Active 101

The Highway 101 corridor is a vital economic engine and is a crucial connection between the East Bay, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the hearts of our various communities.  101 Corridor Connect  looks at how to improve the way we move people and goods through the corridor. We are shifting the way we think about mobility planning to include all types of transportation. This program emphasizes a people-centric and inclusive approach for meeting the County’s transportation needs and moving the Peninsula forward. The Corridor runs along the east side of San Mateo County and includes up to one mile on both sides of Highway 101.

As part of the  101 Corridor Connect program , the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) is developing the US 101 San Mateo County Crossing Improvement Plan ( Active 101 ). Highway 101 is the busiest corridor in San Mateo County. However, the freeway itself presents multiple types of barriers for people walking, rolling, biking, and taking transit. The Active 101 Plan aims to prioritize crossing and corridor improvement needs and identify which projects will most effectively create safe crossings and corridors near US 101.  By improving active transportation infrastructure, the TA is striving to help create vibrant communities that provide safe, comfortable, convenient, reliable, efficient, and affordable ways for people to get around.

The TA is looking at the big picture of how individual projects within local jurisdictions can be advanced together to strengthen the overall Countywide mobility network and create safe crossings for all users along this corridor.

The TA has taken the first step in identifying strategic improvements to the county’s transportation network by identifying planned infrastructure projects from local and regional plans that aim to improve mobility across the county but currently lack the funding, coordination, or resources to move forward. Each project was carefully evaluated to determine how well it aligns with the goals of the Active 101 initiative: improving safety, enhancing connectivity, promoting sustainability, and providing better access for underserved communities in San Mateo County.

Through community engagement, stakeholder feedback, and collaboration with local jurisdictions, these projects will be integrated into a cohesive north-south mobility network. This network is designed to focus on improving connections across US 101, ensuring a safe and seamless experience for people walking, biking, and rolling. In addition to forming a countywide north-south corridor, the TA will identify key supporting crossings to provide vital connections across the US 101 corridor. All projects included in the north-south mobility network and the supporting crossings will be included in the overarching 101 Corridor Connect program as priority projects for the TA.

Of these corridor and crossing projects, the TA will select 8–10 projects that have not yet been initiated and develop conceptual designs for them. These designs will kick-start the detailed design and engineering phases needed to advance the projects. Active 101 will also include a comprehensive implementation strategy, identifying funding opportunities to help local jurisdictions collaborate with the TA and other partners to bring these projects to life.

The TA first completed an analysis of existing transportation patterns within the study corridor relating to the goals of the 101 Corridor Connect Program to help shape the development of the Active 101 Plan. Scroll down to read about each element or click on the link below to read the Final Existing Conditions Report.

Census data and technical analysis only tells us part of the story. It's important that we also hear from diverse groups of people who live, work, and travel within San Mateo County so that the prioritized projects and the countywide corridor will reflect local community values and enhance connectivity where improvements are most needed. In Fall 2024, the TA conducted a robust round of public outreach and engagement with stakeholders to supplement the analysis of data and existing conditions.

The TA assembled a technical working group of partner agencies, city staff, and county transit operators to review the existing conditions analysis and provide input into the prioritization criteria used to evaluate projects. The participants of the working group are a diverse group of technical experts with extensive knowledge of the needs within their communities and roadblocks that are delaying projects from moving to implementation.

The project team hosted six multilingual pop-up events in each segment of the county to talk to the community and ask people to identify projects that can enhance mobility and improve crossings along Highway 101. Here's where we met with members of the community:

• Dia de los Muertos Festival in the City of San Mateo
• Halloween Festival in Foster City
• Pumpkin Festival in East Palo Alto
• Millbrae Farmer's Market
• Halloween Extravaganza in South San Francisco
• Redwood City Farmer's Market

The TA also presented information about the project and the engagement opportunities to local jurisdictions and stakeholders through 26 presentations. This included local City commissions and committees, Chambers of Commerce, and County commissions.

The public had the opportunity to provide feedback through an online "Fund It" activity where people could identify specific locations in the county where they had mobility concerns or needs. They could then match those locations to individual projects and "vote" on which projects would best help to meet their needs. The online activity was promoted through social media posts in three languages and shared by local jurisdictions to promote participation.

The TA produced and shared an animated video where viewers were able to learn about the project and access a link to the online "Fund It" Activity to provide feedback. Links to the "Fund It" Activity were also promoted to residents of San Mateo through boosted social media posts in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese.

270+ People provided feedback through the "Fund It" Activity

At this stage, we have data analysis and feedback from the community and local jurisdictions about where corridor and crossing improvements are needed to create a safe, connected, sustainable, and equitable north-south mobility corridor. We used the community feedback to create a heatmap showing locations where members of the community feel that pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure can be enhanced.

Using the existing conditions analysis and the heatmap of community priority areas, the TA connected individual projects to develop the proposed alignment for the north-south mobility network along Highway 101. All of the projects included in the alignment will be priorities under Active 101 for improvements and can include upgrades to existing infrastructure or construction of new facilities. It is important to note that the goal of this corridor is not to be a straight and direct connector through the County, but rather a network that makes it more accessible to cross US 101 and provide connections in areas where it's currently lacking.

Below is the heatmap generated from public feedback identifying areas where the community wants to see improved access. This map was overlaid with the map of the top 75 projects (Right side). Based on the existing conditions analysis, key projects that intersect with hotspots for improvement were connected to form the draft North-South Corridor Alignment (Left side).

Slide the bar from side to side to see how the Draft Alignment was created.

To finalize the alignment of projects, the TA has met with City and agency partners throughout San Mateo County to discuss how the north-south corridor alignment can be optimized so that it addresses local needs. We also need your feedback!

Review the proposed alignment for the north-south corridor in each segment of the County. This alignment of projects is intended to enhance mobility for people walking, biking, and rolling within 1/4 mile of Highway 101.

After providing your input, read through the next steps for the project and enter to win a $250 gift card at the end as our thanks for your participation!

The TA will gather feedback from agency partners until the end of February 2025 to finalize the north-south corridor alignment. Once finalized, the project will move to the next phase, where the TA will identify 8 to 10 projects to develop conceptual designs. The TA will work closely with agency partners to develop these designs. This will include high level cost estimates and a funding strategy for each project. The project team will conduct additional community engagement around each of these planning-level designs when they are drafted.

In Winter 2025, the TA aims to develop the US 101 San Mateo Crossings Improvements Plan. The final plan will include high level cost estimates and a funding strategy for each project that will accelerate the work on detailed design and implementation of the projects in collaboration with jurisdictions. All projects identified as part of the plan will be incorporated into the 101 Corridor Connect program, which will help to create a roadmap for implementation of improvements on and near the US 101 corridor.