May 14, 2024
Honorable City Council Members and Staff,
In reviewing the staff report for the 2024-2029 CIP, Im pleased to see funding for projects that support active transportation infrastructure, climate resilience, and housing on city-owned parking lots.
Unfortunately, I think the plan is missing one critical item that would advance several of the councils stated priorities of Climate Action, Housing, and Safe Routes:
Menlo Parks 2024-2029 CIP plan should include support for Bike Lanes and Related Safety Infrastructure on El Camino Real.
Back in 2014, Menlo Park had a vision for bike lanes on El Camino Real (ECR). The city even completed a $1 Million study that showed strong public support for removing parking and installing buffered or protected bike lanes there. The study also showed that installing bike lanes would reduce vehicle traffic and increase bike travel along the route.
(https://www.menlopark.org/DocumentCenter/View/10520/ECR-5-3-16-mt?bidId=)
Its my understanding that in 2016 the City Council chose to postpone bike lanes on El Camino Real until neighboring cities were making progress.
Well, that time has come!
In 2024-2025, as part of a $30M repaving project, Caltrans is footing the bill to remove parking and install bike lanes on ECR from Mountain View to the Menlo Park border. Mountain View City Council voted in September 2021 in favor of bike lanes, and Los Altos City Council did the same in March 2022. Palo Alto is poised to move forward with bike lanes as we speak.
Atherton is currently conducting a survey on ECR improvements for bike/ped safety. Redwood City has a number of quick build bike infrastructure projects in the works for its section of ECR.
All told, some 15 of the 19 cities along the ECR corridor are moving forward with plans for bike lanes!
El Camino Real is the only continuous North-South corridor for vehicle and bike travel, and Menlo Park should take full advantage of the upcoming Caltrans repaving project to plan for the best possible design of its section of ECR. Id like to see Menlo Park follow the example of Mountain View, a city that was proactive in working with Caltrans and corporate sponsors (Google) thereby maximizing bike/ped safety improvements while taking financial advantage of the state-sponsored repaving.
Bike lanes on ECR, like any project that promotes or improves upon alternatives to driving, will improve quality of life for everyone. The vehicles that clog our roads are still the greatest source of carbon emissions. Anything we can do to improve walkability and expand bike and scooter use is going to pay big dividends in terms of reducing greenhouse gases and fighting climate change.
Installing Bike lanes on ECR is also an opportunity to improve transportation equity. Folks who travel by bus and walk or bike along ECR are often trying to get to school or to a low-wage job and dont have any other alternative. Bike lanes and related pedestrian safety improvements would offer protection to the most vulnerable segment of our community.
Now is the time to revisit the bike lane plans for ECR in Menlo Park. Lets not miss out on this once-in-30-year opportunity to take advantage of Caltrans repaving dollars. I know from recent discussions Ive attended involving Caltrans that our City can negotiate for the design and inclusion of high-visibility pedestrian crossings and other desirable design improvements.
Thank you for your consideration.
Katherine Dumont
Menlo Park resident
