10/18/07
El Camino's grand plan gets going
Cities get cash to spruce up run-down highway
By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about a plan to turn bedraggled El Camino Real into a tree-lined "Grand Boulevard." Now there will also be some action.
The San Mateo County Transit District on Wednesday approved a total of $2 million in federal grants to five Peninsula cities for projects designed to spruce up the aging thoroughfare. Daly City, Millbrae, San Bruno, San Mateo and San Carlos were chosen over Menlo Park and South San Francisco to receive the money.
SamTrans spokesman Jonah Weinberg admits $2 million is "a drop in the bucket" for an initiative whose goal is to turn more than 40 miles of highway between San Jose and Daly City from an eyesore to a gem. But he said it's an important first step in a long journey.
The Grand Boulevard initiative, as it's called, isn't so much a single grand plan as a joint effort between 19 cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The five grants approved Wednesday will fund five very different projects, with the cities pitching in plenty of their own money.
The common thread is that each pushes car-oriented El Camino in a more pedestrian-friendly direction. That can be done by
encouraging attractive development along the highway, or by making its intersections safer, sidewalks broader or streetscape more attractive.
In Millbrae, $438,000 will go toward putting pedestrian crossing signals at El Camino's intersection with Victoria Avenue. In San Mateo, $282,000 will pay for new sidewalks and other improvements near the planned Bay Meadows development.
The largest grant, $700,000, goes to Daly City for a "pedestrian transit plaza" at Top-of-the-Hill, which Weinberg said is the most heavily used SamTrans bus stop in the county.
Menlo Park was disappointed to lose out on its application for trees and other pedestrian-oriented improvements between Santa Cruz Avenue and the city's Caltrain station. Mayor Kelly Fergusson said the plan was in place and private matching funds had been lined up, and now the city is "back to square one."
SamTrans CEO Mike Scanlon said the decision was tough. Only $2 million was available, and the seven cities that applied for grants requested a total of $5.3 million. The ones that did get grants agreed to significantly less money than they had asked for.
The $2 million was the last of a $3 million federal grant secured for the Grand Boulevard project by U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo. The solution, said Board Member Jerry Hill, is to go after more money. "When we show them the success of these projects, Sacramento and Washington will see this as a model for the country of taking something old, something tired, and making something new and beautiful."
At least one enterprising city already has results to showcase. Millbrae took the lead in the Grand Boulevard initiative several years ago by redeveloping the area along El Camino with dense housing, shiny shopping centers and tree-lined medians and sidewalks.
The improvements have spurred business in the area and become a source of pride for Millbrae residents, said City Manager Ralph Jaeck.
"If you come along El Camino Real, you'll know when you get to Millbrae and you'll know when you leave."
E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.
GRAND PLANS
Five Peninsula cities are ready to go with projects to improve El Camino Real after SamTrans approved $2 million in grants as part of the Grand Boulevard initiative. A look at what's in the works:
CITY: Daly City
PROJECT: A new pedestrian transit plaza at Top-of-the-Hill, the county's most heavily used bus stop.
GRANT AWARD: $700,000
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $1.2 million
CITY: Millbrae
PROJECT: New crossing signals and pedestrian improvements at Victoria Crossing
GRANT AWARD: $438,000
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $1.1 million
CITY: San Carlos
PROJECT: Upgrades to the median and west side of the San Carlos Avenue intersection to go along with the transit-oriented housing planned for the east side.
GRANT AWARD: $297,620
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $372,025*
CITY: San Mateo
PROJECT: A "themed" intersection and new sidewalks between 28th and 37th avenues, in conjunction with the planned Bay Meadows project.
GRANT AWARD: $282,000
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $612,170
CITY: San Bruno
PROJECT: Landscaped medians and pedestrian crossing signals on El Camino at several spots, including near downtown and the Shops at Tanforan.
GRANT AWARD: $282,000
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $483,321
*Part of a larger $1.6 million project
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