In an effort to expand the bicycle network in Palo Alto and fix existing holes in the bike system, the city intends to build more bicycle boulevards—roadways that are designed with the biker in mind, although they generally allow motor vehicles. Creating bicycle boulevards will reduce the number of stops required for cyclists, say engineers.
The city will be making changes that will reduce the number of actual stop signs as part of its Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, which was originally released in 2003 but is still in the revision process. For cyclists, stop signs can cause an unwelcome need to stop and restart while biking, adding extra effort to the trip.
“Bicycles are required by law to stop at stop signs,” said Rafael Rius, the city’s transportation project engineer. “But what we can do is remove or modify a couple of intersections that have two-way stop signs.”
By removing these stop signs, the city hopes to attract more bikers and make biking more enjoyable for residents. While many already consider Palo Alto a bicycle-friendly town, there is always room for improvement, Rius said.
“Standards for bicycle sustainability are constantly changing and improving,” he added. “Our city was really good at being bicycle-friendly in the past, but we need to keep up with other cities who are improving.”
Bike boulevards have already proven their success. The first one in Palo Alto, which Rius also believes was the first in the country, was built on Bryant Street in the 1980s. This pathway has been so effective, in fact, that other jurisdictions have used it as a model.
The city also hopes to make minor traffic-related enhancements to Palo Alto’s bicycle system, such as improving underground crossings.
However, safety remains a primary concern for the transportation division, and these changes will only be applied to streets that are considered safe enough.
In fact, Palo Alto residents won’t be noticing these changes anytime soon. The city will start the program in the next few weeks and the process of identifying and prioritizing projects will take about six months. The finalized report could then be adopted by the city council, after which the city would start applying for grants.
Although Palo Alto and Stanford are often considered interconnected, Stanford students won’t be feeling the effects of the plan on campus.
“Stanford and Palo Alto are under two separate jurisdictions,” said Deputy Allen James of the Stanford Department of Public Safety. “We’re two separate entities.”
Funding for these constructing these bicycle boulevards, which cost somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000, will come from an allocation of $20,000 from the city’s own budget as well as a $55,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission received in 2009.