SamTrans presents countywide El Camino Real action plan; estimates long timeline and large funding need

SamTrans senior planner Nicholas Yi told the Burlingame Transportation Commission that the countywide Grand Boulevard Initiative (GBI) aims to knit local El Camino Real studies into a single corridor vision and speed Caltrans project development.

“El Camino Real is a safe and vibrant street where people of all ages and abilities travel comfortably,” Yi said, reading the draft vision the task force developed. He described GBI as a multi‑agency forum led by SamTrans and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority that brings together 15 jurisdictions, Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and local advocates to align design, funding and phasing.

Yi identified three priority problems the action plan addresses: safety (an elevated rate of fatal or serious crashes for people walking and biking), mobility (El Camino’s highway‑like design discouraging multimodal travel), and process (individual cities face barriers to funding and implementing projects along the corridor). The plan’s priorities include eliminating fatalities and serious injuries by managing speeds and conflicts; creating an efficient transit corridor through treatments such as bus lanes on congested segments; and delivering a continuous countywide bikeway or parallel alternative where necessary.

The action plan is a Caltrans‑required feasibility study that Yi said will feed a Project Initiation Document (PID) in 2026 and then move into design and construction. Yi said the work will be lengthy: the project team currently expects “8 to 10 years” from planning to corridor‑wide deployment and provided a corridor‑scale cost ballpark of “up to $1,000,000,000” for the full 22‑mile effort.

Commissioners pressed Yi on local impacts and evidence. Yi said the GBI statements are corridor‑wide rather than Burlingame‑specific but acknowledged local hotspots such as the Milbury Avenue area. He said the countywide action plan will rely on local studies — the commission noted Burlingame is among the first cities to complete design work — and that final decisions on lane widths, bus lanes or bike lanes will be refined through each city’s process.

Yi said the draft action plan is available for public review and that SamTrans and the TA plan board actions this winter, including returning in January 2026 to seek formal adoption. With adoption, Yi said, SamTrans and its partners will pursue the Caltrans project development process, advance phasing and pursue competitive funding.

The commission did not take action on the plan; commissioners provided questions and comments focused on transitions between 4‑ and 6‑lane segments, signal coordination and accommodating seniors and paratransit needs.