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corridors
east 14th/international
el camino real
• case studies san pablo avenue
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Case Studies - El Camino Real
The El Camino Real corridor includes many of the cities along the peninsula terminating at Daly City in the north and Santa Clara in the south. Starting from the north and moving southeast, the corridor contains Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, North Fair Oaks in unincorporated San Mateo County, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Stanford in unincorporated Santa Clara County, Los Altos, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. The El Camino Real corridor contains six sites of particular interest:
•The San Bruno BART Station area •The Millbrae BART Station area •The Redwood City Caltrain Station area •The Palo Alto Caltrain Station area •The San Antonio Caltrain Station area •The Sunnyvale Caltrain Station area
San Bruno BART Station Area During World War II,
the city of San Bruno was a focal point of military operations and had
a large Navy Yard. This military activity caused a surge in San Bruno's
population: it grew from a town of about 6,500 people in 1940 to over
35,000 by the mid
The San Bruno BART station was completed in 2002. It is located about one third of a mile east of El Camino Real and just north of the I-380 overpass, more than half a mile north of San Bruno's downtown. It borders a single-family neighborhood on the east, and opens to the Tanforan Shopping Center on the west. The station is close to the border between San Bruno and South San Francisco.
The area around the BART station has been the focus of major redevelopment and investment in the last five years. The Tanforan Shopping Center recently reopened after extensive renovation. In addition, The Crossings, with 1,068 new multi-family housing units, is under construction on El Camino Real across from Tanforan.
San Bruno's zoning ordinance and general plan, created in the 1970s and 80s, do not reflect the current regional vision of compact development near transit. Recently, however, San Bruno used a special Planned Development Zone next to the San Bruno BART station to plan one of the region's most significant new projects. As this project nears completion, opportunities to add more housing near the BART station are limited. South San Francisco plans and policies, which affect the northern edge of the station area, are generally more supportive of mixed use development in station areas and corridors.
These transportation plans, however, have yet to be implemented, and no other planned development zones or specific plans are proposed. San Bruno's current general plan update is therefore an important opportunity for the city to create a plan that facilitates transit use and enhances community character. Downtown planning and development, based on the relocated station, could incorporate elements that would promote a more walkable community, such as mixed use and pedestrian pathways.
Millbrae BART Station Area Millbrae is one of the smallest cities on the El Camino Real corridor, but its intermodal station is of regional significance. The station is the southern terminus for the BART system, and offers connections to Caltrain and SamTrans buses. The station area touches South San Francisco to the north and, more substantially, Burlingame just two blocks to the south. The station is adjacent to El Camino Real and within half a mile of Highway 101.
The Millbrae Station Area Plan pioneered the concept of El Camino Real as a European-style boulevard. The planned extension of the existing frontage road would help to create this boulevard landscape. In addition, Millbrae's tree-planting program along El Camino Real should create a more consistent streetscape between the city and tree-lined Burlingame.
Although Millbrae has already implemented many streetscape improvements, new development in the area between El Camino Real and Highway 101 continues to foster automobile traffic. Likewise, Burlingame has planned the land uses closer to 101 for a new auto row while encouraging mixed use, pedestrian neighborhoods along El Camino Real. Along El Camino and west of the station, several new development proposals would create new housing in dense, walkable communities.
Redwood City Caltrain Station Area
The key planned transportation improvement for this area is a pedestrian network that connects downtown neighborhoods to the train station and to each other. Strategic designs suggest that streets could change from vehicle thoroughfares into places for people.
The city's exemplary public engagement in its downtown planning process bodes well for the plan's potential implementation. Plans for cultural centers and a pedestrian environment complement this housing growth and reap benefits for the existing community. Although approval of the Draft Downtown Plan is still pending at time of publication, the completed City Center Plaza, Franklin Street development, and Courthouse Square are all consistent with its guidelines.
The Palo Alto Caltrain Station Area
Palo Alto has a number of creative and well-articulated policies to encourage infill development, promote non-motorized transportation, and protect open space. These policies have helped the city create a vibrant downtown environment and to overcome many of the challenges of building new housing. The Comprehensive Plan discusses the need to balance regional housing needs with local community character. It proposes meeting that challenge by zoning more land for housing and restraining other uses until jobs and housing are better balanced. The city also has design standards for introducing townhouses and duplexes into single-family residential zones.
Each comprehensive Plan Element has an implementation plan stating the lead agency, financing, and necessary political actions. One policy that has yet to be implemented is the creation of a coordinated area plan for the Transit Station Area. Many other policies would be implemented through the zoning ordinance update that is currently underway.
The San Antonio Caltrain Station area The San Antonio Caltrain Station in Mountain View balances moderate to high residential density with suburban character. The surrounding neighborhoods seem less densely developed than the downtown Mountain View station area, but have a higher poulation. In 2005, there were about 7,731 residents living in the neighborhoods near the San Antonio Station and 6,076 in the downtown Mountain View station area. The Crossings neighborhood, located just south of the station across San Antonio Road, is an example of denser, multi-family residential neighborhood with a suburban feel.
Transportation Demand Management and a strong focus on building design have augmented the success of the city's land use plans by reducing traffic and creating walkable communities. It is city policy to make land use decisions that support alternative transportation, including planning for high-density residential areas near transit.
