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Better Alternatives

The City's Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) issued on May 23rd shows that there are at least two viable Alternatives to Safeway's proposal -- each of which is demonstrably better for Burlingame: These are Alternative 4 (the modified Burlingame Merchants Association Alternative) and Alternative 6 (the modified Spinelli Alternative). You can view the proposed Site Plan for each of these alternatives by clicking on the name of the alternative just above.

Let's compare the Safeway proposal with these two Alternatives:

Safeway's WRONG Approach

The Alternatives' BETTER Approach

MASSIVE Box Store: Almost 70,000 sq. ft. for the proposed Safeway/Walgreens MEGASTORE (Mollie Stone's and Lunardi's are each about 20,000).

  • Put up the "story poles" so we can all visualize just how HUGE it will be - as big as a football field and 25-35 ft. high.
  • The single huge building aggravates the total mass and bulk that the "Disneyland" fake store fronts cannot hide.

Reduced Mass and Bulk: Both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 reduce the total mass and bulk by providing a Safeway of about 42,000 sq. ft. and a Walgreens of about 12,500 sq. ft. (plus 4,000 sq. ft. mezzanine). The total footprint is about 54,500 sq. ft.

  • This new Safeway adds space about the size of Mollie Stone's to the existing Safeway's usable space, making it a much larger store.
  • Alternative 6 has a single building for both stores. Alternative 4 is preferable because it has separate Safeway and Walgreens buildings -- thereby breaking up the mass and bulk.

HUGE Parking Deficit: About 58 parking spaces short of projected demand for peak period parking for the Safeway MEGASTORE.

  • Compare that to the 68 parking spaces in Mollie Stone's entire parking lot.
  • The projected overflow parking from Safeway's MEGASTORE would have to be absorbed by downtown Burlingame that is already hurting for parking spaces.
  • Acceptable parking mitigation by Safeway still needs to be resolved.

Reduced Parking Deficit:

The Final EIR says that:

  • Both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 will result in a 15% reduction in vehicle trips related to the Safeway/Walgreens stores.

  • In addition, Alternative 4 provides 17 more on-site parking spaces than the Safeway proposal.

These will go a long way toward reducing the project's negative parking impact.

Clogged Traffic on Primrose: 28-30 large Delivery Trucks per day on narrow Primrose Road (only 20' between parked cars) trying to turn left onto Fox Plaza Lane, blocking traffic in both directions. What happens when these truck arrivals "bunch up" as they will do? Or when the City builds its proposed 300-car parking structure with entry and exit lanes onto Primrose right across the street from Fox Plaza Lane? Not a pretty picture.

Delivery Truck Traffic Moved from Primrose to Howard: Both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 have all the heavy Delivery Trucks making deliveries to Safeway and Walgreens entering on a widened Howard Avenue and making a right-turn exit onto El Camino Real.

"Island Unto Itself": Safeway's proposed MEGASTORE would be an enclosed Mini-Mall (grocery, pharmacy, drug store, bank, deli, bakery, photo shop, café, video store, flower stand, etc.) that is effectively walled off from the rest of downtown Burlingame. No integration whatever.

Integration with Downtown Burlingame: Under both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 the Safeway and Walgreens stores are not walled off from the rest of downtown Burlingame. Rather, shoppers at Safeway and Walgreens can quickly and conveniently walk to both Burlingame Avenue and Primrose Road shopping.

Pedestrian Un-Friendly: No pedestrian-friendly, convenient access from the MEGASTORE shoppers' parked cars to Burlingame Avenue (via Fox Plaza Arcade) or Primrose Road (via Fox Plaza Lane). The proposed sidewalk to Primrose along Fox Plaza Lane is pedestrian-hostile with its truck loading docks, noise and noxious diesel fumes.

Pedestrian Friendly: Both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 consolidate City Parking Lots K and L (89 parking spaces) close to Primrose and Fox Plaza Lane.

  • From here it is only a few steps to shopping along Primrose or along Burlingame Avenue via the Fox Mall Arcade.
  • There would be a 20-foot greenbelt with park benches and flowers for 180 ft. along Primrose between the sidewalk and the City Parking Lot. The Heritage Live Oak would be located there.
Building on Public Land: Safeway's MEGASTORE would be built on City Parking Lot L (right behind Fox Plaza Arcade), depriving shoppers of this convenient access to Burlingame Avenue. Safeway proposes to "swap" land of equal size that is less valuable and far less convenient for Burlingame Avenue shoppers.

Improved Location for City Parking Lots: Under Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 the conveniently located City Lot L is effectively expanded from 20 parking spaces to 89 parking spaces by adding to it the parking spaces from City Lot K which was far less conveniently located. This allows the new Safeway or Safeway/Walgreens to be built on part of what is now City Lot K near El Camino Real.

Loss of Heritage Trees: Removal of three beautiful mature trees (Coast Live Oak and 2 Eucalyptus Gum). Trees like these are "endangered species" in downtown Burlingame.

Preservation of Heritage Trees: Both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 preserve the Heritage Live Oak on Primrose Road and the Heritage Eucalyptus on El Camino Real. The large Eucalyptus behind the Wells Fargo Bank unfortunately will probably be lost.

Environmentally Un-Friendly:

  • Higher Energy Usage: As shown on the right, the Safeway proposal will result in higher usage of both natural gas and electicity for each year of operation.

  • Noxious Diesel Fumes: Safeway proposes a pedestrian sidewalk along Fox Plaza Lane to Primrose (including use by mothers with children and the elderly) that runs right next to Safeway's four truck loading docks. The noxious diesel fumes from these heavy trucks could risk creating a health hazard according to information in the New York Times.

Environmenally Friendly:

  • Energy Savings: The Final EIR estimates that Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 will result in energy usage for each year of operation that will consume 300,000 less cubic feet of natural gas and 500,000 less kilowatt hours of electricity than under the Safeway proposal.

  • Minimizes Hazard From Noxious Diesel Fumes: In both Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 the heavy truck loading docks are located where there would be minimal pedestrian traffic.

Altogether Un-Burlingame: The proposed 70,000 sq. ft. MEGASTORE may make sense for other communities or in other locations (like near a freeway), but is totally out of keeping with the small-town, pedestrian-friendly downtown shopping district that so many people have worked so hard for so many years to create -- for all of us to enjoy.

Burlingame Compatible: Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 each make the Safeway project fit much better into the fabric of downtown Burlingame by:

  • reducing the mass and bulk of the Safeway and Walgreens stores that Safeway has proposed,
  • integrating the two new stores into Burlingame's prized downtown business district,
  • moving the Delivery Truck traffic from Primrose to a widened Howard Avenue, and
  • placing the City Parking Lots close to Primrose and Burlingame Avenue so shoppers can have more effective choices.

Thus, Alternative 4 and Alternative 6 transform this project to one that is compatible with Burlingame's small-town values and expectations.