New design options - your input needed!

We developed design options based on your input from Fall 2025, and technical analysis. Learn more and share your input below!

What is the Mobility Plan?

This plan is South San Francisco's initiative to re-envision El Camino Real. Our goals are to design a street that is:

  • Safer for all users.
  • A more pleasant experience for people walking, rolling, biking, and riding the bus.

Share your thoughts about El Camino Real!

Alternatives for El Camino Real

We developed three alternatives for El Camino Real, based on community input from Fall 2025, as well as technical analysis. Click through the tabs below to learn about each alternative compared to the existing El Camino Real.

Existing

Existing

This image shows existing conditions. This is how El Camino Real is now, with three vehicle travel lanes, on-street parking, and sidewalks.

When evaluated by key project goals, the existing conditions scored:

🟥 Poor - Aligns with SSF General Plan
🟥 Poor - Prioritizes Safety
🟥 Poor - Enhances Pedestrian Connectivity & Walkability
🟥 Poor - Creates Seamless All Ages and Abilities Bikeway
🟥 Poor - Improves Transit Operations
🟥 Poor - Introduces Green Infrastructure
🟥 Poor - Preserved Critical Parking and Loading Zones
🟨 Moderate - Maintains Vehicle Travel Time
🟨 Moderate - Supports Emergency Response Operations

In addition to key project goals, we will also consider community input. Help us understand your thoughts by filling out the survey!

Alt 1: Pedestrian

Alternative 1

This image shows Alternative 1, which focuses on pedestrian improvements through:

  • Building wider sidewalks
  • Adding street trees

Alternative 1 also maintains on-street parking to serve businesses and customers and provides a continuous shared use path (PDF, opens in new tab) on the west side, with connections to the Centennial Way Trail.

When evaluated by key project goals, Alternative 1 scored:

🟨 Moderate - Aligns with SSF General Plan
🟨 Moderate - Prioritizes Safety
🟨 Moderate - Enhances Pedestrian Connectivity & Walkability
🟩 Excellent - Creates Seamless All Ages and Abilities Bikeway
🟨 Moderate - Improves Transit Operations
🟩 Excellent - Introduces Green Infrastructure
🟨 Moderate - Preserves Critical Parking and Loading Zones
🟨 Moderate - Maintains Vehicle Travel Time
🟨 Moderate - Supports Emergency Response

In addition to key project goals, we will also consider community input. Help us understand your thoughts by filling out the survey!

Alt 2: Transit

Alternative 2

This image shows Alternative 2, which focuses on pedestrians and transit by:

  • Converting a general vehicle lane into a lane specifically for buses and emergency vehicles, which regular vehicles can only use to turn right
  • Adding wider sidewalks
  • Adding street trees

Alternative 2 also maintains on-street parking to serve businesses and customers and includes a shared use path (PDF, opens in new tab) in some areas of El Camino Real to support connections to the Centennial Way Trail.

When evaluated by key project goals, Alternative 2 scored:

🟩 Excellent - Alignment with SSF General Plan
🟨 Moderate - Prioritizes Safety
🟨 Moderate - Enhances Pedestrian Connectivity & Walkability
🟨 Moderate - Creates Seamless All Ages and Abilities Bikeway
🟩 Excellent - Improves Transit Operations
🟩 Excellent - Introduces Green Infrastructure
🟨 Moderate - Preserved Critical Parking and Loading Zones
🟥 Poor - Maintains Vehicle Travel Time
🟩 Moderate - Supports Emergency Response Operations

In addition to key project goals, we will also consider community input. Help us understand your thoughts by filling out the survey!

Alt 3: Bicycle

Alternative 3

This image shows Alternative 3, which focuses on pedestrian and bicycle improvements through:

  • Adding a separated bikeway on each side of El Camino Real
  • Making wider sidewalks
  • Adding street trees

Alternative 3 would also maintain on-street parking to serve businesses and customers. Alternative 3 would require removing a vehicle travel lane, which would likely reduce bus speed and reliability.

When evaluated by key project goals, Alternative 3 scored:

🟨 Moderate - Alignment with SSF General Plan
🟩 Excellent - Prioritizes Safety
🟩 Excellent - Enhances Pedestrian Connectivity & Walkability
🟩 Excellent - Creates Seamless All Ages and Abilities Bikeway
🟥 Poor - Improves Transit Operations
🟩 Excellent - Introduces Green Infrastructure
🟨 Moderate - Preserved Critical Parking and Loading Zones
🟥 Poor - Maintains Vehicle Travel Time
🟥 Poor - Supports Emergency Response Operations

In addition to key project goals, we will also consider community input. Help us understand your thoughts by filling out the survey!

How do alternatives compare to project goals?

Here is another overview of how each of the three alternatives performed according to each key project goal. These are the same goals described above with the alternatives, but consolidated by goal. For more details about each goal, you can also review the full evaluation matrix (PDF, opens in new tab).

Why do we need the Mobility Plan?

  • New destinations

    New homes and destinations like this one have been built in South San Francisco in the past few years, and more will be coming in the future.

  • Many uses

    Driving is and will continue to be a primary way to use El Camino Real. Many people also walk, bike, and take the bus.

  • Inconsistent features

    While some places are safe and comfortable, others are not. For example, at this intersection, there is no crosswalk for people to cross the street to get to businesses or homes.

Learn more!

The Mobility Plan will identify concept designs showing improvements to El Camino Real that help us meet our goals of a safer street and a more pleasant experience for everyone.

We will identify the concept designs through technical analysis and input from community members. Your input through attending events and sharing thoughts on the survey and map on this website are important for us to determine which recommendations to include in the Mobility Plan.

Currently, El Camino Real is the most dangerous street in the Bay Area region. El Camino Real has unusually high rate of crashes that cause fatalities or serious injuries, especially for people walking or biking.

People walking and biking are more likely to be severely injured or killed in a collision:

  • 24% of all injuries involved people walking or biking due to collisions on El Camino Real in South San Francisco.
  • 83% of severe injuries involved people walking or bicycling on El Camino Real in South San Francisco.

Speeding is the leading cause of collisions that result in injuries on El Camino Real.

Currently, El Camino Real in South San Francisco has challenges for all types of users! For example:

  • Driving. Parts of El Camino Real experience traffic, especially in the north end of the corridor near Hickey Boulevard.
  • Walking. Some areas of El Camino are comfortable to walk on, with wider sidewalks and shade from trees. Other places have narrow sidewalks or none at all. Some intersections are missing crosswalks.
  • Taking transit. BART, SamTrans buses, and the South City Free Shuttle are all available from El Camino Real. Buses get stuck in traffic. Bus stops are inconsistent. While some bus stops include waiting areas and shelters, others lack shade and require buses to pull out of traffic, which slows them down.
  • Biking. Bike lanes are missing throughout most of El Camino in South City. While there are bike lanes in some areas, they are not separated from the car lanes. The Centennial Way Trail is a safer and more comfortable route for many, though connections between El Camino and the trail are minimal.

This South San Francisco project will feed into SamTrans' Grand Boulevard Initiative (GBI). GBI is a collaboration in San Mateo County between 14 cities and towns, three countywide agencies, and Caltrans. The project aims to make El Camino Real a safer and more connected place to walk, bike, drive, and take transit by installing roadway improvements along the corridor.

South San Francisco is collaborating with SamTrans to include this plan as part of the El Camino Real Action Plan, which will incorporate concept designs from all cities in San Mateo County. The countywide Action Plan will be developed in Summer to Winter 2026.