Dear City Council Members (and Stanford), I am writing to give input on the 500 El Camino Real project from a Safe Routes perspective. While it is great that a railroad crossing is planned and a thorough improvement to bike travel on Middle is anticipated*, we must not forget about the bicyclist experience at the development itself. Many are touting the crossing/Middle improvements as a Safe Route for Hillview kids (and others). For this to be a reality, kids must have a safe way of navigating through the property itself. Dodging cars and/or riding on sidewalks is not acceptable. Please do not overlook this important aspect in the design. I would also like to echo Menlo Park Complete Streets Commissioner, Lydia Lee's, well-written comments about a potential bike/ped path along the backside of the project. While this is not a requirement per the Downtown Specific Plan, to Lydia's points, the alternatives for cyclists are bleak. Stanford takes great care in developing fabulous biking facilities on its campus, please consider replicating these efforts at 500 El Camino. Furthermore, while the feedback given at the last community meeting for this project indicated a preference for an undercrossing (much like that at Homer in Palo Alto), from what I've been hearing, an actual undercrossing at Middle could be longer, darker, lower and less desirable than that at Homer. If this is indeed true, it calls into question how safe the undercrossing would be for kids. I have also heard discussions about an overcrossing that would potentially have even longer ramps than that at Ringwood and Hwy 101, thus making it a very cumbersome and unlikely (not to mention unattractive) crossing for many. Because of the uncertainties of whether we'll have an overcrossing or an undercrossing, and where it could eventually be located, we must build flexibility into the project so that a multitude of crossing locations could possibly be considered in the future. The bike/ped path along the back of the project would give us this adaptability. Without it, we greatly limit our future possibilities. I urge you to consider these Safe Routes-related issues vis-a-vis this project. Sincerely, Jen Wolosin P.S. *With regards to Middle Ave., it goes without saying that Parents for Safe Routes believes only a Class II bike lane (not Class III) would be acceptable. We are looking forward to the community engagement process on this to make it a reality. -- *Jen Wolosin* Parents for Safe Routes www.parents4saferoutes.org jenwolosin_at_(domainremoved)415.710.5838 Received on Mon Sep 25 2017 - 17:42:24 PDT
