt Bike Lanes Hello San Mateo Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission,

Merry Christmas. I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for the Commission’s recent decision regarding the Humboldt bike lanes. Commissioner Narita’s remarks were particularly inspiring and clearly articulated the core issues at stake.

Thank you for your thoughtful and diligent work. It has not gone unnoticed and is deeply appreciated.

Best regards,

Kolja Schluetter

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:29 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Please Preserve the Humboldt Bike Lanes

From: Sean Schochet
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 4:10 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Please Preserve the Humboldt Bike Lanes

Dear City Council,

I’m writing to urge you to vote to preserve the Humboldt bike lanes.

Removing them would waste public money already spent on planning and construction, with no clear benefit. Keeping the lanes is the more fiscally responsible choice.

This is also about the future of our city. Safe bike infrastructure reduces congestion, improves public health, and supports environmental sustainability. It reflects smart, forward-thinking planning rather than doubling down on an outdated, car- only approach.

Public streets are shared assets, not private extensions of adjacent properties. The Humboldt bike lanes serve the broader community and help create a safer, more livable city for everyone.

I hope you will vote to keep them in place.

Sincerely,
Sean

Sean Schochet
Pronouns: he/him/his
Upper School SEL Teacher

2 Hillsborough Campus
Grades PreK-8

San Mateo Campus
Grades 9-12

1 Chantal Eaton
From: sean schochet
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2025 9:17 PM
To: Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
Subject: Thank you!
Hi,

I really appreciate you, the commissioners, in putting your support behind a better San Mateo. Your comments were music to my ears. I bike to work and want my children to safely bike to school - currently they don’t due to street safety on Alameda de las Pulgas). You are sending the correct message for a sustainable future that prioritizes safety of children over past conveniences and comforts for some.

Kimi really spoke volumes about the unlearning necessary to change our community’s mindset to better the future with shared values in a beloved community.

I so appreciate it! Please make Alameda de las Pulgas a priority in the near future (slowing cars down, safe pedestrian crossings between 26th and 20th, and a separated bike lane).

Thank you for your awesome service to this great city!

-Sean
(Resident and teacher in SM)

From: Tiffany F Siu
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 5:05 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: North Central resident supporting the Humboldt St bike lanes

Hello,

I am a North Central resident (live at the intersection of N Eldorado and Indian Ave) and support keeping the bike lanes.

During the spring and summer, my family and I use the bike lanes multiple times a week. We do outings as a family on the weekend and frequently use the bike to drop my daughter off at preschool.

Prior to the installation of the bike lanes, we avoided going down Humboldt St by car. With both sides having parked cards and then two lanes of traffic, you could not drive down smoothly and would need to yield if another car was coming in the opposite direction. It was very crowded! I'd also like to call out that there have been too many pedestrian deaths by car recently, I truly believe visibility is a key factor here.

When cars lack visibility, it increases the chance that a vehicle strikes a biker or p edestrian. Putting more
parked cars on that street and keeping it two lanes will in my opinion, increase the risk of pedestrian injury or worst fatality.

This was before I moved to the neighborhood, but I believe a bicyclist was badly injured while on Humboldt due to a collision from a car? Wasn't that a factor in exploring the installation of the bike lane?

I suggest that we look into, how do we move large vehicles used for commercial business off Humboldt and into permit parking. Many residents have noted that many large parked vehicles don't move often which exacerbates this issue. I myself have had to report many vehicles on my street that do not move for over 5 days.

I'd also like to call out that I attended a sunstainability and infrastructure meeting in December where the survey results of North Central residents were shared, keeping the bike lanes was the leading option.

Thank you for reading.

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Katherine Sheehan
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 3:00 PM
To: Jay Yu
Cc: Matt Fabry
Subject: FW: msm-middle-school-bike-routes Immediate Action Needed: Humboldt St Bike Lanes
Jay,

This references a resolution by the SMFCSD Board of Trustees.

Kat

From: On Behalf Of
Allison MacQueen Felder
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 10:13 AM
To:

Subject: msm-middle-school-bike-routes Immediate Action Needed: Humboldt St Bike Lanes

Hello SMFCSD Bicycle Community,

The San Mateo City Council is considering proposals to remove the Humboldt St Bike Lanes, which are

1.6 miles long, constructed in 2022, directly link to 4 schools, and indirectly support bicycle transit across SMFCSD schools.
 The SMFCSD Board of Trustees voted 5-0 on 1/23 to support a resolution in support of preserving the Humboldt St Bike Lanes in San Mateo.
 SMFCSD District PTA is leading an effort for school site PTA Associations to vote on this letter in support of the Humboldt St Bike Lanes. 6 PTAs have brought it to a vote and 6 have affirmed support of the letter (Fiesta Gardens,Sunnybrae, LEAD, Meadow Heights, George Hall, North Shoreview Montessori), with other schools in progress. Nudge your PTA President to bring this to a vote at your next PTA meeting.
 Sign a petition to support Safe Routes to School and preserve the Humboldt St bike lanes.  Send a message regarding this topic to the San Mateo City Council, you can email them at:
[email protected]
 The San Mateo Council will be discussing this issue at a meeting on Monday Feb 3 at 7pm at City Hall (with opportunity for public comment either in person or via Zoom). Zoom:
https://cityofsanmateo-org.zoom.us/j/88220205790?pwd=Ff2osKnCL8jnizzEQGu5hx1hLeJ3v1.1 3rd & Norfolk Intersection safety improvements approved by San Mateo City Council  This long-awaited project improves pedestrian and bicycle safety while speeding vehicle flow through the intersection. This intersection connects to 8 SMFCSD schools, the bay trail, creekside trail, and downtown San Mateo. Great news!
 More information on the project
 Hoping it will be complete by the start of the 2025-2026 school year, but definitely will be completed by the end of 2025!

Park Smart, Park Safe Be mindful when parking near crosswalks!

2  AB 413 - Daylighting Law Starting January 1, 2025, it is illegal in California to park within 20 feet of the vehicle approach of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, even if a red curb is not present, or 15 feet of any crosswalk where a curb extension is present. Click HERE to learn more about this new law.

