FEBRUARY 23, 2026
Grand Boulevard Initiative &
Central El Camino Real Plan
San Mateo City Council
SamTrans
Cassie Halls, Project Manager, SamTrans
Ingrid Ballus-Armet, Fehr & Peers
Charlsie Chang, SamTrans
City of San Mateo
Jay Yu, Engineering Manager
Bethany Lopez, Senior Engineer
Feedback Needed from City Council
Seeking a resolution to appropriate $70,000 of the City's Measure A funds to support additional San Mateo-specific studies and community engagement; and
Receive an informational presentation on the Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan and provide feedback on
concept alternatives
Agenda
1. Grand Boulevard Initiative
Overview
2. Central El Camino Real
Multimodal Plan
3. Next Steps: San Mateo
3 Background on the Grand Boulevard
Initiative
A Brief History of El Camino Real
(State Route 82)
5 1920s
El Camino Real paved
as the Peninsula’s first
highway
1940s-1970s
101 and 280 freeways built,
shifting regional travel away
from El Camino Real
2006
The Grand Boulevard Initiative
(GBI) launched to transform the
built environment on
El Camino Real
2024
SamTrans reassembles GBI
focused on advancing
transportation improvements
in San Mateo County
What is the Grand Boulevard Initiative?
6 Grand Boulevard Initiative
The Grand Boulevard Initiative (GBI) is a partnership
between cities, countywide agencies, Caltrans, advocates, and business groups.
The purpose of GBI is to establish a cohesive countywide vision for modernizing El Camino Real (SR 82) to improve safety and mobility.
GBI Vision
El Camino Real is a safe and
vibrant street where people of
all ages and abilities travel
comfortably.
7 A ‘safe street’ eliminates fatalities and serious injuries by managing speeds, conflicts, and travel behavior.
A ‘vibrant street’ supports local businesses, strengthens sense of community, and is a place people want to spend time.
‘All ages and abilities’ means that everyone has the freedom to travel comfortably, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
GBI Builds Upon Local Corridor Studies
Every city in San Mateo County has been working on complete streets studies for El Camino.
In parallel, GBI serves as a forum for collaboration and continuity across these local studies.
8 Every city in San Mateo County has
been working on complete streets
studies for El Camino.
In parallel, GBI serves as a forum
for collaboration and continuity
across these local studies.
Community Based Organization
Meeting at Catholic Charities
Example of a completed corridor study
from Redwood City
GBI Funding Approach
Up to $1B
Rough order of magnitude cost for
up to 22 miles of streetscape redesign ($2025)
Up to $500M
Up to 50% of total project costs from
SMCTA Measure A & W Program
SMCTA considers
local requests to
sponsor projects
Up to $500M
Funding Need
Federal
Opportunities
9 State
Opportunities
Regional
Opportunities
Overall GBI Program
Funding Breakdown
Next Steps
Redesigning El Camino Real will be one of San Mateo County’s largest transportation projects.
Central El Camino Real Multimodal
Plan
The Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan:
Envisioning a Vibrant Corridor
Project Overview and Purpose
The Central El Camino Plan is working to create a shared vision for El Camino Real across the cities of San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, and a small portion of Redwood City The goal of this project is to improve El Camino to better serve people walking, biking, and taking transit
The Plan will be advanced as part of a countywide Caltrans project development process facilitated by GBI
11 Alignment with San
Mateo General Plan
2040
C1.1 – Sustainable Transportation
C1.2 – Complete Streets
C1.4 – Prioritize Pedestrian and Bicycle
Mobility Needs
C1.13 El Camino Real Improvements
C5.1 – Transit Ridership and Frequency
C5.5 – Transit Improvements
12 Project Overview and Purpose
Building Upon San
Mateo’s Efforts
The Central El Camino Plan provides an
opportunity to incorporate input from San
Mateo’s efforts related to El Camino Real
over the years:
• Transit Oriented
Development Pedestrian Access Plan
(2022)
• Bicycle Master Plan (2020)
• Ongoing Complete Streets Plan
13 Project Overview and Purpose
Relevance to Caltrans Repaving Project
• This Plan is separate from Caltrans State Highway
Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) EA-04-4W730
• Caltrans’ project extents are from El Camino Real
from 43rd Ave to E. Santa Inez
• Caltrans’ SHOPP project is a $34M repaving project with a planned completion in 2030 that includes:
• 140 curb ramp upgrades
• Two traffic signal upgrades (Hobart/12th, Hillsdale)
• Two pedestrian hybrid beacons at Monte Diablo and
10th Avenue
• City staff and SamTrans have been engaged throughout
Caltrans’ project
14 Project Overview and Purpose
We Are Here
Central El Camino Plan Timeline
15 Project Overview and Purpose
Needs Assessment Alternatives Development Community Input on Conceptual Alternatives
Narrowing down alternatives to
be advanced
2025 2026
Community Engagement
Phase 1 (May – Aug) Phase 2 (Jan – Mar) Phase 3 (Aug – Sep) Online Survey
Virtual Listening Sessions
Pop-Ups
Virtual Workshop
CBO Outreach
City Council
Online Mapping Tool
Virtual Listening Sessions
Pop-Ups
Walk Audits
CBO Outreach
City Council
City Council
Stakeholder Engagement
Continuous Collaboration with City Staff and Caltrans
Preferred
alternative selected
in GBI/Caltrans
process
2027
Alignment with GBI/Caltrans Process
16 Project Overview and Purpose
• Defining alternatives
• Detailed analysis, select
preferred alternative
• Design preferred
alternative
This is the process for a corridor wide redesign facilitated through GBI. Spot improvements can be completed faster if led by local jurisdictions through shorter processes, such as encroachment permits Central El
Camino Plan
completed
• Complete streets: lack of
safety and connectivity for
walking and bicycling
