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Officials from San Mateo County, Menlo Park and Atherton are beginning to explore pedestrian and bicycle upgrades to Marsh Road, in the hopes of closing travel gaps around U.S. 101.
At its Sept. 3 board meeting, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) jointly awarded the trio a $1 million grant through its 101 Corridor Connect Kickstart mini-grants program, which is intended to help transportation projects near the highway get off the ground.
The segment of Marsh Road north from Middlefield Road to Bayfront Expressway is overseen by Menlo Park, which applied for the grant individually. South of Middlefield Road to Bay Road is shared between Atherton and the county, which also applied for the grant for their segment. SMCTA helped combine them into one project.
“Broadly, the project is intended to develop a coordinated vision for improving multimodal transportation connections along Marsh Road and across US 101,” Sue-Ellen Atkinson, manager for SMCTA’s Planning and Fund Management division, told this news organization in an email.
The agencies still need to work out the project’s scope and what options might be pursued, since the project is in its infancy. Atkinson said SMCTA is providing technical assistance, and will help find a consultant to study the area and gather public input on potential improvements, such as a shared-use trail and a pedestrian and cyclist crossing over the highway. She said they’re anticipating the study to begin mid-2027.
Marsh Road has been on all three jurisdictions’ radar for years. Menlo Park’s 2024 Vision Zero Action Plan identifies Marsh Road as a “high collision corridor.”
Atherton officials noted Marsh Road’s potential as a bicycle and pedestrian corridor more than a decade ago. In the town’s 2014 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, the “Bay to Ridge Greenway” was proposed to give residents more travel options across the highway, to the multiple office spaces and to the Bay Trail.
Atherton Public Works Director Robert Ovadia said the city is working to finalize an updated Active Transportation Plan — which will once again include this project — before the end of the year.
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