CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 2 Section Name: STUDY SESSION Account Number: 10-4661 File ID: 26-11103 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: May 18, 2026
SUBJECT:
101 Corridor Connect Program — Update
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority's 101 Corridor Connect Program.
BACKGROUND:
The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) is advancing the 101 Corridor Connect Program (Program) to identify, prioritize, and support implementation of multimodal transportation improvements along US 101 within San Mateo County. The Program focuses on improving safety, connectivity, sustainability, and inclusivity by advancing projects that address congestion and mobility needs along the corridor, including adjacent and connecting roadways beyond the freeway mainline.
The Program builds upon the California Department of Transportation US 101 South Comprehensive Multimodal Corridor Plan (CMCP), which covers San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties. In this context, “South” refers to Caltrans’ designation for the southern Bay Area segment of US 101. The CMCP defines the corridor as an interconnected multimodal system—including freeways, parallel arterials, local streets, transit services, and bicycle and pedestrian networks serving the same travel markets—reflecting the need for integrated strategies to address corridor-wide mobility, system performance, and greenhouse gas reduction. While the CMCP identifies a broad range of potential improvements, it does not prioritize projects or establish a county-level implementation framework.
The Corridor Connect Program refines and advances this framework within San Mateo County by establishing a prioritized list of multimodal projects. This addresses a key gap in the CMCP, which identifies potential improvements but does not rank them for implementation. Projects were identified from locally adopted plans, which themselves underwent public engagement, and further evaluated based on local needs, stakeholder input, and implementation readiness, with an emphasis on improving connectivity both along and across the corridor. Each project was scored according to alignment with the four program goals (safety, connectivity, sustainability, and inclusivity), incorporating community feedback with weighted multipliers (e.g., higher weighting for heavily commented areas such as priority corridors). This approach translates the CMCP’s strategies into a clear set of prioritized, implementable actions that support funding competitiveness and a more connected and accessible corridor for all users.
Planning Effort:
The Program was organized into two complementary initiatives: (1) the North-, Mid-, and South-County Multimodal Strategies and (2) Active 101. The “South County” subarea refers to the southern portion of San Mateo County, including Belmont, San Carlos, and other southern cities, and differs from the “South” segment defined in the CMCP. The City of San Mateo generally lies within the Mid-County subarea. Active 101 focused on active transportation improvements within approximately one-quarter mile of US 101, with an emphasis on freeway crossings.
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The first initiative developed the three Multimodal Strategy Plans by dividing the US 101 corridor in San Mateo County into the North-, Mid-, and South-County Multimodal subareas. SMCTA staff and consultants assessed existing transportation networks, identified projects from adopted local and regional plans within a one-mile buffer of US 101, and evaluated them for potential congestion reduction and broader corridor benefits. Extensive community engagement informed project prioritization, ensuring feedback from a diverse range of geographies, cultural backgrounds, and underrepresented communities was incorporated into the scoring process. Engagement included approximately 1,300 online survey responses, over 100 Community Based Organization (CBO) meeting attendees, 12 pop-up events (including San Mateo), virtual/in-person options, informational videos, presentation in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Chinese), interactive mapping tools, and targeted outreach via four CBOs per plan. SMCTA maintains a “CBO bench” and pays CBOs to participate in local projects to broaden reach. While not based on specific benchmarks, the approach aimed for at least one pop-up or CBO engagement per jurisdiction and used multiple channels to maximize participation. Transportation topics can be challenging to engage the public on, and staff characterize the level achieved as significant. The North and Mid County strategies were adopted by the SMCTA Board in December 2025, and the South County Multimodal Strategy was adopted in March 2026.
Active 101, a grant-funded effort through the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning program, focused on identifying specific active transportation improvements within a quarter mile of US 101, emphasizing equity priority communities and freeway crossings. The initiative also built on projects identified in adopted local and regional plans, integrating those proposed projects into a cohesive north-south Priority Network with supporting crossings. Community engagement, conducted from Fall 2024 through Fall 2025, directly informed the network alignment, resulting in prioritized projects that enhance walking, biking, and rolling conditions along and across the corridor consistent with the community identified needs. Active 101 was adopted by the SMCTA Board in March 2026.
With all four plans now adopted, they are being consolidated under the 101 Corridor Connect Program to provide a single, unified framework for corridor planning and implementation. The SMCTA has identified the priority projects, including key San Mateo initiatives such as the Hillsdale Boulevard corridor and overcrossing, as regionally significant for improving countywide mobility, safety, and multimodal connectivity along US 101. The priority projects identified in each of the four plans will carry forward as the priority project list for the rebranded program, guiding future technical assistance, funding efforts, and implementation.
To advance implementation of 101 Corridor Connect priority projects and help local agencies “jumpstart” early project development, SMCTA will launch a new Mini-Grant Program in June 2026, offering $4 million in funding for planning and conceptual design (sourced from Measure A interest earnings). Individual projects may receive up to $750,000, with multi- jurisdictional projects eligible for up to $1 million. No matching funds will be required for the mini-grants. The funding is intended to support feasibility studies, corridor planning, community engagement, and development of design alternatives. SMCTA will also be looking to host walking tours of all projects where mini-grants are selected and will ask each jurisdiction to identify one or two City Council members and one or two commission members to represent the project. Applications are expected in July 2026, with awards in August 2026.
