Dear Councilmembers, At tonight's meeting, you will be looking at staff's recommendations to remove on-street parking on Jefferson Dr. and Chrysler Dr. and installing bike lanes. Jefferson Dr. in particular is a key route for students biking to our newest high school, TIDE Academy, from Belle Haven and the west side of Menlo Park. With parking on both sides, Jefferson is extremely perilous for bicyclists. It has a 90-degree turn that is particularly dangerous because of parked cars that block sight lines. TIDE has extremely limited on-site parking and is designed to be accessed by alternative transportation. The whole area is transitioning from industrial to a mixed-use neighborhood that includes a number of residential units, making safe pedestrian and bicycle routes even more of a priority. In a discussion with Facebook representatives and TIDE administration last week, I heard that having a safe bicycle route along Jefferson and Chrysler would benefit both TIDE students and Facebook employees, as well as other community members navigating that area. (The ad-hoc bike route that currently cuts through the parking lot of FB Building 24 may no longer be viable once the bus terminal is installed nearby, since car traffic will be rerouted along the bike path.) The good news is that other infrastructure improvements will make it safer to bike and walk in the area. By the end of this year, there should be bike lanes on both sides of Chilco and an improved "Dutch-style" intersection at Chilco x Constitution, which will help bicyclists making a left from Chilco onto Constitution. (The uncontrolled intersection at Constitution x Jefferson still needs to be addressed.) However, a bike route is only as strong as its weakest link, so these improvements are of limited value if the obvious safety problems on Jefferson aren't addressed. As we all know, removing on-street parking is an extremely controversial issue in our town. However, with the development of this new neighborhood, we have the opportunity to create "Complete Streets" that don't prioritize car traffic over other modes, and ultimately cut down on the congestion that is destroying the quality of life here. Please take the long view and lay the groundwork so that our younger residents can get to school independently and safely. Thanks for your consideration, Lydia Lee Member of the Safe Routes to School Subcommittee, Complete Streets Commission Received on Tue Aug 20 2019 - 13:59:23 PDT