Thank you for encouraging your child to bike to school in SMFCSD! Heather Wolnick & Allison MacQueen
SMFCSD Parents

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bike routes for Middle School" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to

To view this discussion visit

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 7:35 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: Fw: Restore Parking to N Humboldt St

Get Outlook for iOS
From: Francie
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 6:02:40 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Restore Parking to N Humboldt St

Dear Mayor Loraine and City Council Members,

I’m requesting that you restore parking on N Humboldt Street for the benefit of that community and show that you have compassion for the residents and neighbors of North Central. The idea that removing street parking in front of homes and then give residents the option of parking at the King Center, blocks away for many, and only for certain hours, is shameful.

One cyclist and homeowner near Humboldt, suggested a much safer solution that works for All is to just make the entire lane a bike lane and return parking! Further stating that Humboldt is not a good thoroughfare due to its stop signs etc so the few bicyclist are likely local residents with short trips. San Mateo Ave/California Ave has always been the best for long distance cyclist with a short jog over to Delaware for the southern half of San Mateo all the way to Old County and beyond.

Organized special interest groups should not have more say about a residential area than the people who live there. Please listen to the neighbors and constituents in North Central, explore other options for bicyclists, and restore street parking on N Humboldt St. Don’t mislead residents and say this is being considered, and then do nothing. Please do the right thing and make the residents of this community your priority when you are evaluating options to fix this problem.

Sincerely,
Francie Souza
Resident of Central Neighborhood
Member of SMU
Board Member of CNA

Sent from my iPhone

Miguel G.

North Central ·
6 Aug
·Edited
·

The parking situation on Humboldt is grossly preventable. I witnessed

multiple neighbors with empty driveways and parking garages waiting to tak
e a parking spot not even minutes after the cleaning truck passed.

I’
d love more parking, but I agr
ee with Michael that people are using
the str
eet as their personal storage. Most parking on the street is cars that ar
en’t moved all month outside of street cleaning da
y, and they’re
10 feet away waiting for their spot again.

We don’t have a parking shortage, we ha
ve an issue with people
having 3+ cars and parking them without moving them. I’m usually not home during these hours but I was sick and had to mov
e my car, and it
was gross t
o see how many people were doing this. On Humboldt and
the surrounding str
eets.

Given the loss of the other side of Humboldt St parking, the city needs to do something about all these cars that stay parked for months in the same place, only moving feet awa
y on cleaning days.

Here
’s a picture at 12:50pm, 5 minutes after cleaner passed and the str
eet was already full.
80 COMMENTS
Christine Cook 1w · North Central
Agree, we’re likely to lose the Humboldt bik
e lane for completely
unfounded reasons. What’s worse (aside from the money squander), is that this sends a message about the extent t
o which the city (and
our neighbors) value safety, and sets a precedent for the future bik e of
lanes in San Mateo. I appreciate that you spoke up about what you saw
, there’s too much misinformation cir
culating ….

Reply
Share

8 Michael Swire 1w · Edited · Bay Meadows
Thanks for the hard data,
Miguel . Facts are important. The City
hasn't even done a parking study to gauge the issue, but is willing t o
spend $3 million of taxpayer money anyway.

Reply
Share
6 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
Michael
I just wish there was a path forward in between wher
e maybe
bike lanes are k
ept but cars are checked mor
e often or a parking pass
system to prevent hoarding parking space. I’
m sure it would help many
of us that want parking back to not mind the bike lanes given there’ d
be more parking if it wasn’t hoarded
Reply
Share

9 Dylan J. 1w · North Central
Miguel an audit/parking study would make sense as a ﬁrst step, followed by potentially a permit progr
am. But far too many people
think that it’s the city’s responsibility to pr
ovide free storage (in front of
their house) for their third, fourth, etc car. It’s especially egregious if their gar
age is empty or ﬁlled with junk and the driveway is unused.

People on Nextdoor also lo
ve to complain about traﬃc and parking
pain, but then see no issue with advocating for policies that will increase car dependence e.g. rip up bik
e lanes.

Reply
Share
9 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
I suppor
ted bringing parking back before, but I didn’t realize how

avoidable this problem was until now. So many people just leav e their
cars sitting there and won’t move them. It’s weir
d how common that
is.

Those of us who drive every da
y have to park far away because of it. I
used to blame the bike lanes, but it’s really people with too many cars,

some they barely even use.

Reply
Share
15 Kevin Simpson 1w · North Central
Miguel and so many commercial vehicles. Why does any business get fr
ee parking in a residential zone? Other businesses hav e to
obtain parking for their vehicles as sort of that cost and is bet it is a tax write off as a business expense. A parking permit program would

take care of this.

Reply
Share
6 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
Kevin
yeah I noticed like 5-10 commercial trucks and v
ans that take up
2 cars worth of space.

2 Teresa S. 1w · Borel
This problem is all over san mateo and Belmont. You ev
er try and visit
someone living on carlmont dr. In Belmont? Its terrible at night to ﬁnd parking. Y
ou have t
o walk very far to your apt. Everyone has 2 cars
mostly because let's say roommates and husband or wife' s. Can't be
helped . The seniors have to walk so far to get to ther e apts.

Reply
Share
3 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
T
eresa it can be helped by making sure the cars are mo ving and not staying in one spot for weeks at a time. That’s what I noticed is what

takes up the spots and screws o
ver those that need to driv
e daily
Reply
Share
1 Bennett Lee 1w ·
Parkside
It always amazes me that people refuse to park their cars on their own driveways or garages… BUT they are the ﬁrst to report & complain here about their cars being sideswiped, hit & run, vandalized, burglarized, or damaged while it was parked vulnerable on the street! 🤷‍♂️ Reply
Share
4 Bryan Ackley 1w · Burlingame Park
Unfortunately every family member has to ha
ve a car. The average
family in SM county is 2.5 people living at a residence. If everyone has

2 cars per family parked on the street and the average is ar ound 14
houses per block , meaning that one block has 28 cars to park on the street that can only hold 19 to 25 cars because on any one block because there are many no parking z
ones too. I can count families
that ha
ve more than 2 cars, in some cases we are talking 4 or 5 cars per family
. In my neighborhood alone there are 4 residents with 4 or mor
e cars on the street. The answers are out there but no one likes

the options,
Reply
Share

1 Dylan J. 1w · North Central
Bryan and those answers out there include actually utilizing garages and driv
eways for parking, instead of acting like it’
s the city’
s
responsibility to provide street parking for e
very car.