A staff representative from SMCTA will provide an update on the 101 Corridor Connect program, highlight local priority projects, and introduce the new mini-grant opportunity.
Community Engagement:
Community and stakeholder engagement for the 101 Corridor Connect initiative was led by SMCTA and centered on gathering broad public input to inform the development of the multimodal strategies. The SMCTA invited community participation through online surveys, interactive online mapping tools, pop-up events, informational videos, and presentations, thereby providing multiple opportunities for residents and corridor users to share feedback on travel patterns, preferences, and needed improvements. Engagement materials were offered in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and Chinese, to support inclusive participation. The effort prioritized broad outreach over statistical representativeness, with equity screening applied as part of the inclusivity goal, though weighted lowest among the four pillars. Public input played a key role in identifying priority projects to improve safety, connectivity, and multimodal travel.
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The Program was previously presented to the Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission on November 13, 2024. During this presentation, both the Mid-County Multimodal Strategy and Active 101 initiatives were discussed.
On April 8, 2026, SMCTA staff presented the 101 Corridor Connect item to the Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission again to provide a general update and seek feedback. Commissioners engaged SMCTA staff on topics including lessons learned from projects such as the San Carlos Holly Street overcrossing (~$85 million in funding secured from SMCTA), innovative engagement techniques, distinctions between SMCTA’s planning and design roles, opportunities for public-private partnerships (e.g., bridge naming rights), multimodal definitions encompassing all users, transit considerations (e.g., on the SR-92 bridge under transit agency purview), and the value of quick-build safety improvements on local streets. Commissioners provided feedback regarding engagement representativeness and trust-building (including the value of transparent numbers and methods beyond statistical sampling), sustainability definitions and metrics (with suggestions for deeper CBO involvement in shaping community-relevant solutions), project prioritization and scoring methodology (drawing from adopted local plans with goal-based scoring, community-weighted multipliers, and priority corridor bonuses), conceptual design fact sheet utility for outreach/grant applications/advocacy, Hillsdale corridor cohesion (encouraging holistic treatment and multi-jurisdictional coordination with Foster City for potential bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing), collision data lags in aggregated databases (with recent incidents potentially missing from safety analyses and suggestions to include local quick-build updates such as at Delaware/State in future bike/ped reports), bike lane specifications (Class IV facilities derived from locally adopted plans, with design phases allowing adjustments such as parking relocation where feasible), and equity weighting (recommending that inclusivity/equity be elevated as a higher-priority screen).
Public comment at the meeting highlighted pedestrian safety and thanked the SMCTA for funding a project near the highway as the highways can separate or disproportionately burden lower-equity communities. Additionally, public comment included advocates for a potential Hillsdale bicycle and pedestrian bridge.
Next Steps:
The City of San Mateo can consider pursuing funding for priority projects through the SMCTA Mini-Grant Program. Key local priority projects identified by the Program, which may be good candidates for future funding opportunities are as follows:
Hillsdale Boulevard (Priority corridor in SMCTA’s Mid-County Multimodal Strategy and Active 101): The Hillsdale Boulevard corridor (from Edison Street to the easterly city limit and south of the Hillsdale Caltrain station) is the top ranked priority in the Mid-County Multimodal Strategy initiative. The Hillsdale Boulevard bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing at US 101 is the tenth ranked priority in the Mid-County Multimodal Strategy initiative and a key east- west crossing need identified in the Active 101 plan (with noted opportunities for multi-jurisdictional coordination with Foster City). The Hillsdale corridor would benefit from further feasibility study to evaluate potential congestion, safety, and multimodal travel enhancements. For additional information about the Mid-County Multimodal Strategy, please see the final document here: https://www.smcta.com/media/36600. Saratoga Drive (Priority project in Active 101): This project is part of the Active 101 north-south priority corridor.
The Active 101 Plan includes a concept design for the project, which would extend from South Delaware Street to Franklin Parkway and would involve upgrading the existing Class II bike lanes to Class IV separated bikeways, pedestrian improvements (i.e., curb extensions, median refuge islands), and transit enhancements (i.e., floating bus islands, in-lane boarding and alighting). This project is estimated to cost $7.5 million. For additional information about this project concept and community engagement efforts specific to this project, please visit Section 5.3 of the Active 101: US 101 San Mateo County Crossings Improvement Implementation Plan here:
https://smcta.konveio.com/active-101-us-101-san-mateo-county-crossings-improvement-implementation-plan.
BUDGET IMPACT:
At this time, there is no fiscal impact regarding the recommended action.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This informational item is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
CITY OF SAN MATEO
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
None
STAFF CONTACT
Ella Phillips, Assistant Transportation Planner
[email protected]
(650) 522-7343
Jay Yu, Engineering Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7323