Neighborhood speakers urge council to delay decision on Humboldt Street bike lanes amid outreach and parking concerns

Dozens of residents, neighborhood groups and regular users of the Humboldt Street bike lanes urged the San Mateo City Council on Jan. 13 to delay any decision to remove or alter the Humboldt Street bicycle facilities until the city completes more outreach and answers operational and safety questions.

Speakers at the council meeting said recent community meetings had been well attended but left unanswered questions and that some residents who use the Humboldt lanes had not been adequately reached. “This is a very fraught decision that is about to be made,” said Kevin Simpson, a Humboldt Street resident, urging the council to defer action. “We just had a long public meeting with heavy participation, and there were problems at that meeting… I respectfully ask that you defer that meeting until at least February 21st, if not later, so the correct process can be done.”

Concerns raised by multiple speakers included the loss of on-street parking tied to the bike lanes and the anticipated further loss of parking due to a state rule that removes parking within 20 feet of intersections. Claire Stevens and Trina Pierce, both representing North Central neighborhood voices, said the removal of parking would “devastate” local residents and seniors who rely on curb spaces. Joanne Bennett, who lives near Humboldt, described double parking and lawn parking on Sunday evenings as an escalating problem when curb spaces are scarce.

Other speakers urged the council to consider safety data and grant impacts before reversing bicycle infrastructure. Mike Swire, who cited a city-cited 36% decrease in collisions in North Central in 2024, asked the council to explain the cost to remove the lanes, the potential use of Bike San Mateo funds, the effect on other projects in the pipeline and whether state and regional grantors would continue to fund San Mateo if a recent project was torn out soon after installation.

Several speakers asked that users of the bike lanes—bicyclists, e-bike riders and scooter users—be specifically consulted because many said they had not seen standard street notices about forthcoming changes. Rick Sakuda and others said outreach could be centralized via a neighborhood dashboard or a single web page that lists pending projects and schedules.

Council discussion later in the meeting addressed scheduling: the council directed staff to move the Humboldt bike-lane discussion to a dedicated meeting to allow more time for presentation and public comment. City staff announced the item would be scheduled as a standalone discussion on Feb. 3 to provide more time for the public and the council to examine options and related issues, including parking changes resulting from state law.

No ordinance or motion about the Humboldt lanes was taken at the Jan. 13 meeting; the matter remains under review pending the separate session and additional outreach.