Comments for “Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update (ARCHIVE)”
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Long crosswalks and unprotected left turns put pedestrians at risk. Could benefit greatly from curb extensions.
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Would love to be able to walk through the block here, going from Scott St, through Heritage Park, through this block, and onto Gilman St.
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There is inadequate bike parking on Cal Ave.
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There is inadequate bike parking along university ave.
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Crosswalks are long, increasing pedestrian exposure. All light phases are unprotected, increasing pedestrian danger from left-turning cars that fail to yield. This intersection would greatly benefit from curb extensions which would shorten crosswalk lengths and increase visibility of waiting pedestrians.
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It would be great if all intersections on College in College Terrace were roundabouts, like the one at Yale. It is especially confusing when the cross streets have the right of way.
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Cars turning left out of PAMF onto El Camino share the signal phase with walkers. The conflict area at the crosswalk is four lanes long, so it's difficult for walkers to cross quickly, and it's far from where the left-turning cars stop so it's hard for drivers to see if people are crossing. Two lanes of left-turning cars adds to the danger since either car in the first lane can fail to notice if there's pedestrians. Cars also fan out when they're in the intersection, so even if the first car enters the intersection then yields, the second car has room to maneuver into an adjacent lane and enter the crosswalk without yielding.
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Speed limit in residential areas where it is now 25 mph should be reduced. Safety issues are difficulty seeing traffic when backing up driveway to street and hazard for children and animals running out into street.
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Regarding the Hillview/Hanover/Porter intersection, I've noticed that at lunch time during the work week there are many pedestrians who ignore the walk signs, as they walk to/from Coupa Cafe for lunch. One reason for this is because the traffic light has 4 phases and the wait times are long, particularly for those crossing diagonally. Previous inquiries to the city via PaloAlto311 got responses indicating that prioritizing pedestrians would likely increase wait times for vehicles. But in my view this is a good example of a place where pedestrian traffic should have an increased priority, at least during the lunchtime hours during the week.
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This light is unsafe for both motorists and pedestrians/cyclists due to the unprotected left turn signals on Middlefield. At a minimum, these should be changed to protected left turns during commute hours. If there are motorists in the left turn lane on Middlefield in both directions at the same time, the drivers can't see oncoming traffic (and this is always the case in evening rush hour). Therefore, when it is rush hour, most left turns happen during the yellow light. Adding to this, they are turning into the pedestrians who are also allowed to cross Loma Verde at the same time. It's a lot for drivers to watch at once and I've seen a car accident here. And to make the matter really bad, in the winter during the evening rush hour, due to the angle of the sun, the person turning left onto Loma verde (going towards El Carmelo) can't see and is blinded by the sun as they turn. I'd really love to see both a protected left turn here and at least during school commute times, an all walk pedestrian crossing to make it extremely safe for the students getting to school.
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Many people, including kids, cross this intersection. Cars turn without paying attention to pedestrians and bikers. Also, at night, some bikers and pedestrians are not wearing any light and not visible to others.
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A lot of kids cross streets here and cars sometimes don’t stop.
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This light always lasts too long for people coming from Palo Alto High school or town and country. It should be more reactive to the actual traffic present.
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There is no crosswalk here but it is the main way to get to the park, or to go from the park to safeway, for many blocks, Cars do not stop as they are legally required to for "unmarked crosswalks" to cross over to sutter ave.
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Very often I see dog owners brining their dogs into/out of Ramos Park without leashes. Obviously we can't call the police each time we see this and the police have better things to do. What would be useful is to have very visible signs at the Ramos Park entrances and exits asking people to leash their dogs. My son was bitten at this park once so I know all what is possible when people don't have their dogs on a leash. It prevents others from enjoying the same facilities.
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There is a new pedestrian crossing here. But there isn't any kind of flashing light to alert drivers that someone is crossing. Honestly not sure why we needed that extra pedestrian crossing so close to the Charleston/Middlefield crossing that already is available and well protected. But to the extent we need to have another one so close to a major intersection requiring extra and unusual attention from the drivers, please add flashing lights indicating that someone is crossing. I especially worry about the children who cross assuming that traffic will somehow stop for them - they are kids after all.
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This rounadbout is quite dangerous for pedestrians because the pedestrian crossings are so close to the circles. Hard to tell if the car is aimed at you or actually turning. Similarly when driving there isn't much time to see both pedestrian on the right and also the roundabout traffic. Best to move the pedestrian crossing a few feet further out for now. I have seen roundabouts in the UK - usually they are placed in much wider intersections so the issue we see at Ross & Meadow just doesn't happen. I still think it was wrong to convert this intersection from a 4-way stop to the hybrid it is today. Today it is not safe at all for the young cyclists who are just too young to pay that extra attention this intersection now requires. Americans don't get roundabouts in general :-) and they get roundabouts with two way stop signs even less. I pray that none of the child cyclists or pedestrians ever get hit.
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Significant back-up of cars on Middlefield turning left into Mitchell Park Library parking lot. This frequently happens on weekends and during community events, in addition to weekday school / commute hours. Lots of near-miss collisions due to cars zipping around stopped traffic. What happened to the protected left turn lanes that made a brief appearance years ago? They should be added back.
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This traffic light sensor problem is everywhere. Cyclists are invisible to sensors. Only if a car drives up behind you then the lights will turn.
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Would be great if this bridge could be wider like the new one connecting to Baylands.
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Cars use the bike lanes on East Meadow as an extra driving lane. Better road markings or a separated bike lane needed.
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A lot of traffic here from cars trying to turn into the private school at drop off / pick up times. Cars at a standstill on Middlefield waiting to turn in, from both directions.
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Bumpy path, tree roots, narrow parts on this bike path.
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This junction needs better pedestrian/bike infrastructure and signage to manage road traffic and kids walking and biking to school at busy rush hour.
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Cars need to cross a busy bike lane right outside school to get to and from the '3-minute parking' zone. The name itself implies drivers are rushed. Other schools have red line / no parking outside school.
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