In Redwood City tonight (Monday June 5), Caltrans is hosting the second of two community open house meetings on the project intended to streamline 101 commutes. Â The meeting is at 6:30pm at Redwood City City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road.

If you are interested in more sustainable transportation and less traffic congestion on 101, and you werenâ€™t at the meeting in San Mateo last week, please come if you can.

A key question is whether the project should add a new lane to 101, or convert an existing lane for buses and carpools. Â Â Â A high occupancy lane creates opportunities to carry as many passengers in one lane as the rest of the highway combined.

Based on the presentation at the first community meeting in San Mateo, the team of Caltrans engineers and consultants have been working hard to prevent the negative outcome of seizing private property. Â By narrowing the median and travel lanes, and connecting the auxiliary lanes into a new through lane, the project might be able to add a lane without property takings.

But the team has been giving much less concern to getting high occupancy use on the high occupancy lane:

What investments and policies will be needed to shift many people from solo driving to transit and carpools? The study is looking at SamTrans express buses, but thatâ€™s it.

Will the funding for the project be used to improve transit and other alternatives? Â Who will make these decisions?

How would a toll allowing solo drivers to use the lane affect access for low-income commuters, and what strategies could improve equity?

There are other questions about the impacts of adding a new lane:

How much would adding a new lane draw drivers from 280 and other routes, quickly bringing back the level of congestion?

When a new lane draws more cars, the access roads are the same size. What will the impact be on traffic at local roads such as Ralston in Belmont?

If auxiliary lanes are converted to a travel lane, how will this affect safety, as drivers need to do quicker merging to get on and off the highway?

If you are concerned about these questions, or have your own questions, please come to this meeting. This is a good opportunity to learn and have community questions affect the project.

After finishing the environmental study, the project team will come back in January to present results and recommendations, for policymakers to decide.

Wednesday: Redwood City El Camino Real Corridor Advisory Group to make recommendations

Wednesday June 7 at 7pm in Redwood City City Hall, the El Camino Real Advisory Group will be making its recommendations for City Council on topics relating to the El Camino Real Corridor Plan.

So far, there has been substantial community support for a better pedestrian environment, and also for protected bike lanes, with safety and economic development as main goals. Â The committee was open to replacing parking on El Camino with nearby parking, to make room for bike lanes. Other topics include strategies for affordable housing, and other community benefits.

If you live or work in Redwood City, or frequently visit, this is a good chance to give your input before the plan goes to Council.