I would also challenge the premise that “every family member has t o
have a car.”
Reply

Share
12 Kevin Simpson 1w · Edited ·
North Central
Folks near me go e
ven further—they r
outinely use a spot that will hold
two cars easily with one car parked in the middle all day and often all night. Further out several use tr
ash cans and cones (and threats) to
keep anyone from using spots near their houses. Meanwhile very

large commercial trucks—I’m talking dump truck size— sit all day in

spots that could accommodate two cars, despite the ban on commercial vehicles in residential zones.

And for this people want to throw the many cyclists and scooter riders inclusion kids, workers who can
’t afford cars, and other to the mercy

of drivers who have mowed down two people on Humboldt in just the last two months.

Share
10 Aaron Dodge 1w
· Parkside
It's preventable if you r
eplaced all the S#IttY neighbors with good
ones.

Reply
Share
2 Christine Cook 1w · E
dited · North Central

Maybe the city should incentivize anyone who has a car the size of a loaf of bread?
Everything is massive now. In 2015 ﬁ
ve cars could park along my
street frontage. Now it’
s only four. Sometimes less 🤣
Reply
Share
3 Matthew Gallegos 1w · North Shoreview
We deal with parking and speeding issues in North Shoreview all the time, as well as commuters using the neighborhood close t o the
freeway for parking and commuting on this side of the bay. The City hasn
't done a thing. Parking permits are the answer for impacted neighborhoods. They did this on the other side of 101 on 3r d condo's
and has work
ed well.

Reply
Share
7 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
Matthew
parking permits would do wonders here
Reply
Share
5 David H. 6d · Hayward Park
The current city parking permit program doesn't guarantee any one a
place to park. It does stop people that don't live in the area fr om
parking there though. I think the city needs a better parking permit program that actually addresses the limited on street parking we hav e.

If one person has multiple cars stored on the street its unfair to their neighbors also looking for parking.

Reply
Share
3 Sally Ehrhard 1w
· North Central
Yea I used to live there at Woodlak
e facing right onto humble for six
years and for eight years at one other apartment at Woodlake

altogether I lived at Woodlake since 2005 and three diff erent
apartments and parking was always an issue… Most often you would end up parking way on the south side of the apar
tment complex right
next to San Mateo high school football ﬁ
eld and then you’d have t o

walk half a mile to get back to your apartment It was deﬁnitely a big pain in the neck, especially if you’re carrying groceries and everything but I do kind of miss living there, but the owner was selling the apartment and he knew the rent would go up much higher after whoever bought it would decide on the r
ent and it would’ve been way

out of my league so I have been out of there for one year and I’m living

in my car.!!!!
Reply
Share
Colin Madere 1w · Centr
al
Thanks for reporting what you’ve seen about this. It’s impor tant the
city council, especially Nicole Fernandez, your district representative,

hear this kind of observation. Must be infuriating to see how much space there could be and know ther
e are a small number of people
taking up so much public space.

Share
3 Michael Ragan 1w
· Indian Springs Park
Miguel, I think you fail to realize one important fact, the bik e lanes that
were installed on Humboldt was based on the premise that hundreds of bikes would be using that for tr
ansportation. But the facts that Taso
is pr
oviding clearly clariﬁes the lack of bicycle trips along that corridor .

So the issue is was a loss of 200 parking spots at a cost of $2 million and the anger and frustration of those homeowners justiﬁed. Miguel, please listen to the neighborhood and what they want would be a better wa
y to approach this dilemma
Reply
Share

1 Miguel G. Author 1w
· North Central
Michael
i live here! you don’t e
ven live on Humboldt !! The gaslighting
is crazy. Homeowners have driv
eways and garages. The issue is
parking hoarding which leaves only a few spots for those of us driving daily
. I’m neutral on the bike lane thing, my post describes my experience as a r
esident on this street and insight into why parking is
an issue. Open up the other side of Humboldt and people will park mor
e cars. There’s park hoar
ding, RV’s, commercial trucks, etc… that
needs to be tackled before another million dollar project Reply
Share

8 Colin Madere 1w · Central
Miguel isn’t it so strange how these very f
ew people that don’t live in
the neighborhood or even near the bik
e lanes claim to know best what
t
o do with your neighborhood? Smells ﬁshy.

Reply
Share
6 Colin Madere 1w · Central
Also very interesting that they joined ND the same day as y our post.
🤔 .

Reply
Share

4 Michael Swire 1w · Bay Meadows
Michael Which neighborhood should we listen to? A majority of SM r
esidents support the bike lanes. Why is the head of the Ber esford
Hillsdale Association arguing to spend $3 million ripping out safety impro
vements in another neighborhood? Why aren’t y
ou advocating
for the taxpayer $ to be spent in Beresford Hillsdale instead???

Reply
Share
5 Seema Patel 1w ·
Central
Michael to be fair, Michael has been a strong advocate for the
Hillsdale Blvd & Alameda de las Pulgas safety improv
ements. It would
be great if he supported safety improv
ements in other neighborhoods
too.
https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4768/Hillsdale-Boulevard-Alameda-de-las-Pulga Reply

Share
2 Seema Patel 6d · Central
Michael I think part of the problem here is your assumption that T is

sharing “facts” about bicycle ridership and the city is not.

School starts up this week. I’d be happy to hang out with you at the

corner of 2nd Ave and Humboldt around 7:45am so you can see the bicy
cle ridership ﬁrst hand.

When I rolled up to that intersection a couple days ago in the middle of

the afternoon there were 5 other cyclists and scooterists waiting at the light, and it wasn’t e
ven rush hour.

