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Wheel Talk Podcast Guests (in order of appearance):

• Cassie Halls, SamTrans Major Corridors Manager
• Patrick Gilster, San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Director of Planning and Fund Management
• Megan Wooley-Ousdahl, South San Francisco Deputy City Manager
• Jacob (Jake) Buffenbarger, Caltrans System Planning Branch Chief: Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties
• Mitch Postel, San Mateo County Historical Association President

The Grand Boulevard Initiative: Turning El Camino Real into a street for everyone

This busy highway was once a trade route linking Ohlone villages in what we now call San Mateo County, in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. When the Spanish arrived, it became known as El Camino Real — the King’s Highway — carrying travelers between California’s missions.

Centuries later, this corridor remains a backbone for commerce and travel. But today, it faces modern challenges: congestion, safety concerns, and the need to better serve all who rely on it.

The Grand Boulevard Initiative (GBI) aims to reimagine this historic roadway as a modern “complete street” designed for everyone—walkers, bikers, transit riders, drivers, and local businesses.

What Is the Grand Boulevard Initiative?

The Grand Boulevard Initiative is a collaboration led by SamTrans in partnership with Caltrans, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA), and 15 cities along the Peninsula. The goal is to ensure that El Camino Real is a safe and vibrant street where people of all ages and abilities travel comfortably. Potential improvements include:

• Wider sidewalks and safer pedestrian crossings
• Dedicated bus lanes and better transit efficiency through congested areas
• Bike-friendly design and protected lanes
• Street trees, landscaping, and placemaking enhancements

Why El Camino Real Matters to San Mateo County

El Camino Real is more than just a highway — it connects residents to jobs, health care centers, schools, and civic spaces. In South San Francisco alone, the corridor links the new Library | Parks and Recreation Center (LPR), medical facilities, and BART. A revitalized El Camino Real would not only improve mobility and safety but could also boost economic vitality and quality of life along the Peninsula.

Learn More About the Grand Boulevard Initiative

The Grand Boulevard Initiative is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform San Mateo County’s most important streets. To stay updated on workshops, planning milestones, and opportunities to get involved, visit samtrans.com/GBI.

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Wheel Talk Guests (in order of appearance):

• Andy Metz, AC Transit Regional Plans Principal Planner
• Millie Tolleson, SamTrans Director of Planning
• Ted Burgwyn, Caltrain Director of Rail Network and Operations Planning
• Adina Levin, Seamless Bay Area Executive Director

The Big Sync: How SamTrans Is Teaming Up to Improve Transit Transfers on the Peninsula

SamTrans is partnering with other Bay Area transit agencies to better align bus and rail schedules at major hubs along the Peninsula. The effort is part of a regional initiative known as the Big Sync.

One element of the Big Sync is the Bay Area TRANSFER Plan — short for Transit Reliability and Accessibility Network Scheduling Framework and Equitable Regional. The goal is to improve the rider experience by reducing transfer wait times and increasing reliability at key multimodal hubs.

By synchronizing arrivals and departures where services intersect, the plan aims to make transit more seamless, equitable and time-competitive — especially for riders who depend on multiple systems to complete a single trip.

This August, four major Bay Area transit hubs are seeing improved interagency coordination: Daly City BART and Palo Alto Caltrain — both served by SamTrans — along with Concord BART and Dublin/Pleasanton BART.

“It really is about how we knit the system together in a way that works for the rider,” said SamTrans Director of Planning Millie Tolleson. “And that’s across agencies.”

Read more about how this coordination is unfolding along the Peninsula.

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The first hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) to serve public transit customers along the peninsula are now in service, with many more on the way in the weeks, months and years to come.

The San Mateo County Transit District, or SamTrans, recently placed an order for 108 additional hydrogen busses, marking the largest order of its kind in North America to date.

The move toward hydrogen at Sam trans is symbolic of a major shift in the public transportation industry. But why hydrogen? What makes this such an attractive carbon free choice for transit? Where does hydrogen fuel even come from? And is it truly green?

SamTrans Public Information Officer Randol White asks those questions and more to:

• SamTrans Director of Maintenance David harbor
• Dr. Lewis Fulton, the Director of the Energy Futures Program at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and chair of the Transportation Working Group of the California Hydrogen Hub known as ARCHES.