Hi,
I would like to submit my comments on the Middle Ave Bike Lane Projects corresponding to Staff Report 22-174-CC. I appreciate the work that City Council has done to move forwards on this issue.
I am a 12 year resident of Menlo Park near Lyle Park. I commuted to work via bike for 6 of those years, have been riding with my kids to Oak Knoll for 7 years, I have ridden my bike to do errands downtown for 12 years and have been an avid cyclist for recreation for all 12 of those years. I have spent a lot of time riding my bike up and down Middle Ave, and recognize that Middle is dangerous road for cycling and is ripe for infrastructural improvements.
With the upcoming construction of the underpass to Burgess park, the residential and commercial construction at the Stanford project, the recent playground construction at Nealon, the success of the pickle ball courts at Nealon, I believe that Menlo Park has a unique opportunity to redefine the Middle Ave corridor as a major bicycle thoroughfare, linking some of Menlo Parks best residential, recreational, and employment opportunities. I ask the City Council to be bold and take this unique opportunity as a way to increase bike accessibility and safety for all Menlo Park residents.
With regards to the road section between University and Olive, I strongly request the city adopt the plan of no parking on either side, leaving more room for bake lanes and buffers. The reason is very clear. If you ride one way on Middle, you are likely to ride back the other way sometime in the future. The risk from opening car doors is extremely significant on that road, and while the bike lane would make it safer than today, there is simply not enough room for the car doors to open and pedestrians to exit the cars without impeding on the bike lane. In addition, having cars needing to cross both the buffer area and the bike lane area to park creates a dangerous interaction between those road users in an uncontrolled fashion. I also worry that parking on one side of the road may encourage jaywalking as people try to park as close to a house on the other side if they can. With no parking on either side, then the parking on Middle would be directed to the driveways (which are mandated by zoning) and/or the cross streets nearby. This would provide safe interactions for all road users, and a great bike route for people on two wheels.
With regards to the section between University and El Camino, the intersection at Middle and El Camino, and the underpass, I believe that it is very important to do a complete job of the bike corridor all the way from Olive to Burgess Park, thus would request either Option 2 or 3 (two bike lanes no parking, or 1 bi-directional bike lane, and a dedicated intersection. These options would give a clear path from west Menlo to Burgess (and vice versa) and would create a whole new level of accessibility for bikes across the city. With regards to the dedicated bike lane on either side, vs the two way bike lane on one side, I think that I would prefer bike lanes on either side, so that the crossing of traffic is done North of El Camino rather than at Middle and University, which is a busy intersection, but would defer to bike safety and bike transit experts to recommend the best option, as long as the goal is to do a thorough job linking a bike route all the way from Olive and Middle to Burgess Park and beyond.
Again, I appreciate the work that the City Council has dedicated to this topic and encourage you to take this unique opportunity to adjust the infrastructure of Menlo Park to promote safe and healthy bicycle transportation.
Kind regards
Nick Webb
