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As the Redwood City Council prepares to discuss city priorities at a special meeting on Saturday, a group of concerned citizens has sent a letter asking members to take immediate action on a section of El Camino Real that includes what's been referred to as a “high-collision corridor.”
The letter, which is addressed to Mayor Giselle Hale and city council members and signed by more than a dozen community members, asks the city to fast-track the installation of pedestrian safety improvements and include a protected bicycle lane along northbound El Camino Real, from Target at Charter St. to Sequoia High School at Brewster Ave.
The particular stretch of highway, which has been the focus of discussion in the city and pedestrian safety groups, is part of the city’s El Camino Real Corridor Plan. The letter, which was sent via email, points to data from traffic collisions along that part of El Camino Real, where at least three pedestrians have been killed by cars in the past three years, the group said.
“Council has not prioritized fast-tracking road safety improvements on the deadliest road in the city, said Mac Hart, who did not sign the letter but helped organize it.
Hart, who lives in San Francisco and works in Redwood City, expressed frustration that general plan developments have been expedited, but the El Camino safety improvements continue to be delayed.
An item on Saturday's agenda to discuss initiating design work for safety improvements for El Camino Real is listed as “delayed.” An update to that item adds that “staff will continue efforts to coordinate with Caltrans on their safety project for El Camino expected to commence in 2029.”
“How many more people have to be killed along this corridor, in order for Council to even attempt to fast-track these quick build improvements?” he added.
The El Camino Real Corridor Plan, which grew out of months of discussion with the community, was adopted by the city council in December 2017 under then-mayor Ian Bain. Included in the city-approved plan were a year-long pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement study and concept design, completed in 2019 with funding from Caltrans grants. Proposed improvements included in the concept design include protected bike lanes, safer pedestrian crossings and traffic flow and speed control. Construction on these design plans has not yet started.
The high-collision corridor (between Maple and Charter St.), which was described in the study as an area of “high opportunity” for safety improvements, has a bicycle and pedestrian collision rate of 2.32 collisions per million vehicle miles, significantly higher than the statewide average of 1.48 on comparable roads.
More than 9,700 collisions occurred citywide between 2010 and 2018, according to data collected for the city’s 2020 Transportation Monitoring Report. Of those, 8% involved pedestrians or cyclists. Hot spot maps show a high density of collisions along El Camino between Jefferson Ave. and Woodside Rd.
According to the study commissioned by the city and conducted by consultant firm Fehrs and Peers, a total of 14 pedestrian-involved collisions occurred on the stretch of El Camino Real between Maple and Charter from 2006 to 2015. The most common type of collision occurred at crosswalks and as a result of red light violations, the study showed.
Advocates all have their own reasons for signing the letter and supporting the corridor improvements, according to Hart. Some business owners, he said, have had customers t-boned outside their stores. “And others are like, ‘Hey, my friend got hit while walking to school,’” he added.
The letter was sent to the council members in advance of Saturday’s meeting, which is held biannually to discuss city priorities for the coming year. Among the 14 co-signers are students, healthcare professionals, low-income residents, teachers and business owners, all of whom live in Redwood City.
But the city said it has taken action over the years to improve bike and pedestrian safety on major streets.
The South Main Mixed-Use project, which was approved in 2020 and is planned for El Camino between Maple and Cedar, includes a landscaped pedestrian walkway. The city is also working on finalizing RWC Walk, Bike, Thrive, a master plan to improve walking, biking and traffic safety citywide, and the Vision Zero Action Plan, to eliminate all traffic injuries and fatalities. Meetings of the newly formed Vision Zero Task Force will begin this month, said Transportation Manager Jessica Manzi.
This stretch of El Camino, while bordering downtown Redwood City, “has generally not experienced the same level of economic growth and success in recent years,” according to the study. Instead, the area is characterized by heavy through traffic to the nearby Sequoia High School, high-density housing (including two forthcoming hotels-turned-affordable and transition housing), as well as many commercial businesses such as Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
The corridor is also described as a “Community of Concern” in the study, with a high concentration of Hispanic and low-income residents, a detail that concerns council member Michael Smith.
Smith, whose district includes parts of this corridor, said he believes that the residents of the area are disproportionately affected by unsafe through-traffic.
“My area of the city is the most likely to have community members who do not have vehicles, but yet we have the highest likelihood to be hit,” he said. “So it is disappointing, it is sad. It's something that we need to continue to focus on.”
According to Smith, who was on the El Camino Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee, the delay on the implementation of the plan is likely due to funding and feasibility concerns.
“There are a number of agencies that have a purview over that strip of El Camino Real,” Smith said. “So it's not just about the people, who's managing it; it's also about those people's ability to coordinate in raising funds.”
State rights of way regulations would require the city to obtain an “encroachment permit” from Caltrans for development along El Camino, a process that Hale described as “very long.”
To her credit, said Hart, the only member of council to respond to the letter was the mayor, who explained that she didn’t want to endorse any plans ahead of the upcoming priorities meeting.
On the agenda for Saturday’s meeting, under Hale’s listed “Topics for Consideration,” is an item that reads: “Accelerate the implementation plan for the El Camino Real corridor by working with staff to address the most acute safety concerns in an interim manner ahead of the Caltrans process.”
“I will be exploring an idea that is actionable around what was suggested,” she told the Pulse, adding that she serves on the Safe Routes to School Committee and is “always interested in looking at ideas for how we can keep students safe.”
As for Smith, he said that this letter may help reignite the effort to implement the corridor plan.
“The attention that this [letter] has drawn, it's not lost,” he said. “We've all seen it…
“Everyone wants people to be safe. That is absolutely the priority here. And the question is, how do we get done?”
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