Safe Streets for San Mateo

The project increases safety and reduces vehicle congestion by extending the left turn lane onto Norfolk St by 450 ft (accommodating 20 additional vehicles), switching an westbound vehicle lane on Fashion Island Blvd to be an eastbound vehicle lane (both of these changes will double the vehicle volume through the Fashion Island Blvd & Norfolk St intersection during a single traffic cycle), adding corner islands at intersections to protect pedestrians, adding separated bike lanes and protected bike lanes through the corridor, and installing new sensors to improve signal timing at intersections.

• City Webpage

• Next steps

  • • • City submitted a request for $3M in Regional Measure 3 funds, which — if approved — would fully fund the project alongside the $16M already secured from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and $8.5M in previously secured federal funds

      • Environmental review and final design pending full funding confirmation

• Previous steps

  • • • • Mar 2026: San Mateo County Transportation Authority commits $16M to the project

        • Nov 13, 2025 Community Workshop, 6:30–8:30pm via Zoom

        • Nov 5, 2025 Community Workshop, 6:30–8:30pm @ College Park Elementary School

  • Sep 15, 2025 City Council Meeting

  • Aug 13, 2025 Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission Meeting

  • Jul 15, 2025 Community Workshop

• Additional Background

  • There were 200 collisions along this corridor from 2019-2024 including 3 bicycle collisions and 3 pedestrian collisions, as well as a pedestrian fatality in 2025

  • The intersection at 19th Ave & Delaware St

    • Accounts for 74 collisions. (The north entrance to the ARCO gas station accounts for 47 of these collisions.)

    • Is listed as a hotspot on the County’s Bike High Injury Network

  • The intersection at Fashion Island Blvd & Norfolk St

    • Accounts for 50 collisions

    • Is listed as a hotspot on the County’s Bike High Injury Network

    • Is the #5 Priority Intersection on San Mateo’s Local Roadway Safety Plan

  • This corridor is listed on the City & County Association of Governments Countywide Youth-based High Injury Network

  • The total project cost is $25.5M

    • San Mateo has secured $8.5M in federal funds to date

    • San Mateo is currently applying for an additional $10M grant

    • San Mateo intends to contribute $1.5M of city funds to the project

    • Available grants are focused on “complete streets” projects that support walking, biking and driving; there isn’t grant funding for local roadway widening projects

• Summary: This project provides safer access to Fiesta Gardens International School and the Nueva School by improving bicycle infrastructure along Delaware St including separated bike lanes from 19th Ave to 28th Ave and a bicycle boulevard from 28th Ave to Pacific Blvd.  Pedestrian infrastructure at major intersections will also be upgraded.

  • City Webpage

  • Take Action:

    • None needed--City Council approved the project, accepted the grant funding and construction has begun!

  • Next Steps:

    • Phase 1 construction (concrete work at intersections of Delaware with Bermuda Dr, Saratoga Dr, E 25th Ave, and E 28th Ave): March–May 2026

    • Phase 2 construction (roadway paving and signal improvements): September–October 2026

    • Project anticipated to be substantially complete by November 2026

  • Previous Steps:

    • Nov 17, 2025: City Council awarded construction contract

    • Sep 2, 2025: City Council Meeting

    • Aug 19, 2025 Fiesta Gardens Neighborhood Meeting, 7pm @ College Park Elementary School (formerly Fiesta Gardens International School), 1001 Bermuda Dr

    • May 5, 2025 City Council Meeting

    • Apr 23, 2025 Broad Community Meeting, 7pm @ Nueva School

    • Apr 14, 2025 Local Community Meeting , 7pm @ Fiesta Gardens International School

• Summary: The project adds bicycle infrastructure on 28th Ave to provide a safe path of travel for bicyclists and pedestrians accessing the Caltrain Station and traveling to neighborhoods on either side of the Caltrain tracks. This includes a separated bike lane between Edison St and El Camino Real and a striped bike lane between Delaware St and E. Kyne St. 

• City Webpage

• Next Steps:

  • Project is currently in the design phase and seeking full funding; no construction date has been set

  • San Mateo County Transportation Authority Measure A/W grant funding is secured for design; additional funding needed for construction

• Previous Steps:

  • Apr 21, 2025 City Council Meeting

• Summary: In October 2021 and February 2022 San Mateo installed sidewalk ADA ramps and bulbouts, and 2.1 miles of striped bicycle lanes along N Humboldt St & Poplar Ave. 170 street parking spaces were removed along the west side of N Humboldt St and 44 street parking spaces were removed on Poplar Ave to accommodate the bicycle lanes. In February 2025 the City Council voted to explore removing a section of the bike lanes from 2nd Ave to Indian Ave and creating an alternative bicycle boulevard along N Idaho St or N Fremont St in order to restore 100 street parking spaces on N Humboldt Ave.

