Bay Area folks, especially those along the 101 corridor from Mill Valley and Sausalito to San Rafael and Larkspur, should take a good look at Burlingame’s El Camino Real canopy story. It’s a saga about a historic 2.2-mile line of eucalyptus trees, planted in 1870 by horticulturist John McLaren.
Now, this leafy tunnel sits at the heart of a multi-year road repair project. Preservation is butting heads with safety and infrastructure needs.
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Caltrans has already started removing the aging trees. They plan to uproot most of them in the next couple of years.
Burlingame, along with Marin County towns nearby, is watching closely. Everyone wants to know: can a streetscape evolve without losing its soul?
What’s happening on El Camino Real in Burlingame and why it matters to Marin
The iconic canopy along El Camino Real earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. But those old eucalyptus roots have buckled sidewalks and made it tough for people with mobility challenges.
Branches hang low, blocking driver sightlines. Some trees are sick or threaten power lines during storms.
Since January, Caltrans has cut down about 80 of the roughly 400 trees. They expect to remove more than 80% over the next two years as they overhaul Burlingame’s main road.
Across the Bay in Marin, towns like Marinwood, San Rafael, and Novato face their own old streetscapes. Burlingame’s story is a live experiment in balancing heritage with safety.
The project affects not just Burlingame but also nearby corridors that commuters use daily, like Mill Valley to Tiburon. As the trees come down, people wonder: will the street still feel like home, or will it lose its charm?
The compromise: replacements planned, and a redesigned road
After years of debate between Burlingame officials who wanted to preserve the trees and Caltrans, who pushed for safety, they finally struck a deal. Large, risky trees will go, but more than 400 replacement saplings will take their place.
They’ll plant mostly skinnier eucalyptus and elm saplings. The hope is these new trees will drop less bark and fit better along the rebuilt road.
It’s not perfect, but it’s something. The goal is to keep a little of that historic canopy vibe alive for folks in neighborhoods like Corte Madera and Bel Marin Keys.
- Roadwork scope: repaving El Camino Real, upgrading drainage, and improving pedestrian access.
- Utility work: power lines moved underground to reduce storm risk and power outages.
- Replacement strategy: more than 400 saplings to reclaim a sense of continuity with the past.
Infrastructure upgrades and the timeline
This isn’t just a tree swap. The plan includes repaving El Camino Real and burying power lines for safety and smoother travel in the long run.
Officials expect the project to unfold over the coming years, with completion targeted for fall 2029.
For Marin residents used to the mess of roadwork in San Anselmo or Fairfax, Burlingame’s timeline might sound far off. Still, new pavement, underground utilities, and a refreshed streetscape could ripple out to the broader Bay Area commute before you know it.
Community reaction: mourning, acceptance, and patience
Longtime residents and preservationists, like Burlingame Historical Society president Jennifer Pfaff, mourn the loss of the familiar canopy. They worry the altered streetscape might feel disorienting.
City leaders say the work is essential for safety and long-term viability. Burlingame Mayor Michael Brownrigg urges patience, pointing out that the trees were planted with future generations in mind.
Construction has already made local traffic worse. Some drivers now cut through residential streets, which has triggered neighborly frustrations across the Bay.
Still, many residents accept the plan as unavoidable. They see it as perhaps the largest city project Burlingame has tackled in years—a project that will ripple out to Marin neighbors who depend on cross-bay connections for shopping, commuting, and just getting around.
Looking ahead: lessons for Marin County communities
Marin towns keep a close eye on Burlingame’s approach. They’re picking up a practical playbook for tough decisions about historic landscapes and modern infrastructure.
The Burlingame story highlights a few themes for Mill Valley, Novato, San Rafael, and Sausalito:
- Clear communication with residents about why trees go and what comes next helps keep trust steady during disruption.
- Combining preservation with practicality—finding ways to honor heritage while making roads safer and longer-lasting.
- Long-term planning that looks ahead to maintenance cycles and traffic shifts, so communities can adapt instead of just reacting.
For Marin County readers, Burlingame’s El Camino Real project feels like more than a local road repair. It’s a window into how our own towns—from Larkspur to San Quentin and beyond—might navigate the tricky balance of history, safety, and progress in the years ahead.
Here is the source article for this story: Burlingame is cutting down hundreds of historic trees after
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