Community Corner
Widening of Highway 35 - Tuesday San Bruno CA Council Item
Do YOU support widening Hwy 35?
Article Source: City of San Bruno CA
DATE: October 10, 2017
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
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FROM: Jimmy Tan, Public Works Director/City Engineer
SUBJECT: Receive Report and Provide Direction on the Widening of State Route: 35 from Interstate 280 to Sneath Lane
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BACKGROUND:
The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) administers the Measure A Highway Program to fund abroad spectrum of transportation related projects and prograhis In 1988, San Mateo County voters approved Measure A, a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation needs in the County. The term of the sale tax increase expired on December 31, 2008. Subsequently, County voters approved an extension of the Measure A Highway Program in 2004 which went into effect in 2009 to fund more local community shuttle service, rail/street grade separations, ferry service, and pedestrian and bicycle projects.
The TA issued the Cycle One Call for Projects on May 25, 2012 for the Measure A Highway Program. Grant applications for the Skyline SR-35 Widening and the 1-380 Congestion Improvement Projects were submitted jointly by the Cities of San Bruno and South San Francisco for consideration by the TA. Through competitive selection processes, the TA awarded grant funding to both of the projects. The Skyline SR-35 Widening Project was awarded $850,000 to complete the preliminary planning study and environmental work. The 1-380 Congestion Improvement Project was awarded $500,000 to complete the preliminary planning study.
The TA hired BKF Engineers to prepare the Preliminary Planning Studies (PPS) for both the Skyline SR-35 Widening and the 1-380 Congestion Projects. Work on the PPS for the Skyline SR-35 Widening project began in May 2015 and was completed in June 2016. The TA has asked the City of San Bruno to confirm its commitment to the Skyline SR-35 Widening Project before the TA proceeds with the environmental study work included in the grant funded project.
DISCUSSION:
State Route 35 (SR-35), also known as Skyline Boulevard, is one of the City's main north-south corridors. It is a four-lane arterial between the intersections of Sharp Park Road/SR-35 and Sneath Lane/SR-35. However, SR-35 is reduced to a two-lane arterial (one lane in each direction) from the intersection of Sneath Lane/SR-35 to Interstate 280 (1-280). This reduction of travel lanes creates traffic congestion during peak hours for San Bruno residents and regional commuters.
In 1986, Caltrans District 4 performed a project study titled, "Route Concept Report, Route 35". The purpose of the report was to develop a conceptual plan for the projected travel demand over a 20 year planning period (1965-2005). Analysis in the report concluded with the following recommendations to achieve the proposed concept: widening and reconstruction of the two lane highway to a four lane highway. The report predicted that in 2005, with Skyline Boulevard widened to four lanes for the entire segment between 1-260 and Sneath Lane, the segment would operate at Level of Service (LOS) D assuming that public transportation improvements would also be implemented. The LOS is a qualitative measure that describes the operating conditions of a roadway based on factors such as speed, travel time, delay, and safety. The LOS is designated by letters A through F where :LosA:presents the best operating condition and LOS F the worst.
The PPS completed by BKF Engineers in 2016 included a Preliminary Traffic AriaIyS prepared by Hexagon Transportation Consultants (I-fTC) which evaluated the traffiou.H. congestion along Skyline SR-35. Two of the recognized points of congestion are thetwo: intersectiort:Withiri the segment between Sneath Lane and San Bruno Avenua.HTCrt öoncludéc that both intersections will operate at poor levels of service (LOS E or F)I during : peak hours in the 2030 forecast year. The traffic analysis indicates that existing traffic
- Observed long southbound delays during the AM peak and northbound delays.:: during the PM peak from commuter traffic. Existing traffic volumes were coIIectedby performing traffic movement counts that were conducted on September 2, 2015 at the study intersections. The traffic analysis indicated that AM peak traffic occurred between 7-9 AM and PM peak traffic occurred between 4-6 PM. The data showed the AM traffic volumes at Sneath Lane currently operate at LOS E and the existing PM traffic volumes at San Bruno Avenue operate at LOS E. The results from the traffic analysis show that the alternatives, other than the No Project Alternative, would improve traffic operations during both peaks for both existing and future conditions.
