Comments for “Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update”
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One of the most dangerous intersections because it's the only street in Palo Alto that goes straight from University Ave. all the way thru to Alms. So many cars speed most of the way as there are relatively few stop signs along the way. Then they get to Middlefield where many, many go well over the speed limit coming from the north. So driver wanting to cross looks Middlefild looks right and sees no car,. looks left and sees no car so revs up to cross just as a car comes whipping down from the North. And Booom!
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There should be no bikes on Alma. Some parts of Alma have a middle boulevard to help vehicles make a left turn on to Alma from the side streets or to help vehicles make a left turn off of Alma and onto the side streets. These middle turn lanes are critical to maintain the flow of traffic on Alma. Some areas of Alma do not have this and it makes it very difficult to turn left onto Alma or make a left turn to get off of Alma and onto the side streets like Santa Rita. In general, we need to widen Alma to alleviate the traffic issues and make it easier to merge onto Alma or exit Alma.
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I'm advocating for Lincoln Ave to become a bike boulevard. This should be supported by traffic calming measures.
Rationale: Lincoln Ave is a regular residential street, but gets an undue amount of cut through traffic. Lincoln/Middlefield has been a dangerous intersection for years. Both problems seem solvable by restricting traffic predominantly to bikes (and genuine residential traffic).
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I'm advocating for Lincoln Ave to become a bike boulevard. This should be supported by traffic calming measures.
Rationale: Lincoln Ave is a regular residential street, but gets an undue amount of cut through traffic. Lincoln/Middlefield has been a dangerous intersection for years. Both problems seem solvable by restricting traffic predominantly to bikes (and genuine residential traffic).
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To make Wilkie Way a proper bike blvd, multiple modal filters must be added due to significant cut-through traffic. Today, vehicles cut through between ECR and Charleston via El Camino Way + James + Wilkie or El Camino Way + James + Wilkie + Tennessee/Carolina + Park. If stop signs along Wilkie Way are removed to enable faster bicycle travel, it will also lead to faster and more dangerous cut through traffic without modal filters.
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To make Park Blvd a bike blvd between Maclane and Charleston will not work without an improved crossing at Meadow Dr. It is difficult and dangerous to cross Meadow at Park Blvd at commute time. I think it makes more sense to use Maclane/Wilkie as the bike blvd to cross Meadow, Charleston, and Adobe Creek.
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In its current configuration, Margarita is too narrow to be safe bike route and has poor visibility. Parking should be removed from one side of the street to increase roadway width so that motor vehicles can pass bicycles safely.
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Remove parking on one side of the street in narrow section of Park Blvd between Margarita and Curtner. This section is presently too narrow for motor vehicles to safely pass bicycles, and can even be unsafe when large vehicles don't move towards the edge of the road for oncoming bicycles.
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Remove parking lane on SW bound Meadow approaching Alma St to make bike lane safer. It is currently a very narrow door-zone bike lane.
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[Pedestrians]
At Ruthelma crosswalk across Charleston Rd, add flashing lights or HAWK signal. Currently, this mid-block crosswalk is almost useless because vehicles don't slow or stop. -
[Pedestrians]
Add crosswalk at Park Blvd across Charleston Rd with button activated flashing lights. It is almost impossible to cross the street here, and the crosswalk at Ruthelma doesn't have flashing lights, which doesn't make it much better. -
Add bike lane along Arastradero Rd between Pearson Arastradero Preserve and Page Mill Rd to enable safe bicycle access to Arastradero Preserve. Work with other stakeholders to connect bike lane along Page Mill Rd between Page Mill/280 interchange and Arastradero Rd since this is not within Palo Alto city limits.
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[Pedestrians]
Add sidewalks to Miller Ave between Wilkie bridge and Del Medio Ave. This is a busy route with motor vehicles, bicycles, e-bikes, and pedestrians that all end up mixing in the roadway. -
Add double yellow center line in curved section of Wilkie Way SE of Meadow Dr. Vehicles often drive down the middle of the road and crowd bicycles into parking lane with parked cars.
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[Pedestrians]
Add contiguous sidewalk on at least one side of Los Robles between ECR and Bol Park bike path so that pedestrians can safely reach the bike path. The current situation involves dodging bicycles, motor vehicles and parked cars, and often requires walking off the road in the dirt. The route is not suitable for wheelchair users or pedestrians with a mobility device such as a walker. -
[Pedestrians]
Add sidewalks on both sides of Maybell Ave from ECR to Donald Dr so that pedestrians can safely walk to Juana Briones park and school without having to repeatedly cross the street in the middle of the block or walk in the street. -
Create dedicated bicycle facility across the Palo Alto transit center between the Embarcadero/Caltrain bike path and the ECR sports fields bike path. The current options are mix with cars and buses on the road or mix with pedestrians on the sidewalk/platform and in the narrow space around the top of the pedestrian tunnel/ramp.
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This intersection seems extremely dangerous with so many kids on bikes running the stop sign even when there are cars already in the intersection and tons of car traffic.
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Add shared use path connection between ECR sports fields path and El Palo Alto path with a signalized crossing of Palo Alto Ave. The current situation traveling from S to N requires dangerous merges into vehicle lanes and an unprotected left turn. Traveling N to S requires dismounting and using the sidewalk/crosswalk.
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The existing bike lanes on East Charleston are an object lesson in what not to do. The bile lane striping changes every few feet. A cyclist has to watch carefully all the way from Middlefield to San Antonio, because the kind of bike lane and the direction from which threats will arrive keep changing.
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On E. Charleston approaching Wright the bike lane goes from a buffered lane to a green-dashed merge lane then abruptly to a narrow unprotected bike lane, offset to the left. This looks like an accident waiting to happen when a bicyclist following the lane suddenly appears in front of a motorist.
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Oppose a bike path on Middlefield the busiest thoroughfare for Palo Alto neighborhoods and where it's all about the *intersections.* I recently stopped f-o-r-e-v-e-r while a pedestrian (at normal walking speed) crossed a side street S to N while on a side street Seale or similar while many cars patiently waited. There was me N bound trying to go straight behind someone trying to make a right turn while a S bound car on Middlefield was angling to make a left. Cars are also always sticking their nose to cross or to get on Middelfield from a side street. No amount of patronage of biking is worth the risk and inefficiency. Environmentally also a bad trade-off because more car stop and go situations would happen (stop and go for cars for that many cars is the dirtiest), plus added pollution to an already impacted area....assuming the purpose is to get more people to bike to reduce emissions or for health. Not to mention a mess that could result at Walter Hayes and Jr Museum area. Surely there are alternatives.
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This gate between Foothills Park and Arastradero Preserve currently has a "bikes prohibited" sign, although it is unenforced (to my understanding). Worth updating the sign!
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Thank you for adding a bike lane here. Many of our neighborhood children travel by bike to school and this will be a great step in increasing safety.
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No bike lanes!! too hazardous for neighbors.
Keep both sides street parking.
Reduce Middlefield speed limit to 15-20mph.