• City Webpage: Removal, Installation

• Take Action:

  • Sign a petition in support of the bike lanes

• Next Steps:

  • City staff to develop a residential parking permit program for the North Central neighborhood

  • City Council directed staff to conduct a high-level feasibility study for converting N Humboldt St to a one-way street, which would allow both the bike lanes and restored parking to coexist long-term

• Previous Steps:

  • Feb 2, 2026 City Council Meeting — Council voted to keep the Humboldt bike lanes in place. Over 800 community members had signed Move San Mateo's petition in support of the lanes. Council also expressed support for lighting improvements, a potential residential parking permit program, and directed staff to study the feasibility of converting Humboldt to a one-way street as a long-term solution.

  • Dec 10, 2025 Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission Meeting

  • Oct 27, 2025 Community Workshop, 6-9pm @ Fiesta Gardens International School (715 Indian Ave. San Mateo, CA 94401)

  • Aug 25, 2025 Community Workshop, 6-9pm @ MLK Jr. Community Center

  • Jun 18, 2025 Community Workshop, 6pm @ MLK Jr. Community Center 

  • Feb 3, 2025 City Council Meeting

  • Dec 4, 2024 Community Meeting, 6pm @ MLK Jr. Community Center

  • Feb 22, 2022 City Council Meeting

  • Feb 9, 2022 Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission Meeting

  • Nov 2021 - Jan 2022: 285 survey responses collected via postcards sent to 3,000 households, posters along project corridor, 5 neighborhood pop-up workshops & month long display @ MLK Jr. Community Center

  • Oct 27, 2021 City Council Meeting

  • May 27, 2021 Virtual Community Meeting

• Additional Background

  • This section of roadway is one of two segments in San Mateo that is on the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG's) Countywide “High-Injury Network” for vehicle, walking, and biking, with 11 bicycle collisions along this corridor in the past, including one that left an elderly cyclist in a coma for at least 10 months (final outcome unknown). For safety and connectivity reasons, the bicycle lanes along N Humboldt St and Poplar Ave were the #2 and #4 priority projects on the 2020 Bicycle Master Plan.

  • These bicycle lanes provide direct access to four schools:

    • San Mateo High School (1,600 students)

    • San Mateo Adult School (3,800 students)

    • College Park Elementary School (433 students)

    • Turnbull Children’s Center (305 students)

  • In fall 2025 the College Park Elementary and Fiesta Gardens International School programs will swap campuses, and a new middle school will open next to the College Park Elementary campus. Traffic is expected to increase.

  • The San Mateo Foster City School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution in support of the bicycle lanes and 17 out of 21 SMFCSD PTA Councils have signed onto a letter in support of the bicycle lanes. (The remaining 4 have not had an opportunity to weigh in yet.)

  • The North Central neighborhood has one of the youngest populations in the County.  Per the United States Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 5 year estimates for the three census tracts covering the North Central neighborhood:

    • Under 18: 22.8%

    • 18-34: 34.1%

    • 35-49: 19.7%

    • 50-64: 12.3%

    • 65-79: 8.5%

  • Per the United States Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, only 15.3% of households in North Central have access to more than two vehicles. To date, the city has not explored changing the rules of the Residential Parking Permit Program (which currently require a non-residential “parking generator”) to implement a parking permit program zone in the neighborhood.

  • There were 285 responses to the written and online surveys as part of the previous community outreach effort, collected via postcards sent to 3,000 households, posters along the route, 5 neighborhood pop-ups and a month-long display in the MLK Center. The survey demonstrated that a plurality of North Central and adjacent neighborhood residents and a majority of San Mateo residents supported installing the bicycle lanes if additional parking options were implemented.  

• Summary: This project improves pedestrian and bicyclist safety at the intersection of 3rd Ave & Norfolk St by creating more visible crosswalks and waiting areas, and adjusting signal timing. It also connects the 3rd Ave shared use path to the San Mateo Creek shared use path. Vehicle waiting times should decrease as a result of these safety improvements.

• City Webpage

• Next Steps: 

  • Construction is complete. All three phases of construction are finished, including installation of new bike signals, protected crosswalks, a connection from the 3rd Ave shared use path to the San Mateo Creek path, and signal timing improvements.

  • Apr 25, 2026: Ribbon-cutting ceremony with Move San Mateo, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, and City Council member Danielle Cwirko-Godycki

• Previous Steps:

  • Jan 13, 2025 City Council Meeting