February 27, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Five road closures to remain

Called "a good outcome" by the representative from the neighborhood association, the Planning and Transportation Commission voted Wednesday to remove two traffic barriers and add several alternative devices to reduce congestion in the neighborhood.

This new approach clearly divided the commission. Commissioners Bonnie Packer, Phyllis Cassel and Karen Holman favored what was called the "modified mixed-measures plan"; commissioners Annette Bialson and Pat Burt opposed it. Commissioner Michael Griffin recused himself because he lives in Downtown North, a neighborhood bounded by Alma Street, Lytton Avenue, Middlefield Road and San Franciscquito Creek.

The modified mixed-measures plan attempts to fix some of the problems of the currently installed trial, including increased traffic on certain streets. The plan removes two currently installed barriers and adds two traffic circles, a speed table and three signs that prohibit turns into the neighborhood during peak hours.

Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour discussion, commissioners debated everything from the objectives of the traffic-calming plan to whether cars had been diverted to other neighborhoods or dispersed more generally throughout the area. At times, talk returned to issues that have been contentious since the project's beginning.

Burt called the Downtown North trial "backwards" and contrary to policies set forth by the city's neighborhood traffic-calming program. Less aggressive means for controlling traffic, such as speed tables and traffic circles, should have been tried first, he said.

"If we went through a process of aggressive traffic calming, I'd be willing to go to closures as a last resort. But we haven't gone through that sequence. It's backwards," Burt said.

Likewise, Bialson cited Palo Alto's comprehensive plan, which seeks to keep streets open except under extreme circumstances, as reason to remove the temporary closures and install other traffic controls.

"The grid pattern of streets (in Downtown North) is too valuable to impact for reasons besides safety. I think we went too far of an extreme too quickly," she said.

But Packer, who acknowledged the traffic trial has been " a very, very difficult issue," argued that the neighborhood is unique because of its proximity to the downtown business district and worthy of road closures. A consultant's report in 1999 measured cut-through traffic at 65 percent of all cars using the neighborhood.

Holman favored leaving some barriers in because of the benefits the six-month trial, which ended in December, brought to many residents.

"One reason I support this is it's a way to bring some community back. I think this is a reasonable compromise," she said.

Dan Lorimer, president of the neighborhood association, had asked the commission to adopt a plan that retained six barriers. Yet, he found the commission's recommendation "positive."

"The PTC made it clear that they understood the magnitude of the problem. They accepted staff's recommendation of closures. And they realized there was not another good solution available," he said.

In an attempt to put an end to the messy traffic-calming debate, which has included numerous public meetings, the commission also approved a staff recommendation that any additional changes to Downtown North traffic controls be made by Planning Director Steve Emslie -- without going back to the commission, council or public.

That may be necessary, Lorimer said, contending the recommended plan will concentrate traffic on Hawthorne Avenue near Middlefield.

But, at this stage of the game, Lorimer is content to let the transportation division make the tweaks themselves.

"It's better than having a series of redesigns. We trust them. There are competent at what they do and well-intentioned," he said.

Representatives of Unblock, a group of residents opposed to the barriers, were unavailable for comment at the transportation-commission meeting.

In anticipation of the March 22 council review, Councilwoman Dena Mossar said this week that she would seek to reinstate a scuttled public-opinion survey of the Downtown North trial.

The neighborhood association and Unblock "don't represent everybody, and I think a survey would give those who have chosen to take a lower profile a chance to say what they think," Mossar said.

She is expected to raise the issue with her colleagues at Monday's council meeting. The planning commission's recommendation will be considered by the City Council on March 22.

Jocelyn Dong can be e-mailed at jdong@paweekly.com.

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