San Mateo City Council will partially remove recently developed bike lanes on Humboldt Street in North Central and replace them with roughly 100 parking spots. 

Following a 3-hour long conversation on Monday, San Mateo City Council voted 3-2 to remove bicycle lanes after residents complained about a lack of parking in the surrounding neighborhoods. 

The conversation amassed many community members who supported the addition of the bike lanes due to dangerous biking conditions on the roads. 

On Nov. 16, 2024, Stanford data scientist and research fellow Andrea Vallebueno was killed while biking near Highway 101 after a car collision. This is one of several recent fatal accidents, including a woman who was struck by a vehicle on Peninsula Avenue on Sep. 12, 2024 and a pedestrian who was hit on El Camino Real on Nov. 27, 2024.

The installation of bike lanes is a project in the citywide master bike plan. Proposed by the city’s Public Works Department, the City Council voted to install bike lanes on Humboldt Street in Feb. 2022. Construction of the bike lanes finished in July 2022, replacing 170 parking spots on Humboldt Street to provide easier access for bikers. 

Jay Xu, an engineering manager for the Public Works Department, presented data at the recent city council meeting, claiming that between nine and 65 bikers cross the intersections, depending on what cross street on Humboldt Street, with 84% of bikers staying on Humboldt Street instead of using the lane to cross traffic.

Total collisions on Humboldt post-bike lane installation have increased compared to data collected between 2020 and 2022, Xu said. Even though bicycle accidents remained at zero, car accidents and property damage accidents increased by 31% and 30%, respectively. However, the pandemic could have resulted in this difference because there were fewer cars on the road during the pandemic, he added.

In a survey, Xu reported that Humboldt residents are primarily opposed to the bike lanes. He said that 76% of Humboldt Street residents felt the bike lanes have impacted them negatively compared to 38% of North Central residents.

Taso Zografos, a San Mateo resident, argued that Xu’s data on the number of bikers on Humboldt was incorrect. He explained how he and other residents placed two cameras on the street to monitor the number of bikers. 

“Many of you have maybe heard there are millions of bike trips going on North Humboldt on this stretch, some are saying 10,000 a month. All those are untrue, and it’s fantasy,” he said at the meeting. “What’s happening is about five to 10 unique riders are doing about three trips per weekday.”

The addition of the bike lanes has garnered a lot of support in hopes of increasing safety. A petition Mike Swire, Chair of City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) of San Mateo County’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee appointee and member of San Mateo Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee, created received nearly 500 signatures in support of the Humboldt bike lanes. 

Over 70 parents, children and community members also spoke at the City Council meeting, with a majority expressing their hope to retain the lanes for the added safety they provided.

The partial removal of the bike lanes will also introduce a pilot bike boulevard on Humboldt Street. As opposed to bike lanes, a boulevard is shared by both cyclists and vehicles, which Swire said increases the risks of accidents.

“That is kind of a sham,” he said. “It’s basically requiring adults and even little kids to bike on the same road as 50,000-pound garbage trucks. There’s no protection, there’s no separation.”

Removing the intended bike lanes and replacing the original parking will cost approximately $620,000 and take between six months to a year to finish. Introducing a bike boulevard will require an additional $150,000 to $300,000 and also take between half a year to a full year to complete. 

The council members also unanimously agreed to upgrade street lighting to increase visibility at night, which will cost approximately $70,000. According to Xu, the next steps involve first garnering community engagement and finalizing the funding necessary before moving toward implementation. 

“I think it’s important that we’re really getting outreach to all the community,” San Mateo Mayor Rob Newsom Jr. said at the council meeting. “I want to make sure that we have an idea of how many people really can’t do anything except drive, so that helps us make an informed decision.”