Dear Mayor Combs and City Councilmembers,
Thank you for your thoughts and discussion about agenda item K2 (Springline) at last night's meeting! I appreciate the thought, planning, and process you bring to ensure we make the best use of the public benefit funds, and I'm glad we have so many good priorities to consider funding.
Since Mayor Combs asked for some more detail behind my question about potentially using the funds for street infrastructure in the neighborhood around Springline, I wanted to send a quick note. As background, I live near Encinal Elementary and walk through this area frequently to get to downtown and Caltrain.
During commute hours, the streets in our corner of Menlo Park are vibrant, bustling with school traffic (not just to Encinal, but M-A and others) -- we have a steady stream of pedestrians and cyclists of all ages, commuters, parents in cars for school dropoffs, and truck traffic (e.g. box trucks, contractor vehicles). Some streets in the area have a bit more bike/ped infrastructure than others today, with infrastructure generally improving the closer you get to downtown.
An area we might want to take a look at enhancing is Encinal between Middlefield and the Caltrain tracks -- a bit further from downtown, but used heavily as a school route.
* There are no sidewalks there today, except for the area immediately around the school
* I'm grateful that we have a bike lane, and I do use it. But it's fairly narrow, and the lack of sidewalk means that the bike lane quickly fills with both bikes and peds (and strollers, scooters, etc), and the arterial nature of Encinal means those of us on the side of the road are often not too far away from large vehicles.
* Add in garbage bins at the curb on trash day (Tuesday morning for us, Wednesday morning for Atherton) and the shoulder/bike lane fills quickly, sometimes forcing people out into the car lane.
I think we've all been really saddened to hear about the kids who have been hit by drivers throughout the City this school year, and it's something I think about a lot while looking at and using my street. Last night's discussion of the public benefit funds, plus the meeting's earlier discussion of Atherton's understandable interest in the streets in our area of town, got me wondering whether we might have a timely opportunity to open a mutually beneficial conversation with Atherton about improving the bike/ped options on Encinal between the train tracks and the school (since one side of the street is Menlo Park, the other is Atherton). To get to school, many families use both Menlo Park and Atherton streets, so improvements for safety and efficiency benefit both communities. On Encinal specifically, it seems to me that a lot of congestion could be relieved, and the streets would feel safer, if we had:
* A bit more room for everyone on foot or bike, particularly on the Menlo Park side of the street, through a wider shoulder/bike lane -- and ideally a separate sidewalk so both bikes and peds have their own space
* A protected bike lane, even with quick build posts, to help to keep the bike lane safe and clear especially for kids and families to use. Although I couldn't find exact figures just now, my understanding is the cost for flexible reflective posts (like I believe we use elsewhere in the City) is very reasonable in the scheme of things (perhaps on the order of the amount discussed last night from the community benefit funds) and could be a great solution.
I've read a few studies showing that even quick build bike lane posts pay off in the form of higher bike lane usage, as more people feel safer using the bike lane:
"More people ride when cities build protected bike lanes. Studies from cities across North America show that adding protected bike lanes significantly increases bike ridership on those streets, with rates ranging from 21% to 171%." (source)
This of course also correlates with reduced car traffic as more people opt out of cars especially for short trips (e.g. taking kids to school, dashing downtown to Draeger's). As the City grows and considers our climate goals, solutions like more protected bike/ped infrastructure would be a great tool in our toolkit for creating a city with vibrant, community-centered streets and great quality of life.
I know there's a ton on each of your plates and I would be happy to share any more information I can, including meeting you for a quick walk and talk along our neighborhood streets if that would be at all interesting. Perhaps we could even chat with some of the other families who are using the bike lane about what they would like to see -- I've found fellow peds/cyclists to be very friendly, and I've been surprised how many folks have specifically thanked me when I've been out sweeping debris from the bike lane in front of our house or grabbing our garbage bins right after the truck rolls by. I sense that the crowded situation along the side of our streets is stressing out others too, especially those who commute with their children to school.
I'm really excited for the future of our neighborhood and City as we grow -- we chose our home because of its proximity to downtown and the train, and we love the community feel of our street with folks out walking, running, and biking. I believe even more neighbors would join us in using the street if they felt safe doing so. Thanks again for your time, and for all of your work during this very busy year!
Warmly,
Brittani Baxter
District 3 resident
