Choosing Burlingame Avenue's Character

What does the future of Burlingame Avenue hold? That is the question residents are invited to help answer at a Streetscape Improvement workshop tonight.

“We’re expecting, hopefully, to really get [the community’s] input on really more the character of the street,” said James Ingels of Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey (RHAA), the landscape architecture firm working with Burlingame on the project. “It’s more…the look and feel, more design alternatives.”

Today's workshop takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Recreation Center, Social Hall 850 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame.

This is the second in a series of workshops. The first, in September, focused on the vision for Burlingame Avenue and site issues, such as narrow sidewalks, and listening to input from residents.

“It was mainly for us to listen to what they had to say,” Ingels said. “We didn’t really start designing until then.”

Now, community members will be asked to choose between three character types for the Avenue: traditional, classic—a mix of traditional and contemporary designs—and contemporary. Ingels said this meeting was scheduled to discuss the look and feel of a renovated downtown.

Some changes Ingels said the team is already considering include changing parking configurations from angled to parallel. While this cuts down on street parking by about 10 percent, it fulfills the goal of expanding sidewalks.

“We’re really trying to push more of a pedestrian environment,” Ingels said. “The City, as well as us, feel that in the long run that’s a real benefit to gain some additional space on the sidewalks.”

The Burlingame Avenue Streetscape Improvement project will work in coordination with necessary water and sewer improvements, estimated to cost $4 million. Funding for streetscape, including street resurfacing and storm drainage improvements, is expected to cost $9 million.

“The water and sewer infrastructure on Burlingame Avenue is 100 years old,” . “Doing the streetscape at the same time…would save significant money and…minimize construction impact.”

The project focuses on the blocks between El Camino Real and California Drive. The goal is to make the street more pedestrian and business friendly.