Having recently seen one of its plans brought to fruition with the construction of the Crossings, the city is now well on its way to creating a second new neighborhood at the Mayfield Mall site. The area shows how low-density, underutilized commercial buildings can transform into new residential neighborhoods.
The Sunnyvale Caltrain Station Area
The Sunnyvale Caltrain station is about three-fourths of a mile north of El Camino Real, and over a mile south of Highway 101 and the Moffet Federal Air Field, home to NASA's Ames Research Center. About 5,886 people live within half a mile of the station.
Sunnyvale has many
planning policies that support the development of higher density housing
near transit. The city is redeveloping the Town Center Shopping Mall,
which could add substantial housing and have a major effect on the character
of the station area. The Downtown Plan connects the city's urban grid
through the Town Center by reconnecting Murphy Street
Although there have been two new developments and a renovated station in the Caltrain area, the city's planning efforts have thus far had a greater impact near the VTA stations and closer to Highway 101. There are few projects in the planning process in the area. The downtown plan's implementation thus hinges on the Town Center development.
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1960s.
Population growth generated a housing construction boom that resulted
in the single-family neighborhoods that make up most of the city's current
housing stock.
Neither
investment has included substantial pedestrian improvements on El Camino
Real. The area presents some challenges to cultivating pedestrian traffic,
with auto-oriented development and the location of the BART station
as primary obstacles. While perhaps convenient for shoppers and employees
coming from outside the city, the Tanforan Shopping Center hides the
BART station from pedestrians walking to and from El Camino Real or
the single-family neighborhoods beyond it. There is also no clear connection
to downtown San Bruno, which is less than half a mile away.
San
Bruno's transportation plans have long included the creation of a pedestrian
network that could encourage and enhance trips to BART, the Tanforan
Mall, and downtown areas. In the next five years, the Caltrain station
will be moved closer to the BART station. This move could also add both
riders and foot traffic to downtown San Bruno and the Tanforan.
Millbrae's
Station Area Specific Plan allows for significant housing development
around the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station. The plan envisions a new
public square and new mixed use buildings oriented around the station.
Land uses in the southern end of the station are under the jurisdiction
of the City of Burlingame. As with Millbrae, Burlingame has plans that
allow higher density housing and mixed use along El Camino Real in this
area. 
Walkable,
urban neighborhoods on almost every side distinguish the Redwood City
Caltrain station area from other stations along El Camino. While there
are parking lots and highways, the city's vibrant downtown is the dominant
landscape. The six-lane El Camino Real runs parallel to the Caltrain
tracks, and is intersected by several densely developed major streets.
Between the station and El Camino Real is a mid-century commercial development,
Sequoia Station, that is oriented to transit passengers on one side
and automobile traffic on the other. South of El Camino, the downtown
has a number of shops and restaurants with outdoor seating, as well
as a cultural center - the Fox and Little Fox Theaters - and a 20-screen
cinema complex under construction. On the opposite side of El Camino
Real and the tracks lies a historic main street district. Industrial
uses border Veterans Boulevard on the edge of the station area.
From
downtown redevelopment to parking management, Redwood City is a leader
in the region for vision-supporting planning. Its General Plans have
long supported alternative transportation choices and a vibrant, dense
downtown. The city's new Downtown Plan aims to make it "the premier
livable downtown on the Peninsula, midway between San Jose and San Francisco."
Notably, the city decided to leverage the strong regional demand for
housing as the primary engine of revitalization. The city has comprehensively
approached its downtown redevelopment to maximize the use of land near
transit and create a rich a stimulating pedestrian environment. Plans
provide diverse housing, transportation, and retail choices for the
Redwood City community, and rely heavily on design specifications to
encourage new buildings that enhance the city's appearance.
The
Palo Alto Caltrain station area has unique historic and natural character.
On one side lies Stanford University, one of the first major developments
on the Peninsula. On the opposite side is downtown Palo Alto and Professorville,
a neighborhood that grew along with Stanford University as professors
and students migrated to the area. Professorville is now a designated
historic district. In the station area there is also a significant amount
of land protected for the Stanford Arboretum. 
Transportation
plans for Palo Alto focus on how urban design can create walkable neighborhoods.
Several successful Transportation Demand Management Programs are also
in effect. Bicycle planning in the area has made the city a national
model for encouraging bicycle use.
Through
its various land use plans, the City of Mountain View has made substantial
progress towards creating a transit-friendly neighborhood around the
San Antonio Caltrain Station. City residents supported past precise
plans that led to a major new housing development next to the station.
The city also plans to take advantage of its unique opportunity to redevelop
a large, vacant parcel adjacent to the station for housing. Other plans
governing areas around the station offer some opportunities for pedestrian
improvements or for the potential redevelopment of parcels for neighborhood
uses.
Sunnyvale
is the largest city on the Peninsula and the second largest in Santa
Clara County, after San Jose. The city has a diverse population and
world class companies, and was recently named one of the "Most
Inventive Towns in America" by the Wall Street Journal.
between
Evelyn Avenue and El Camino Real. This could greatly add to the pedestrian
experience and is an excellent model for other older regional shopping
centers near transit stations. Reconnecting the grid will facilitate
redevelopment of the Town Center for more pedestrian-oriented retail.
In addition, it will make the area more suitable for new housing, which
will be added on top of the redeveloped retail.