Back to the Table of Contents Page

Back to the Weekly Home Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

Transportation chief opts for shorter commute

by Marv Snow

Joe Kott, Palo Alto's chief transportation officer, has found a way around his long commute from his home in Berkeley to Palo Alto - go to work in Berkeley.

"My commute will become 15 minutes," said Kott, who will become Berkeley's transportation planning manager in April. "Probably by bicycle. Better by bicycle because you can't find any parking in downtown Berkeley."

Kott's departure, after more than two years of employment with the city, may result in the deferral of some programs, but he declined saying what those might be.

"I think it's (Planning Director Ed Gawf's) call on what goes forward, although I will have some recommendations," Kott said. "I think it would be presumptuous of me to make those calls.

The proposed transportation center at the current Caltrain Depot will definitely go forward, he said.

"There's quite a large team working on it," Kott said, "including Stanford staff, people from Caltrain, Valley Transportation Authority, our staff here in the Transportation Division, and public works people. My leaving should not have a major impact on that project."

Kott said that the roundabout trial "will go forward."

Although he enjoyed Palo Alto, Kott said commuting from the East Bay each day proved too much to bear.

"I like Palo Alto. I just hated the commute. It's awful. I think anyone who crosses a bridge in the Bay Area or goes through the tube (BART) under the bay from work to home is crazy. I've been a crazy person for more than two years."

To his knowledge, Kott said, no one in his department would move up to fill his position. The city is expected to begin the recruiting process soon, he said.

"Palo Alto is a good place to live," he said. "It's an interesting town. It has all the big transportation issues condensed into one place. It has gone through an interesting period, both stimulating and stressful. There's been a period of growth, change and the city is trying to digest the effects and not everybody is happy about it."

Kott said that since the traffic situation in Palo Alto is "so fragile," some changes could "make things worse, so maybe no change at all is the best strategy."

What were his major accomplishments while in Palo Alto?

"Well, I'm happy that we got the shuttle off the ground," he said. "We did that on a shoestring and (a) prayer and it looks like it's been helpful to a fair number of people, particularly with high school students, senior citizens and some commuters."

Kott said he felt the City Council would fund the shuttle, which has been operating on grant money that is about to run out. 'Probably at the same level of service," he said. "Probably no more buses and no fewer. So I'm pleased about that."

Regarding the much-discussed traffic calming program, Kott said he wished more had been accomplished.

"I've been frustrated in our slow start on traffic calming," Kott said. "I'm hoping the city will be able to pick up the pace. There is increasing traffic intrusion in the residential neighborhoods and we need to be able to pursue counter measures to those problems." <@$p>

E-mail Marv Snow at msnow@paweekly.com