San Mateo County outlines $4 million mini‑grant program, timelines and local projects in 101 Corridor Connect update to Menlo Park Complete Streets Commission

Peter Skinner, Chief Officer of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, told the Menlo Park Complete Streets Commission that the agency’s 101 Corridor Connect planning initiative focuses on connectivity, safety, sustainability and inclusivity across the US‑101 corridor.

Skinner said the TA developed three multimodal strategies (north, central and south county) and identified roughly 20 priority projects for each area. He said the outreach effort included about 1,200 survey responses, 114 attendees at community‑based organization meetings and a dozen pop‑up events, plus online materials and interactive maps.

“Community engagement was central to this process,” Skinner said. “We used pop‑ups, CBOs and online tools to solicit feedback and the results helped shape the priority lists.”

Skinner described a Caltrans‑funded Active 101 effort that examines crossings and active‑transportation connections within a quarter‑mile of US‑101 and aims to build a network of bike and pedestrian projects to improve access across and along the highway. He cautioned the full buildout would be a large undertaking and likely exceed available county funding without additional grants or joint projects.

The TA has set aside $4 million for a mini‑grant program to help jurisdictions advance planning and preliminary engineering for priority projects. Skinner said the program will generally award up to $750,000 per project and up to $1 million for contiguous multi‑jurisdictional projects. He outlined a short application timetable: a June announcement, a light July application (letter of interest), and funding decisions in August. The TA also expects to require a site walk with awardees and to provide technical assistance to grantees.

“We’ll provide up to $750,000 per project, and a million dollars if it’s a joint project with a local jurisdiction,” Skinner said, noting the TA board indicated willingness to consider increasing the $4 million pool if demand exceeds available funds.

Skinner said the TA will offer a “CBO bench” — a roster of paid community‑based organizations — to support local outreach and engagement and encouraged cities to include at least one council member in site walks for funded projects.

Commissioners asked how project prioritization relates to local safety concerns. When a commissioner asked why Middlefield Road, which serves two schools and has recorded collisions, wasn’t on the top‑20 list, Skinner said the priority list reflects scoring from the planning process and does not guarantee funding; other TA programs and grant sources could still support local projects.

Pam D Jones, a resident of the Belhaven neighborhood, urged commissioners and staff to prioritize outreach in areas with new apartment developments near Marsh Road and to consider school walking routes when shaping proposals for mini‑grant funding.

Skinner identified several projects that concern Menlo Park, including Marsh Road interchange improvements and a separated Marsh Road bike/ped crossing, and Willow Road‑area improvements coordinated with Atherton and East Palo Alto. He encouraged city staff to apply for mini‑grants and for the commission to advocate to the City Council for local applications.

The TA’s application approach is intentionally light, Skinner said: a letter of interest followed by a brief application that documents requested technical assistance. Projects chosen for funding will get help with planning and preliminary engineering so they can be competitive for larger TA and state funding programs later.

The commission did not take a vote on the presentation. The TA staff said questions about project‑specific tracking (for example, tracking QR code responses) would require follow‑up with the TA project team.