When Foster City was first planned and the Peninsula was the place to move to in order to get away from the crowds of the big city, I wonder how many people thought we would be looking to design a transportation system to get around in suburbia?
With the increase in the County’s population, the expanded business communities in all Peninsula cities, traffic, cost of gas and the environment, it seems only fitting that our City begin the task of exploring a more comprehensive and dependable transit system for our residents. The issue is not just the commuter traffic, it is also our ability to get to and from parks and shopping within our community.
The City Council recently approved the organization of a Transportation Advisory Task Force to study transportation needs. This committee will be in charge of evaluating existing opportunities and their efficiency as well as identifying the various problems that go along with this type of system.
Because of the importance of this effort, the Council decided to expand the mission statement in order that this committee could fully access the needs and desires of the residents referencing public transportation.
It will be incumbent upon them, along with staff, to gather information and coordinate with transportation agencies to evaluate route schedules while establishing strategic benchmarks in an effort to help create a way of life that takes us out of our automobiles.
We need to find a new way of connecting people effectively, without the use of cars. This assignment will be multifaceted and will eventually involve other members of the community, both business and residential, to help identify the types of services for which we would abandon our cars.
Cities around the County are planning for the future by creating innovative approaches to transit opportunities for residents. We have heard of the “Grand Boulevard” design planned for the El Camino in which we will see a transportation network that will connect all the cities along the El Camino and beyond.
Our City is becoming very busy and the long range development plans will see it even busier. Our strategy for the future should be to achieve a goal that links us to this transportation network design and furthers our opportunities to provide easy mobility around town through public transit means.
Encouraging to non–auto travel is the future in order to improve a city’s environment and quality of life. We are designed perfectly to have more of a pedestrian, bicycle, and NEV friendly type city.
I look forward to hearing your ideas on the subject as it will take a community effort to design the perfect public transit vision for Foster City. Please email your thoughts to lkoelling@fostercity.org.
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