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Foster City council reviews bicycle-and-pedestrian master plan and asks staff to study Foster City Boulevard
Summary
Consultants presented five priority bicycle and pedestrian projects for initial development and councilmembers raised concerns about parking loss, emergency evacuation impacts and costs; staff agreed to study adding Foster City Boulevard as a sixth scope item and to return with cost and timing estimates.
On Monday at 5 p.m., the Foster City Council heard a study-session update on the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and the five projects consultants recommended advancing to initial development.
Claire McWilliams and Nelika Rocha of the consulting team described a prioritization process that scored projects on safety, connectivity and feasibility and identified Beach Park Boulevard (Foster City Boulevard to Gull Avenue), two Edgewater Boulevard segments, Gull Avenue and Marlin Avenue as the first five projects for conceptual development. "This really is a very early pass in the planning phase and is not necessarily representative of what a full design would be," McWilliams said, emphasizing the work is schematic and intended to generate public feedback.
Why it matters: the projects aim to close gaps in the bicycle network, increase safe routes to schools and provide more physically protected facilities where feasible. Consultants said the prioritization also incorporated public outreach results; Foster City Boulevard and Hillsdale Boulevard were specifically mentioned by students, crossing guards and other respondents as priorities.
During the presentation consultants explained the facility classifications the plan uses: Class 1 (fully separated path), Class 2 (delineated lane), Class 3 (shared lane) and Class 4 (physically separated bike lane). McWilliams said Class 4 facilities are typically the most protective but also the most costly because they can require curbs, barriers or other infrastructure; in some places, she said, there are bolt-on products that reduce the need for heavy construction.
Council reaction and concerns: members asked several detailed questions about the choices. One councilmember asked why only the Beach Park segment from Foster City Boulevard to Shell was advanced when a nearby segment had also scored highly; consultants said median sections south of Foster City Boulevard require a different design approach and would be treated as a separate project. Another asked about the Edgewater connection to San Mateo, noting San Mateo's planned work may stop at Mariners Island Boulevard and leave a gap; consultants said they would continue coordination but that the Foster City segments still improve local safety and connectivity.
Members also raised worries that converting travel lanes to wide buffered bike lanes could complicate emergency evacuation. "We will absolutely take that into account," consultants replied, saying emergency-operations planners would be part of future reviews to avoid pitting bike lanes against emergency needs.
Funding and scope: councilmembers encouraged staff to pursue grant funding and suggested coordination with county Safe Routes to School and regional programs; one councilmember noted eligibility for a $750,000-per-city program and urged applications. On the projects themselves, presenters said they would develop conceptual drawings and rough order-of-magnitude costs in the next phase and then return for further outreach and adoption.
Addition of Foster City Boulevard: several members asked staff to study Foster City Boulevard as a potential additional (sixth) project or to swap it into the five currently proposed. Staff said they would analyze the additional cost and schedule implications of adding Foster City Boulevard to the development scope and return with options. "We'll take a look at adding that to the scope," a staff member said, noting staff would report estimated extra cost and time required.
What happens next: consultants will advance the five projects through an initial conceptual development phase (site cross-sections, countermeasure callouts and rough cost estimates), perform targeted outreach, and then return to council with refined designs and funding recommendations. Staff will also evaluate the requested study of Foster City Boulevard and report back on scope and cost.
No formal vote was recorded on the five projects during the study session; the meeting ended with the chair adjourning the session.
