I have been a Menlo Park resident for 34 years. Our community is not safe for either cyclists or pedestrians. In the time I have lived in my current Menlo Park home, cars have killed one pedestrian, one jogger, and one cyclist all within blocks of my home. While these were over a decade ago, the roads are still not safe. I know the hazards from my own experience too as my bicycle is my primary mode of transportation. I obey all the rules of the road, yet I have also been hit by cars four times. Every time it was the drivers fault. One time I went through a car window, breaking the glass with my body. Fortunately, I have not been seriously hurt.
You may know that dooring, where a cyclist is hit by a parked car door as it is opened, is a huge risk for cyclists. I have come within inches of being doored, I watched a friend being doored, another friend of mine was doored, I know yet someone else who doored a cyclist, and a local child was doored. Not only is the metal corner of the door a threat itself, but the door can propel the cyclist into the traffic lane too fast for traffic to respond and stop. I laud the City Council for supporting the Middle Avenue bicycle lanes and strongly urge adoption of Option 1, which provides the best protection against cyclists being doored.
More traffic is a good thing if it is bicycle traffic and I look forward to the day when most trips in Menlo Park will be by bicycle or foot because it is safer to do so.
Thank you for your attention to this pressing concern.
Greg Faris
2042 Santa Cruz Avenue
