Planning Department Takes a Serious Look at Highway 280 Teardown

The idea of tearing down a section of highway 280, north of 16th Street, is taking a firm step forward with the launch of a new study by the Planning Department. Although the department has already released a study of the option in December 2012, the new initiative would take a deeper, more comprehensive look at the "spiderweb" of interconnected transportation infrastructure plans in the area, said the Planning Department's Susan Gygi.

Altogether, plans for the area include the conversion of the 280 stub into a boulevard and housing, the Caltrain railyard redevelopment, and the planned rail electrification and downtown extension of Caltrain and CA High-Speed Rail to the Transbay Transit Center. "Once you touch one, it radiates throughout the web and affects everything within the area," said Gygi.

The study certainly won't be quick -- it's not expected to be completed until as late as June 2016. But it could set the stage for funding and implementation, preceding the environmental review process and the development of a detailed plan to pursue.