When will the bike underpass in south Palo Alto re-open? never? Palo Alto Issues, posted by Willem, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Aug 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm
The bike underpass just north of San Antonio road has been closed for nearly a year. Why? The road above (HWY 101) is not in peril of collapsing, nor has the path under the highway been flooded, which is the reason for closing the underpass in the winter months.
Was the under pass closed to create a false 'problem', which can only be 'solved' by a $4M to $9M bike overpass at the same location, but with artistic frills and a scenic overlook, as proposed by the city?! Is the existing, and as far as I know, still perfectly functional and usable underpass, being held hostage until the city secures the grants they expect to pay for this really unnecessary project.
A new bike overpass would be nice, no argument from me, but why must the existing underpass remain closed in the interim? Will cyclists and pedestrians be forced to cross the San Antonio overpass until the city and staff realize millions for a bike bridge don't fall from the sky very often?
Posted by construction, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Aug 12, 2012 at 10:54 pm
The bike path is closed because of construction on Hwy 101. It won't reopen until the Hwy 101 construction is finished, which is probably next year. Caltrans chose not to provide a bicycle detour because bicyclists are unimportant to their mission.
Posted by well actually, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Aug 13, 2012 at 10:21 am
well I informed them of a looped detector that was not detecting my bike, they met me at the signal the next day to have me demonstrate and the fixed it while I was there.
"bicyclists are unimportant to their mission"
so I think that statement is more about your anti-bike opinions than their mission.
Posted by caltrans, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Aug 13, 2012 at 10:39 am
@well actually - are you talking about Caltrans (state highways) or the city transportation department? The city is generally more responsive to road safety than Caltrans.
Posted by Bicyclist, a resident of the University South neighborhood, on Aug 13, 2012 at 2:18 pm
>>"Caltrans chose not to provide a bicycle detour because bicyclists are unimportant to their mission."
This may have been true years ago, but Caltrans has had a major turn-around in policy and culture in the last few years. Although the culture has not yet caught up with the policy in all cases, Caltrans is now definitely sensitive to bicycle issues. I cannot comment on this specific issue, although I will try to nudge things along.
Posted by well actually, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Aug 13, 2012 at 4:00 pm
@caltrans
caltrans, they have authority over the signals near onramps, This particular signal was an onramp onto 237. They met me on my ride to work the next day.
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