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Traffic commission approves red curbing and painted center line at Vancouver and Adeline after residents press safety concerns
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Summary
BurlingameTraffic Safety & Parking Commission voted 4to0approve city staffrecommendations to add 20-foot red curbs on approaches and a painted center line at Vancouver and Adeline, holding off on raised centerline devices. The decision follows resident reports of limited sight lines and near-misses.
The Burlingame Traffic Safety & Parking Commission voted 4toapprove staffrecommendations to paint 20-foot red curb zones on all approaches to the Vancouver/Adeline intersection and to add a painted yellow center line, while delaying any physical raised centerline devices.
City staff told the commission they reviewed neighborhood reports and traffic counts after a March vehicular collision and an on-site meeting with neighbors on Oct. 8. Staff said the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) multiway-stop warrant looks for five correctable crashes in 12 months and minimum volumes on the major street; the review found three potentially correctable incidents across 2022, 2024 and 2025 and average major-street hourly volumes near 140 vehicles — below the 300-per-hour threshold. Because Burlingame has made exceptions for lower-volume residential streets, staff proposed targeted measures rather than a multiway stop.
"At this time we're not recommending a multiway stop," staff said, recommending instead 20-foot red curbing at all approaches (consistent with AB 413), an additional red curb at the curved approach to improve sight lines, a painted center line and continued monitoring.
Residents who spoke at public comment described long-standing visibility problems and children who walk to nearby schools. "There are a lot of children that walk to school, and they are crossing at that Vancouver intersection," longtime resident and former mayor Anne Keegan said, urging high-visibility markings and trimming vegetation to improve sight lines. New resident Dimitri said hehad "already had to pull my kids back three times from getting hit by cars" and asked whether more proactive changes could be made before a serious injury occurs.
Commissioners asked staff how the MUTCD correctability and volume criteria were applied and whether vegetation and parked cars were accounted for; staff said plantings and sight lines were reviewed on site. After discussion about the tradeoffs of a stop sign, flashing beacon and other physical devices, Commissioner Israelite moved to adopt staffrecommendations; Commissioner Johnson seconded. The subsequent roll-call vote approved the motion 4to0.
The motion (mover: Commissioner Israelite; second: Commissioner Johnson) directed staff to implement the red-curb painting and center line and to examine visibility impediments (trees and shrubs) in the area. Staff said striping crews will schedule painting and that the location will be monitored for future action. A specific implementation timeline was not given at the meeting; staff said they would "roughly take a look and get back to you" on timing and expected to coordinate striping work as soon as feasible.
The commissionaction notes AB 413 (state law referenced by staff) as the basis for the 20-foot red-curb guideline. Commissioner comments stressed minimizing congestion, preserving driveway access and avoiding measures that could create new safety issues while maintaining pedestrian safety for children who use the corridor.
The commissionvote record and staff recommendations will be included in the meeting packet; residents were encouraged to continue reporting concerns to staff for monitoring and follow-up.
