Street Classifications

The City defines it’s streets in very specific ways. Below is a table and description of the kinds of streets we have.
Freeways: Freeways route traffic through the community and are characterized by large traffic volumes and high speed travel.

Arterial Routes: Arterials link residential and commercial districts, and serve shorter through traffic needs. Examples include portions of Hillsdale Boulevard, Norfolk Street, and Alameda de las Pulgas.

Collector Roads: Collector streets link neighborhoods to arterials and are not intended for through traffic, but are nonetheless intended to move traffic in an efficient manner.

Local Streets: Local streets are designed to serve only adjacent land uses and are intended to protect residents from through traffic impacts.

Street Characteristics


This table describes the typical street characteristics intended for each street class.

TABLE C-1: TYPICAL SAN MATEO ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS

Roadway Type
Number of Lanes
No. of Daily Vehicles
Freeway 6 - 10 120,000 - 250,000
Arterial 2 - 6
10,000 - 50,000
Collector 2 - 4
1,000 - 10,000
Local 2
500 - 1,000
More Information
You can learn more about our city’s traffic plan by reading the Circulation Element of the General Plan.