Share
2 Christine Cook 6d · Edited ·
North Central
Colin lol, deﬁ
nite history on “how many accounts can one person
hav
e” behavior :)
Reply

4 Christine Cook 6d · North Central
Seema that’s my perception on 2nd (and 3rd) / Humboldt as well. It’ s
rare for me to be the only cy
clist there

Reply
Share
4 David H. 6d · Edited ·
Hayward Park
I lo
ve how these cost ﬁgures get thr
own around with no sources. Y ou
can read up on how CDBG funds are spent here:
https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/1091/Annual-Reports
From what I can tell about $740,000 was spent on this project with a

much larger scope that the area being focused on. Yet we still see ov
er double that talked about with no citations.

Reply
Share

Miguel G. Author 6d
· North Central
T
aso Humboldt resident here, you don’t actually care or listen to residents. You don
’t even liv
e on Humboldt
Reply
Share

3 Dylan J. 6d · North Central
Miguel don’t bother with Taso. He’s the CEO of a company that is
incentivized to maximize parking av
ailability. He routinely spreads
hyperbole and misinformation.

Reply
Share
6 Seema Patel 6d
· Central
David , hi!
At the February 3, 2025 City Council meeting the Council dir ected staff
to pursue Alt 5 & Alt 3:
$620K: restoration of parking & bike lane remo
val

$150-300K: bike boulevard pilot
If the Council decided to make the bike boulevard permanent, that would come at an additional $2.2M cost.
https://www.youtube.com/live/fdadxvZGxCY?si=1xyWJc9uLh7c0B_G&t=15127 And that doesn't include the sunk cost of installing the bike lanes in

the ﬁrst place, which cost ~$1.9M with $1M coming from the Citywide Street Rehabilitation P
ackage and $900K coming from the Community
Development Block Gr
ant.
https://sanmateo.primegov.com/meeting/document/2818.pdf?name=Agenda%20 Report

So the total cost to install the bik
e lanes, remove the bike lanes and
install an alternative permanent bike boulevard would be ~$4.8-5M,

possibly $900K more if the city had to repay the feder
al government
the CDBG funds.
(Speaking on my own behalf)
Reply
Share
David H.
6d · Ha
yward Park
Seema Thanks for the breakdown, lots of moving pieces her e. It helps
to have r
efer
ences to really information and not more hyperbole and
misinformation.

Reply
Share
2 Michael Ragan 6d · Indian Springs Park
Michael just to respond to your three? Marks, I was head of the tr aﬃc
action plan sponsored by the city of San Mateo in 2017, I also sat on the citiz
ens advisory committee studying the citywide bicycle master plan. I do want to point out that I did not mention my a ﬃliation with
BHNA in my response to Miguel. if y
ou would like to have further
discussions about these issues, feel free to contact me.

Reply
Share

Michael Swire 6d · Ba
y Meadows
Michael I encourage you to listen to those living
in Beresford/Hillsdale.

Many of them probably send their kids to San Mateo High School, on

Humboldt and would prioritize safer str
eets in that neighborhood.

Reply
Share

1 Ben Toy 6d · North Central
Sunk cost and would require an approximate $1.5-$2 million to undo and return it back. There is also Vision Zero grant money that might be required to be returned
In light of projected SM budget shortfall of ~$20 million for the next few years
My original proposal was to pass a variance in this area to allow parking on their lawns and keep the bicycle lane, which i think is a win/win
Reply
Share
3 Kevin Simpson 5d · North Central
Ben So many houses already park on their lawns or removed them entirely! Look at the southwest corner of 2nd and Humboldt and the restored house at Humboldt. Yards paved over. And elsewhere people just park on the lawn.

Share
Colin Madere 6d · Central
Miguel there’s a handful of people that are attacking
all the bike lanes,
no matter the details. Emails have been sent out with misleading baseless claims. They mak
e up things to stop them. I don’t know why
,
but it appears as though having safe alternatives to cars is some sort of attack on them or their lif
estyles and they seem to be willing to say

almost anything to kill the advances (the very slow advances) t o make
it possible to safely bike (and walk! And scooter!) around our city.

There’s some odd psychological thing going on that “someone living diff
erently than me is an attack on my choices” or some such. It’s not! Ev
eryone being able to saf
ely use the roadways is very much an
all-around city and resident improvement. With e
very proposed project
that includes bike infrastructure there are ALSO impr
ovements to
driving (improved light timing, spacing, ﬂow contr
ols), but that’s not
enough for them. They want no one else t
o have reasonable options
other than their option. Maybe that’s at play with the parking problem:
people intentionally taking up spaces to tr
y to make it seem worse
than it is t
o have all their neighbors put pressure on the city
.

It’s also very sad to hav
e people involved in making these decisions in
the city being potentially so biased and untruthful and hurting the future of infrastructure for the next generation. Car ownership is going down for a lot of good reasons, we should plan for the futur e, not the
past. I say that as someone who drives and works on cars, modern

and vintage.

When the city council votes on these projects, everyone should pay attention. See who is catering to outdated ideas and who is working for the best long term future of our city.

Reply
Share
8 Claire Mack 3d ·
North Central
Welcome to North Central San Mateo!
Reply

Share
2 1
Chantal Eaton
From: Matt Fabry
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 11:29 AM
To: Jay Yu; Nicolette Chan; Bethany Lopez
Cc: Katherine Sheehan
Subject: FW: Parking abuse in North Central (and elsewhere in San Mateo) Attachments: 20250816 Parking abuse in NC.pdf
FYI

From: Mike Swire
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2025 12:14 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]>; Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission <[email protected]>; Alex Khojikian <[email protected]>; Matt Fabry <[email protected]>
Subject: Parking abuse in North Central (and elsewhere in San Mateo)

Dear San Mateo leaders,

As I am sure you are aware, many in our city are increasingly concerned about abuse of parking rules and courtesy, especially given that many neighborhoods have parking challenges.

