Agenda Item
13. 23-172 Report regarding a resolution authorizing the acceptance of $15,000 in grant funding from Smart Growth America to support the City's participation in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy with Caltrans. (Christopher Espiritu, Senior Transportation Planner) Legislation Text Att 1_SGA_SouthSanFrancisco_LOA Att 2_SGA_CA_Subgrant Guidance Anthony Montes at March 21, 2023 at 4:11pm PDT
Support
Dear South City Council and Staff,
My name is Anthony Montes, and I'm a community organizer with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition supporting a team of advocates in creating a South City that is safe and accessible for everyone – not just drivers.
I am excited to hear that the city is receiving $15,000 from Smart Growth America to develop a temporary traffic facility on El Camino Real (ECR). As you may know, ECR is one of the deadliest roads in San Mateo County and accounts for nearly 20 percent of all bicycle and pedestrian fatalities in the county since 2019.
More must be done to protect all road users. Leaders, professionals, and advocates across the county have developed plans and strategies in their respective cities, and together, through the Grand Boulevard Initiative. Yet, we have made little progress with respect to infrastructure improvements on ECR.
South City has an opportunity to make a significant step forward and demonstrate to residents that prioritizing and protecting people that walk, bike, and roll on El Camino Real benefits each member of the community.
To that end, we hope that you can leverage the dollars you receive to make a project that is:
Bold in scope and fills gaps in the existing network: Residents can better experience the benefits of the facility when it connects them to vital points of interests or arterials that make multi-modal traveling more seamless. We recommend choosing an area that is prioritized in the Active South City Plan to make headway on meeting its goals, and tying this project to ongoing Safe Routes to School efforts/programming.
Provides adequate protections for bicyclists: The facility should include bollards or other materials that provide a barrier between vehicles and users. Paint will not protect people and cannot offer the same comfort that a physical barrier can. Considering concrete is very expensive, we hope you can find cost-effective and creative solutions to provide some type of barrier.
Developed with community members: Neighbors, business owners, community groups, schools, and other vital stakeholders need to be brought into the process. Our success lies in demonstrating to these constituencies that reconfiguring ECR is a benefit to the whole community. The city should bring these folks in early and often through the duration of the planning.
As a member of the city's cohort for the Smart Growth America workshop, I look forward to working with Chris Espiritu and his team to ensure this project can have the maximum impact.
Thank you for your time.
Best,
Anthony Montes
Community Organizer
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition