Daly City council tables Safe Routes to School amendment after residents and council seek more outreach

Daly City’s City Council on July 13 voted to table an amendment to a professional services agreement for the city’s Safe Routes to School project after residents and several council members asked for more public engagement and analysis of alternatives to lane reductions.

Acting Director of Public Works Joshua Cosgrove and acting City Engineer Shirley Chan asked the council to authorize Amendment No. 1 to the contract with Kimberly Horne (professional services) for $76,869.08, bringing the contract’s not‑to‑exceed total to $419,480.20. Cosgrove said the project, funded in part by a September 2023 Caltrans grant of $3.2 million, focuses on pedestrian and bicycle safety along East Market Street and Hillside Boulevard near Thomas R. Palasita Middle School, John F. Kennedy/Bridal Elementary and Susan B. Anthony Elementary.

Vice Mayor Teresa Perano said the council had received late letters from nearby residents and raised concerns that reducing vehicle lanes could worsen traffic congestion at school drop‑off times and create a “false sense of security” for cyclists. Chan told the council the proposed amendment would fund engineers’ work to revise the 50% conceptual design and develop alternatives that would improve pedestrian and bicycle safety without necessarily reducing lanes on East Market.

Two public commenters urged the council to retain the original lane‑reduction design, saying it would shorten crossing distances and make pedestrians and drivers more visible to one another. Alan Yui Yui said the amendment would “significantly water down critical safety improvements” and urged the council to reject changes that would weaken the city’s adopted Vision 0 policy. Rebecca Chuang, who identified herself as a Daly City crossing guard, described feeling that her life and the children’s lives were at risk at the intersections and said the lane reduction in the original plan was integral to safety.

Council members from across the dais pressed for more outreach, including presentation to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and additional community meetings in multiple languages. Mayor Glenn Sylvester proposed, and the council approved by voice vote, a motion to table the item and return with further analysis and engagement at the first City Council meeting in September.

The council did not adopt or reject the underlying design changes at the July 13 meeting; staff was directed to pursue broader community input, return to BPAC as appropriate, and report back to the council with revised options.