Please take a look at the attached NextDoor post from a North Central resident. He noted that a high percentage of cars parked on Humboldt are not moved day to day. They are only moved during street cleaning periods, after which they are quickly returned to their original position. Long-term car storage such as this is not allowed per San Mateo law (which has a 72-hour limit).

Some of the comments below the post mention other illegal behaviors that have contributed to parking challenges - e.g., commercial vehicles, reserving of parking spots, etc.

I recommend that the City implement permit parking programs city-wide in an attempt to curb illegal and unneighborly car storage on our public streets.

Thanks for your help in enforcing neighborly behavior on our streets,

Mike Swire
Bay Meadows resident

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Alex Khojikian
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2025 5:36 AM
To:

Cc: Ed Barberini; Matt Fabry; Christina Horrisberger; Jay Yu; Katherine Sheehan; Bethany Lopez; Matthew Lethin
Subject: RE: Letter from Mike Swire Re: SMDJ article on rise in crashes in SM Thanks, Mike, for sharing your concerns with us. We take safety very seriously as well and appreciate your input.

I think it's important to clarify that the San Mateo Daily Journal article was misleading about collisions in the city and North Central neighborhood. The sourced TIMS data uses different geographic boundaries and includes State highway data that is not the City's jurisdiction or area. This significantly skews the data. For example. when looking at the official San Mateo Police Department's RIMS data:

• There was a 4% decrease, not a 50% increase, in citywide collisions between 2022 and 2023. • There were 18 collisions in the North Central neighborhood in 2024, which is a 36% decrease, not a return to pre-pandemic levels.

While one collision is too many, it's important to note that SMPD's data shows we are at least moving in the right direction.

Community engagement in transportation and traffic safety issues is extremely important to us so that we consider all perspectives before making decisions on the best use of resources. With that in mind, there will be a 3rd and Norfolk bicycle improvement project action item at this Monday’s Jan. 13 Council meeting, and a Humboldt bike lanes study session item at the Jan. 21 City Council meeting.

Thanks,

Alex

Alex Khojikian
City Manager | City Manager’s Office
330 W. 20th Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403
650-522-7002 | [email protected]

From: Mike Swire
Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2024 10:30 AM
Subject: SMDJ article on rise in crashes in SM

2 Dear SM City Council,

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to share with you the attached article from today's SMDJ. In it, they report on the rising number of crashes on the streets of SM, especially in the North Central neighborhood.

I am disappointed that recent actions of the Council seem to be moving in the wrong direction. In the past two months, the Council has prioritized City resources - staff time and taxpayer $ - in the opposite direction. The City is considering removing the new San Mateo High and College Park Elementary bike lanes, only two years after installation. As the article points out, this is in North Central, the neighborhood with the highest rate of traffic violence in the City, a block from the 101 onramp. In addition, the Council recently tabled the Norfolk pedestrian improvements, in another dangerous and underfunded neighborhood.

Every minute and dollar that is spent rethinking the past threatens the safety of those who walk and bike in the future. Our PW staff is down two key people. We rely on grant funding for many safety improvements. We should instead be focusing our limited resources on finishing the Delaware Safe Routes to School Project, the Hillsdale High/Alameda safety project, the 19th Avenue Fashion Island project, and the dozens of others in our myriad of traffic safety plans.

Thank you,

Mike Swire

Appointee, SMCTA Community Advisory Committee
Chair, C/CAG Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee
(writing on my own behalf, however)

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 10:06 AM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Return Parking to Underserved North Central

From: Lisa Taner
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:31 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Return Parking to Underserved North Central

Dear Councilmembers,
Appalling situations are easy to stomach when you aren’t front and center. And when you don’t live smack in the middle of it.

But last night, as the sun set, chairs were dragged out to the front of City Hall for some of the North Central San Mateans with canes or those too old to stand. This was their rally and they weren’t going to miss it. The music, clapping, prayers and deman
ds to return parking to their Humboldt Street homes was meant for you to hear - yet again.

Former Mayor Claire Mack (a North Central resident), heads of a local church, members of San Mateo United and Indivisible San Mateo, along with the NAACP stood under the flag at City Hall seeking “justice for all” in support to restore resident parking.

Imagine this happening on your street. 200 parking spaces gone.

Below are the thoughts and miseries expressed last night from those living this reality. Any two or three should prompt your decision to return their parking - even from your armchair.

When friends and family won’t come visit you because there is no parking in front of your home… When you are given a “parking option” blocks away from your home at King Center, but only between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am...

When you’ve had to have signs “RESTORE OUR PARKING NOW” in front of homes all along Humboldt for 2+ years (not counting the days when someone pulls them up and throws them in the bushes)… When avid bicyclists agree that Humboldt as a connector to the highway in multiple places is too busy and dedicated bike lanes aren’t the safest option…
When surveys count bikes that go across Humboldt, but didn’t actually use the bike lane and is counted as 2 bike uses for survey purposes…
When organized special interests groups have more manpower to attend years’ long City meetings and Council feels pressure not to represent their own constituents…

2 When a realtor calls the City and is told parking will be restored and that’s how she sells a Humboldt street home…
When your roofing contractor learns you are headed to this rally and remarks that he hasn’t seen the lane used since he’s been working on your house…
When bikes that are seen riding down Humboldt are using the sidewalk and not the lanes… When a little girl who lives in North Central bravely steps out of the rally crowd to take a microphone and her words are for YOU, the City Council: “Fix it. Fix it. Fix it, now!” Mayor Loraine, admitting you've made a mistake is worthy of respect. You lived in North Central while you were voting to remove their parking. Then you moved away and have not been immersed in the resulting pain. But it is there - every day. These are the people you represent. Not the out of town bike people. Leadership requires strength.

All, what hurts our neighbors hurts us all. Those of you who stepped outside last night to speak with rally members - Talk is CHEAP. North Central is known as an underserved area of San Mateo. Let’s not allow them to continue to struggle.

Righting this now will pave the way for easier acceptance of more well thought-out bike lanes going forward.

I stand with our Humboldt neighbors.

