South San Francisco Downtown Plan and new Caltrain station approved

[gallery ids="6493,6492,6491,6490,6489,6488"]The City of South San Francisco recently passed their Downtown Station Area Plan by unanimous vote. Just a week later, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) voted authorize allocation of $49.1 million in original Measure A funds to the City of SSF for Caltrain Station improvements.SVBC has been working as part of the South San Francisco Community Benefits Coalition for over a year now in support of these two things.The South City Community Benefits Coalition worked over the course of three years with a dozen community and labor organizations and hundreds of city residents to develop a community consensus around a four-point platform that included:

• Greener and healthier development alternatives,
• Affordable homes and homelessness solutions,
• Efficient affordable public transit with bicycle and pedestrian transportation options, and
• Building businesses and creating good jobs in our community.

The final plan is great for bikes. The plan builds upon the City’s 2011 Bicycle Master Plan by planning for key east-west and north-south routes, including a new bicycle and pedestrian tunnel to the relocated Caltrain station, bike lanes on Grand Avenue (the main commercial street), a Colma Creek Canal Trail over the train tracks, and other bike lanes connecting to the east side of the city.This plan hinges on the relocation of the Caltrain station south to line up with Grand Ave. and the completion of a pedestrian and bicycle undercrossing that would connect downtown to the Caltrain platform as well as the east side of the city. I attended the SMCTA meeting in which they approved the funding for this important project to speak in favor. I was joined by over eight speakers in favor and none opposed.A big thanks to all the members who supported these projects, the City Council for approving the plan, the SMCTA for approving funding, and our partners in the Community Benefits Coalition, with funding from the Great
Communities Collaborative and the San Francisco Foundation:

4South City

Friends of CaltrainGreenbelt AllianceHousing Leadership CouncilSan Mateo County Building Trades CouncilSan Mateo County Union Community AllianceSheetmetal Workers Union Local 104Sierra Club Loma Prieta ChapterTransFormUFCW Local 5