Cities, Counties, and Countries

Still seeking to widen Highway 101 from eight to ten lanes, Caltrans and San Mateo County’s transportation agencies are now halfway through the required environmental review. At a community meeting on Wednesday evening, agency officials gave an update on the project [PDF] to widen the highway by adding express lanes, which allow buses and carpools for free but charge a fee to solo drivers during congested hours.  

There's no denying that the State Route 35 freeway interchange with State Route 1 is not the most comfortable place to ride a bike. Two lanes in both directions, barely a shoulder in places, and automobiles continually speeding. A cyclists was killed in the area two years ago, although it is unclear who was at fault.

After months of back and forth, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that it is approving $647 million in funds for Caltrain electrification. The grant approval will allow Caltrain to begin construction of its electrification project almost immediately, bringing smoother rides and cleaner air to the Bay Area.

As part of its ongoing efforts to create a safer El Camino Real, the City of Redwood is seeking input from the public through an online survey that closes tonight.

The City of San Mateo will host a pair of community meetings next week in San Mateo and Burlingame over the proposed 101/Peninsula Avenue Interchange project. The project is a familiar type: it would relocate the US 101 southbound on-ramps and off-ramps from East Poplar Avenue to Peninsula Avenue, to eliminate the partial interchange and create a single, full-access interchange at Peninsula and Airport Boulevard.

Monday starts Bike Week in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. And Thursday, May 11, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) brags that "tens of thousands of regular and first-time Bay Area residents will bike to work for the 23rd Annual Bike to Work Day."

The City of Cupertino is best known as the corporate headquarters of a boutique hardware developer called Apple. But if the city moves forward with a plan to add seven "bicycle boulevards" to its bike network, it could also become one of the more bike friendly cities in Silicon Valley.

At close to midnight last night, the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the Berkeley Bike Plan, which seeks to build a network of safe, connected bikeways throughout the city to encourage more people to ride bikes.

There will be many news stories generated by the announcement of the details of President Donald Trump's proposed budget next month. In advance of the announcement, the campaign to preserve funding for the electrification of Caltrain is working with advocates around the state and country to preserve a nearly $650 million grant agreement scuttled by the Trump Administration in February.