Sincerely,
Lisa Taner

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 10:59 AM
Cc: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu; Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger Subject: RE: Humboldt Street Bike Lanes and City Survey Data Findings_27JAN2026 Attachments: Taso Zografos Letter to City of San Mateo RE Humboldt Bike Lanes_ 27JAN2026correct.pdf
Good morning, City Council (Bcc’d),

Please note, an updated version of the previously forwarded public comment was received. Kindly see attached.

Best wishes,
Martin

From:

Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:33 AM
To: Clerk <[email protected]>; Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>; City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>; Lisa Diaz Nash <[email protected]>; Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; Adam Loraine <[email protected]> Subject: Humboldt Street Bike Lanes and City Survey Data Findings_27JAN2026

Dear City Clerk MarƟn McTaggart and San Mateo City Councilmembers –

The purpose of my aƩached leƩer is to formally memorialize and expand upon the public comments I presented at the City Council meeƟngs held on December 15, 2025, and January 12, 2026, regarding the Humboldt Street bike lanes.

At each of those meeƟngs, I provided wriƩen “leave-behind” materials to accompany my public tesƟmony. Enclosed with this leƩer are the leave-behind materials submiƩed at the January 12, 2026 meeƟng, along with limited supplemental notes intended to improve clarity. All data referenced herein was obtained directly from the City through a Public Records Act request.

Based on my review of the City’s own data, I oﬀer the following key ﬁndings. For each point below (Items 1–5), please refer to the corresponding leƩer reference aƩachments (AƩachments 1–5), located on pages 2 through 7 of this submission.

1. The Claim That Zero Humboldt Street Residents Oppose the Bike Lanes Is Not Credible The City’s summary of its in-person community workshop indicates that “ZERO” Humboldt Street residents opposed the bike lanes. This conclusion strains credibility. Such a result would only be possible if no Humboldt Street residents aƩended the workshop. However, mulƟple aƩendees have conﬁrmed that Humboldt Street residents were present and did, in fact, voice opposiƟon. It is therefore not reasonable to conclude that 100% of Humboldt Street residents support the bike lanes—or that “ZERO” residents oppose them.

2. The City Acknowledges AƩempts to Manipulate Online Survey Results The City acknowledges that a signiﬁcant number of online survey submissions were removed due to mulƟple entries originaƟng from the same Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. This conﬁrms that aƩempts were made to manipulate survey results. City-provided data shows that the vast majority of these disqualiﬁed submissions were in favor of retaining the bike lanes. Moreover, the City has no reliable way to verify the true residence of online respondents or to determine

2 whether addiƟonal duplicate submissions were made using diﬀerent devices or IP addresses. An addiƟonal red ﬂag is the claim that only ten (10) Humboldt Street residents opposed the bike lanes online, an outcome that is inconsistent with the volume of resident opposiƟon expressed through public tesƟmony, correspondence, and direct engagement. Given the City’s inability to authenƟcate online survey submissions, the reliability of these results is highly quesƟonable.

3. Mailed Surveys Show a Clear Majority Opposed to the Bike Lanes The City mailed surveys to approximately 4,587 addresses in the North Central neighborhood and received 150 complete responses. The City acknowledges that 68% of these respondents oppose the bike lanes and support restoring parking on Humboldt Street. Breakdown by street is as follows:
 66% of Humboldt Street respondents oppose the bike lanes  67% of Idaho Street respondents oppose the bike lanes  59% of Fremont Street respondents oppose the bike lanes Among the veriﬁable, address-speciﬁc responses received, a clear majority of residents across all three streets oppose the Humboldt Street bike lanes and want curb parking restored.

4. A 3.27% Mail Survey Response Rate Is Insuﬃcient for Public Policy Decisions The City received only 150 responses out of 4,587 mailed surveys, a response rate of approximately 3.27%. Such a low parƟcipaƟon rate is widely regarded as staƟsƟcally unreliable and inappropriate as a basis for major public policy decisions, parƟcularly those involving permanent changes to neighborhood infrastructure.

5. The “Hot Potato” Analysis Piƫng Streets Against One Another Is Not ConstrucƟve The City’s “Hot Potato” survey analysis aƩempts to compare or weigh the views of residents on Humboldt, Idaho, and Fremont Streets against one another. This framing is not construcƟve . The only meaningful conclusion supported by the
data is that a majority of residents on all three streets oppose the bike lanes and support restoring parking on Humboldt Street. Framing the analysis in a way that pits neighbors against one another distracts them from this clear and consistent outcome.

I respecƞully request that the Council reconsider its reliance on ﬂawed and unreliable survey interpretaƟons and give appropriate weight to the City’s own veriﬁable data, as well as to the sustained and documented opposiƟon from directly impacted residents.

Thank you for your Ɵme and consideraƟon.

Taso Zografos, San Mateo Resident

Taso Zografos

T A S O Z O G R A F O S

Page 1 ends

January 27, 2026 (correct)

TO: City of San Mateo and San Mateo City Councilmembers c/o City Clerk 330 W 20th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403

CC: San Mateo United Homeowners Association (SMUHA), Members, and Residents

FROM: Taso Zografos, San Mateo City Resident

REGARDING: Humboldt Street Bike Lanes and City Survey Data Findings The purpose of this letter is to formally memorialize and expand upon the public comments I presented at the City Council meetings held on December 15, 2025, and January 12, 2026, regarding the Humboldt Street bike lanes.

At each of those meetings, I provided written “leave-behind” materials to accompany my public testimony. Enclosed with this letter are the leave-behind materials submitted at the January 12, 2026 meeting, along with limited supplemental notes intended to improve clarity. All data referenced herein was obtained directly from the City through a Public Records Act request.

Based on my review of the City’s own data, I offer the following key findings. For each point below (Items 1–5), please refer to the corresponding reference attachments (Attachments 1–5), located on pages 2 through 7 of this submission.

Such a result would only be possible if no Humboldt Street residents attended the workshop.

However, multiple attendees have confirmed that Humboldt Street residents were present and did, in fact, voice opposition. It is therefore not reasonable to conclude that 100% of Humboldt Street residents support the bike lanes—or that “ZERO” residents oppose them.