• Pedestrian access: challenging
to cross El Camino Real,
sidewalks are narrow or
obstructed, bus stops lack
amenities
• Safety: concerns about
speeding, red light running, and
pedestrian crossing conditions
17 Themes from City Outreach
Project Overview and Purpose
Data analysis conducted
to date
18 • Travel patterns
• Housing and development growth
projections
• Collisions
• Parking supply and utilization
(on El Camino Real)
• Existing and planned biking
facilities
• Demographic/equity analysis
Phase 1 Community Engagement
What Our Outreach
Looked Like
May – Aug 2025
Activities:
• Pop-ups
• Virtual listening sessions
• CBO meetings
• Online community survey
• Walk audits
• Mailers to businesses and business
sector focused outreach
20 Phase 1 Community Engagement
Pop-up event at Concert in the Park in Central Park
Walk Audit Participants in San Mateo
Phase 1: What We Heard:
Sustainability and Infrastructure Committee
Phase 1 Community Engagement
Central El Camino Plan
Presentation (July 2025)
• Consider prohibiting/restricting left
turns during rush hour
• Accessibility issues, narrow
sidewalks, missing curb cuts
Grand Boulevard Initiative Presentation
(October 2025)
• Support for GBI
• Concern about long project timelines
• Issues related to poor pavement conditions,
traffic backups, need for limiting left turns
during peak hours
• Challenges related to protected bike lanes
due to parking or lane-removal trade-offs
21 Key takeaways for whole
study area
Key takeaways for
San Mateo
• Congestion along El Camino Real at
cross-streets leading to US-101
• Need for separated bike facilities
• Unsafe pedestrian crossings and
narrow sidewalks
• Need for bus stop amenities, higher
bus frequencies and better
infrastructure
Phase 1 Community Engagement
What We Heard in Phase 1 from the Public
"Sidewalks [are]
too narrow in front
of businesses"
"[I-92] area not
hospitable for
pedestrians and
bicyclists"
"This is a scary
crosswalk. Lots of
high-speed traffic."
• 310 interactive map comments in
San Mateo
• Respondents noted poor
pavement and visibility and need
for improved bus connectivity to
Caltrain
22 Concept Alternatives
Spot Improvements Included In All Build
Alternatives
Safety
• Traffic calming
• Traffic signal gap
closures
• Medians
• Lighting
Active
Transportation
• Crosswalk
improvements
• More opportunities for
crossing
• Street trees or urban
greening
Transit
• Bus stop
enhancements
• Transit signal priority
• Access improvements
24 25
San Mateo Segments
Concept Alternative
San Mateo North*
San Mateo South*
*representative cross section: widths and lane configurations vary along the corridor
Crystal Springs Road
San Mateo North
Concept Alternatives
Existing: What El Camino Looks Like Today
Bicycle: Continuous Separated Bike Lanes
Transit: Faster Bus Service, Left Turn Lanes
Pedestrian: Same As Existing
Feature not always present
N-A1
N-A2
26 San Mateo South
Concept Alternatives
Existing: What El Camino Looks Like Today
Bicycle: Continuous Separated Bike Lanes,
Wider Sidewalks, and More Trees
Transit: Faster Bus Service, Wider Sidewalks,
and More Trees
Pedestrian: Wider Sidewalks and More Trees
Trees & parking alternate
Feature not always present
S-A1
S-A2 S-A3
27 Alternatives
Evaluation
• Evaluation is corridor-wide
• Low means doesn't meet criteria,
Medium meets some, High meets all
• Results will be tallied to determine
which alternatives rank highest
• Addressing community input will be
based on Phase 1 and 2 engagement
findings
• Caltrans is ultimate decision maker
28 Concept Alternatives
ExistingTransit
Pedestrian
Bicycle
Next Steps: San Mateo
Phase 2 Community Engagement
30 Activities Underway
Activity Date How we are communicating this
Online survey January 12 – February 28 City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters, signs at bus stops, printed materials, mailers
Community-based organization meeting
outreach
Mid to late January Focused engagement with community-based organizations
Pop-up community outreach at the San
Mateo Downtown Library
January 12, February 7 City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters Virtual listening sessions February 4, 11, and 12 Focused engagement with target audiences through commissions/chambers, mailers
Business mailers January 26 – February 28 Mailers to businesses on El Camino Real City Council presentation with GBI February 23 City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters Virtual community workshop February 26 City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters, printed materials
Council Input Milestones
31 Project Phase Proposed Timeline Topic of Discussion
Phase 1 Engagement-
Central El Camino Plan
May – Aug 2025 Existing Conditions
Phase 2 Engagement –
Central El Camino Plan
Jan – Feb 2026 Concept alternatives
Phase 3 Engagement –
Central El Camino Plan
Aug - Sept 2026 Narrowing down alternatives
Project Initiation Document
(PID)
2026-2027 Refining alternatives
Project Approvals and
Environmental Document
(PA&ED)
2027-2028 Selecting a preferred
alternative
Project Specifications and
Estimates (PS&E)
2028-2029 Feedback on specific design
details
San Mateo Supplemental Outreach
32 Request for Local San Mateo Funds
• $70,000 Local Measure A Funds to support
additional community engagement efforts
• Expanded Parking Occupancy Study on El Camino Real
(including cross streets)
• Door-to-Door engagement for businesses and gather
additional feedback on proposed alternatives
Feedback Needed from City Council
Seeking a resolution to appropriate $70,000 of the City's Measure A funds to support additional San Mateo-specific studies and community engagement; and
Receive an informational presentation on the Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan and provide feedback on
concept alternatives
Thank You!
Scan here to take the survey!
Visit samtrans.com/CentralElCamino for more
information.