Results of the Preliminary Planning Study were presented to the City Council at the meeting on December 13, 2016. At that time the City Council received a brief report on the alternatives for reducing congestion that were studied and heard from residents about the need for the addition of protected bicycle lanes. Since then, the study results have been reviewed by the City Council Surface Infrastructure Committee, the Traffic Safety and Parking Committee (TSPC), and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). At all of the public meetings where this project has been discussed, residents have expressed a mixture of reactions to the recommendations within the PPS and the overall project. On July 27, 2017, staff presented the findings of the PPS to the Surface Infrastructure Subcommittee (Ibarra/Medina). The Subcommittee heard comments from two residents opposed to widening the road and concluded that further work should not proceed.
On September 6, 2017 staff presented the findings of the PPS to the TSPC. Approximately eighteen (18) residents attended the meeting. Many of those attending who live within the Portola Highlands neighborhood were in favor of the project and spoke about the need to alleviate the congestion that occurs during the peak commute periods. They were not only concerned about the current congestion but additional congestion in the future as well. Residents who opposed the project spoke about the high estimated construction cost for the project and expressed concern that the project disproportionately benefits a small number of people who commute, unknown environmental issues, and the lack of bicycle and pedestrian improvements within the area. They also believed that adding roadway capacity encourages more people to drive resulting in little improvement to traffic congestion. The TSPC voted 4-0, with one member absent, in favor of moving the project forward with the condition that pedestrian and bicycle improvements are included in the project scope. The TSPC members expressed support for the project recognizing that the project has already been funded Through the environmental phase, and that the next phase of work would provide more information to determine potential impacts.
On September 13, 2017 staff presented the findings of the PPS to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). BPAC members voiced many of the same concerns that were heard at the TSPC meeting, both in favor of and in opposition to the project. The. BPAC also discussed that, as a sponsor of this project, the City of San Bruno has a strong ;. voice in shaping the future of Skyline SR-35 that could be weakened or lost if this project is,,, stopped: The .BPAC voted 3-2, with I abstention, to recommend their support of the projebtH* and requested that separated .bicycle path be included in the scope of the project.
In view of the community discussion that has occurred to date through the several committee meetings, staff recommends supporting the project so that it can proceed to the7; next steps.-,, The nextsteps are to create the Project Initiation Document (PID) andcompietèn: the environmental study. The PID is the document that will formally determine the scopeot..... the project: Funding for the PID and environmental study are included in the grant awarded by the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. During the PID process, the City will have the opportunity to address concerns over the lack of pedestrian and bicycle improvements which were not evaluated in the PPS. Staff has been assured by SMCTA that during the creation of the PID, pedestrian and bicycle improvements can be added to the project scope before proceeding. Once the PID is completed, the environmental study phase will commence. The environmental study will identify and evaluate the impacts and propose mitigations measures to resolve the impacts. Based on the City Council's
direction, staff will contact the TA to let them know regarding the results of the City Council's action. If the project is approved for the next phase, the TA will request proposals from professional engineering firms to assist in developing the PID and environment documents. The PID and environmental study are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2018.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no fiscal impacts related to this update. The project is funded through San Mateo County Transportation Authority's (TA) Measure A Highway Program. If the City Council continues to support this project, the PID and environmental study will be paid for by the existing grant received from the TA.
ALTERNATIVES:
- Direct staff to continue working with the TA to advance the project and to include pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the project scope.
- Direct staff to stop working on the project.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report and provide direction on the widening of State Route 35 from Interstate 280 to Sneath Lane.
FULL Council Agenda Packet WITH Staff Reports can be viewed and downloaded from:
https://sanbruno.ca.gov/gov/elected_officials/city_council_minutes_n_agendas.htm
This document should be available late Friday before the Tuesday Council Meeting
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Robert Riechel
E=Mail: SanBrunoPatch.Robert@Yahoo.com
My Posts: http://patch.com/users/robert-riechel
Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives
Source Credit: San Bruno CA City Council
Web Site: https://sanbruno.ca.gov