2. The City Acknowledges Attempts to Manipulate Online Survey Results The City acknowledges that a significant number of online survey submissions were removed due to multiple entries originating from the same Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. This confirms that attempts were made to manipulate survey results.

City-provided data shows that the vast majority of these disqualified submissions were in favor of retaining the bike lanes. Moreover, the City has no reliable way to verify the true residence of online respondents or to determine whether additional duplicate submissions were made using different devices or IP addresses.

An additional red flag is the claim that only ten (10) Humboldt Street residents opposed the bike lanes online, an outcome that is inconsistent with the volume of resident opposition expressed

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 2 | 7 through public testimony, correspondence, and direct engagement. Given the City’s inability to authenticate online survey submissions, the reliability of these results is highly questionable.

Breakdown by street is as follows:
• 66% of Humboldt Street respondents oppose the bike lanes • 67% of Idaho Street respondents oppose the bike lanes • 59% of Fremont Street respondents oppose the bike lanes Among the verifiable, address-specific responses received, a clear majority of residents across all three streets oppose the Humboldt Street bike lanes and want curb parking restored.

4. A 3.27% Mail Survey Response Rate Is Insufficient for Public Policy Decisions The City received only 150 responses out of 4,587 mailed surveys, a response rate of approximately 3.27%. Such a low participation rate is widely regarded as statistically unreliable.

5. The “Hot Potato” Analysis Pitting Streets Against One Another Is Not Constructive The City’s “Hot Potato” survey analysis attempts to compare or weigh the views of residents on Humboldt, Idaho, and Fremont Streets against one another. This framing is not constructive.

The only meaningful conclusion supported by the data is that a majority of residents on all three streets oppose the bike lanes and support restoring parking on Humboldt Street. Framing the analysis in a way that pits neighbors against one another distracts them from this clear and consistent outcome.

I respectfully request that the Council reconsider its reliance on flawed and unreliable survey interpretations and give appropriate weight to the City’s own verifiable data, as well as to the sustained and documented opposition from directly impacted residents.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Taso Zografos, San Mateo Resident

ATTACHMENTS FOLLOW (pages 2 thru 7)

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 3 | 7 COMMENT POINT # 1 REFERENCE ATTACHMENT

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 4 | 7 COMMENT POINT # 2 REFERENCE ATTACHMENT

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 5 | 7 COMMENT POINT # 3 REFERENCE ATTACHMENT

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 6 | 7 COMMENT POINT # 4 REFERENCE ATTACHMENT

Continued

Taso Zografos Letter to San Mateo City Council RE Humboldt St. Bike Lanes 27JAN2026 Page 7 | 7 COMMENT POINT # 5 REFERENCE ATTACHMENT

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Mari
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2025 3:13 PM
To: Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission
Subject: Thank you for your support
Dear Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission,
Thank you for your unanimous support of Alternative 2 at last night’s meeting. I deeply appreciate your leadership in putting safety first and protecting the Humboldt bike lanes.

As a North Central resident who uses this route, I was encouraged to see the Commission prioritize both traffic safety and neighborhood parking concerns with thoughtful planning. Alternative 2 strikes the right balance—preserving essential safe routes while expanding infrastructure and exploring parking solutions in North Central.

Thank you for listening to the community and taking action to support safer, more accessible streets for all.

Sincerely,
To help
protect your
privacy,
Micro so ft
Office
prevented
auto matic
download of
this picture
from the
Internet.

Mariana d' Abreu Tiwari

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:28 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Christina Horrisberger; Alex Khojikian
Subject: FW: Feb 2 City Council meeting. Subject: Bike Lanes

From: Gary Trott 2
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:48 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Cc: 'Gary Trott 2'
Subject: Feb 2 City Council meeting. Subject: Bike Lanes

Dear San Mateo City Council

Re: San Mateo City Council Meeting on Feb 2
Subject: Bike lanes

Climate. TransportaƟon is the #1 source of greenhouse gas emissions in San Mateo County. If we're serious about climate acƟon, we can't prioriƟze free parking over the safe, green transportaƟon opƟons our community desperately needs

Therefore:
 "I oppose removing the Humboldt bike lanes. Our children's safety and our climate commitments must come before additional free parking."

Regards
Dr. Gary Trott
San Mateo Resident

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Katherine Sheehan
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2025 1:25 PM
Subject: FW: San Mateo needs a safe bicycle system for our kids and families From: Annie Tsai
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2025 11:12:48 PM
To: Rob Newsom <[email protected]>; Lisa Diaz Nash <[email protected]>; Adam Loraine <[email protected]>; Danielle Cwirko-Godycki <[email protected]>; Nicole Fernandez <[email protected]>; Alex Khojikian <[email protected]> Subject: San Mateo needs a safe bicycle system for our kids and families

Good evening Mayor Newsom, Deputy Mayor Loraine, Council members Diaz Nash, Cwirko-Godycki and Fernandez, and City Manager Khojikian,

I’m writing to express my strong support for San Mateo prioritizing a safe and comprehensive bicycle system, particularly for our youngest residents and families. This letter specifically pertains to the upcoming discussions about whether to downgrade existing safety measures along Humboldt Street in North Central San Mateo.

Before these safety measures were implemented, this stretch of road represented not only the city’s longest part of the "connected system" in San Mateo but also one of the most dangerous stretches for bicyclists. At a minimum, I urge the City to maintain the current levels of safety.

North Central has a higher population density than most parts of San Mateo, with significant traffic from cars and large trucks servicing nearby business centers. Removing existing safety measures will undoubtedly increase the risk of accidents and injuries. With the string of near misses, injuries, and fatalities involving pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles in our city over these last few years, we cannot afford to take steps backward. Any reduction in safety measures in a known accident hot spot would not only endanger lives but also increase liability for the City.

As a parent of a child who bikes to and from school every day, I acutely understand the importance of safe streets. My son’s route includes quiet, open streets and almost entirely protected bike lanes on the busy streets, which allow him to ride safely as part of a “bike bus” with other kids. This bike bus replaces five cars on the road, two trips a day, five days a week—amounting to up to 50 fewer car rides weekly in an already congested area. Without bike lanes, these trips would shift to cars, further ex acerbating traffic
issues in Shoreview, Parkside, and beyond.

