San Mateo staff present sweeping bike‑and‑pedestrian plan, say $16.45M SMCTA award makes 19th Avenue project close to fully funded

City staff gave a quarterly update on bicycle and pedestrian projects on March 11, outlining near‑term construction, planning efforts and grant funding for major corridors in San Mateo.

Ella Phillips, introduced by staff as the city’s new assistant transportation planner, told the Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission that the presentation covered active capital projects, planning tied to the General Plan 2040, and recently secured transportation grants. "Our purpose here is to provide an overview of active bicycle and pedestrian capital projects, highlight planning efforts supporting the General Plan 2040, [and] share recently secured transportation grants," Phillips said.

The presentation reviewed facility types—Class 1 shared‑use paths, Class 2 on‑street lanes, bicycle boulevards and Class 4 separated bike lanes—and mapped a series of capital projects across the city. Staff highlighted the Delaware Street Safe Routes to School corridor (Delaware from 19th Avenue to Pacific Boulevard) as a priority: design was completed, a contractor has been selected and construction is expected to begin in 2026.

Staff also described the Pavement Management Program (PMP) projects that integrate bike facilities with roadway maintenance. Several PMP phases were listed as completed in 2025; others are scheduled for construction in 2026 and later. A planned Class 4 buffered lane on South Boulevard was paused after staff identified removal of more than 20 parking spaces and said additional outreach is needed.

The largest capital project discussed was the 19th Avenue/Fashion Island multimodal improvement. "The city was awarded $16,450,000 for the Fashion Island 19th Avenue Boulevard multimodal improvement project," a staff member said, adding that the full project exceeds $28 million. Staff said about $19.5 million of the project’s funding is secured from a mix of grants and local sources; the San Mateo County Transportation Authority is recommending an additional $3 million in regional measure funds to close the gap. If that allocation is approved, staff said construction could begin in spring or summer of next year.

Longer‑term corridor planning was reviewed as well. Staff described a partnered Peninsula Avenue complete‑streets planning effort with Burlingame and the San Mateo County Transit Authority, and a downtown Caltrain north‑access design currently at roughly 35% completion. Staff emphasized that roughly 80% of bike‑and‑ped programs are grant funded and that the city uses a diversified funding strategy to deliver projects.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about subsidence at the Fashion Island bridge approaches, the role of Caltrans on state highways, the difference between on‑demand and fixed‑cycle pedestrian “scramble” phases, and how the city prioritizes projects for commission review. Staff said some intersection work is Caltrans‑controlled and that they will return with follow‑up data on structural mitigation and signal ownership where appropriate.

The commission heard that community engagement remains a priority: staff described a three‑meeting outreach model (introductory meeting, preliminary design feedback, and final design response) and said there are more than a dozen projects in the city’s quick‑build program that use reduced timelines and lower‑cost measures to deliver faster safety improvements.

The commission was told the city has 11 active bike and pedestrian capital projects and that grants—including an MTC housing‑incentive award and SMCTA corridor grants—are key to delivering larger projects. Staff expects to return to the commission with project updates and specific design items in future meetings.

Next procedural step: staff said they will bring the 19th Avenue Fashion Island Boulevard project back to the commission for further discussion and, later, to the city council for authorization if funding and design milestones progress.