None of the parents in our bike bus started out thinking that cycling was going to be a realistic option, but
it was dedicated bicycle lanes that convinced us to try. This is how we get more cars off the road and reduce traffic - by giving residents a viable alternative.

I respectfully urge you to vote in favor of retaining Humboldt Street’s current configuration or adopting an alternative design that preserves existing levels of bicycle safety. As the largest city in the county, San Mateo should lead the way in building a safe and comprehensive bicycle system for all residents.

2 Thank you for considering this vital issue.

Kind regards,
Annie Tsai

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Martin McTaggart <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2026 12:28 PM
To: Matt Fabry; Katherine Sheehan; Jay Yu
Cc: Alex Khojikian; Christina Horrisberger
Subject: FW: Please keep the North Central bike lanes

From: Dylan Tweney
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 9:45 AM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Please keep the North Central bike lanes

Hello respected members of City Council,

I am a 30-year resident of the North Central neighborhood.

Please do not vote to remove the Humboldt St. bike lanes. They are popular with the neighborhood and make our street safer for all of us.

Your planning department's surveys show that the North Central residents overwhelmingly favor keeping these bike lanes. Even a majority of Humboldt St. residents are in favor of the bike lanes.

Why? Because study after study has shown that streets with bike lanes are safer for all: Not just bicyclists but pedestrians and even car drivers.

Don't be distracted by the vocal minority opposed to these lanes. They need a parking solution, it is true.

But the stree is not "theirs" to park on. The street belongs to all of us. The best and most democratic use of this street is to keep the lanes.

This is also the fiscally responsible decision.

Please make the right decision and keep the lanes.

Respectfully,

Dylan Tweney

San Mateo

~~~~~
Dylan Tweney

Sent with secure email.

Get Outlook for iOS
From: United San Mateo
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:06:47 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo) <[email protected]> Subject: Call to Action: Immediate Return of North Central Parking

Dear Council Members,

I am requesting immediate removal of bike lanes and return of street parking to the homes on Humboldt Street. Last night at the rally in front of City Hall, it was brought to my attention that North Central San Mateans are still suffering from the city's decision to remove valuable street parking and replace them with highly underutilized bike lanes.

As humans with a fundamental need for socialization to support essential psychological and physical health, it is incomprehensible the city has instituted a physical barrier preventing and discouraging family and friends from visiting loved ones on Humboldt Street. Even worse, the barrier has lingered for over two years without the city's commitment and action to remedy the mistake despite repeated pleas from residents including a former mayor.

As Council Members, you promoted Measure T as the answer to claims that seniors were being pushed out of San Mateo. Given that pleas for the return of parking on Humboldt Street have been ignored, it appears the messaging was a promotional point rather than a reflection of true caring for seniors. As humans, we're physiologically programmed to deteriorate as we age. Some degree of physical compromise is inevitable. It's unconscionable that seniors and handicapped residents along with their service providers are forced to park a fair distance away from their homes. The City of San Mateo proudly displays the WHO's Age-Friendly City designation although its years of inaction loudly professes otherwise.

I cannot imagine the replacement of street parking with bike lanes happening in the most affluent areas of the city. With the NAACP supporting the voices of the Humboldt Street residents, I now wonder if the exploration to implement the flawed bike lanes in other areas of the city is really meant to dilute geographic discrimination. With traffic along Alameda De Las Pulgas coming from the homes, schools, churches, recreation centers, and a shopping mall (with more homes and offices to be added), it's unfathomable that this main artery originating from Menlo Park and running through the back of the city would be reduced to one lane in order to accomodate a separate bike lane.

2 To Council Members supporting and voting for the immediate removal of bike lanes from Humboldt Street, I thank you for your true and empathetic commitment to North Central San Mateans. To Council Members who are undecided, I ask for your full empathy and urge your support in perpetuating a thriving and equitable San Mateo by voting to immediately remove the bike lanes and return street parking to the residents.

I live and work in the City of San Mateo, but not in the North Central area. I believe it is important to have the capacity to empathize with North Central residents as if they were my family and senior loved ones. I ask that you do the same as we all are part of the shared humanity in this place and time.

Sincerely,
Marlene Tam
City of San Mateo resident

1 Chantal Eaton
From: Ann Dorsey
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 8:43 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo)
Subject: Make safety a priority
Councilmembers,
I urge you to keep bicyclists safe by rejecting the proposal to remove bike lanes from Humbolt Avenue, the most dangerous street in the city. The bike lanes are next to three schools that combined serve 10,000 students. There is a very real need for the bike lanes to stay as they are. Please do not waste precious city funds to remove them. There are far better uses for the $2 million.

Thank you,

Ann Dorsey

1 Chantal Eaton
From: L. Eberhart
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 9:02 AM
To: Clerk
Subject: Fwd: In defense of Safe streets in San Mateo

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: L. Eberhart
Date: Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Subject: In defense of Safe streets in San Mateo
To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Cc:

Dear City Council members:

I'm writing in favor of keeping bike lanes on Humbolt for the future of San Mateo's children and for San Mateo's health. As you know from the recent tragedy at 17th street, the number of pedestrians and bicyclists being hit by vehicles is alarming. We cannot ignore the fact that our society's concentration and attention is fractured by too many inputs. This includes distractions while driving.

While we have a program in San Mateo called Safe Streets, I personally can attest to the fact that they are not. As a pedestrian I was hit by a car in the intersection of Tilton and North Ellsworth. The car was turning left just as so many other accidents have occurred in San Mateo. We need bicycle lanes and anything else that can help keep our population active and safe.

Please consider the future before ripping out the bicycle lanes. Cars are not always the answer and finding parking spaces should not be a black and white solution. Get creative and find a temporary parking solution until automated cars/hail rides become more ubiquitous and we no longer need as many parking spaces as we do now.

With respect,
Leane Eberhart

San Mateo City CouncilFebruary 2, 2026

San Mateo City Council
February 2, 2026