March 31, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Council shocker: Take barriers out

by Jocelyn Dong

The rabble-rousing underdogs have won.

After nine-and-a-half months of bitter controversy about a traffic-calming trial in the Downtown North neighborhood, the Palo Alto City Council Monday night handed street-barrier opponents a surprise victory.

The council ordered all but one of the seven temporary blockades removed, to be replaced by traffic circles, speed tables and signs restricting turns into the neighborhood north of Lytton Avenue in downtown Palo Alto.

A wave of emotions in the council chamber crested as heads turned to see the council's vote after two hours of discussion: 6-2, with Councilmembers Yoriko Kishimoto and Dena Mossar opposed, and Mayor Bern Beecham, a Downtown North resident, recusing himself.

Pro-closure residents shook their heads in disbelief and slowly filed out of council chambers, while equally shocked barrier opponents looked at one another in amazement.

"I find it inconceivable," said Joshua Mogal, vice president of the Downtown North Neighborhood Association, which pushed for the street closures. The council ignored the professional recommendations of the staff, who made the case for leaving five barriers in, he said, as well as data that showed decreased cut-through traffic -- the main objective of the trial.

Nearly every measurable goal of the trial, installed last June, was met, Mogal said. "By the quantitative perspective, it was successful. But that was ignored in this process."

Downtown North resident Ken Hake, who appreciated the safety the barriers have given his children, said that council ignored the clear will of the people.

"I'm beyond perplexed and angered. I'm seriously considering moving someplace that supports traffic calming," he said, such as the Evergreen Park or College Terrace neighborhoods.

Joe Durand, president of Unblock -- the main group opposing the picket-fenced street closures -- said he felt the decision was "a good compromise."

"It's a step in the right direction, realigning traffic-calming with the Comprehensive Plan," he said, referring to Palo Alto's master plan, which calls for keeping streets open except under extreme circumstances.

The council's decision to make the new configuration a one-year trial means the fight may not be over. But Durand said he found the new trial period acceptable.

"It's the most prudent decision," he said, allowing staff to measure the plan's impact. Some 4,000 cars a day could return to Downtown North streets, according to city staff's forecast.

Errors made during the trial, neighborhood strife -- and the need for council to act decisively -- seemed to sway council members' thinking.

"I think we made a major mistake by starting with the most severe measures and now trying to back up," said Council member Jack Morton.

Council member LaDoris Cordell charged that a vote for the five-barrier plan -- recommended by city staff and the Planning and Transportation Commission -- would set a precedent that "the ends justify the means" because two out of three promises staff made when seeking the council's original approval of the project were not kept. That includes a post-trial survey of the neighborhood.

"Yes, we have lowered cut-through traffic, and yes, we have increased the safety of some of the streets in the downtown neighborhood, but at what price?" she asked. "The price, I believe, is the loss of credibility of council and of staff. That price ... is far too high. Breaking promises is wrong."

Council member Judy Kleinberg called the trial a failure. "With great respect for the best intentions of our staff, what we have succeeded in doing is created a controversy that's divided families as well as neighbors and neighborhood associations."

Council member Mossar, however, cautioned her colleagues against acting as traffic engineers rather than relying on staff and commission recommendations. She favored a trial of a plan that kept four or five barriers.

"We're going from one extreme to another," Mossar said. "It seems to me unfair to the neighborhood to go from whole hog to very little."

Council member Kishimoto, meanwhile, felt that leaving some barriers in would be consistent with Palo Alto's overall strategic plans to reduce traffic.

The street closure that will remain is on Palo Alto Avenue at Middlefield Road. Traffic circles will be installed on Everett Avenue at Webster and Emerson streets, plus Hawthorne Avenue at Cowper Street. Speed tables will be put on Hawthorne near High Street and Palo Alto Avenue near Bryant Street.

The city will now solicit construction bids for the new plan, which could cost at least $94,000.

At a victory party held at Nola, ebullient road-closure opponents celebrated the council decision -- and each other.

Wearing their fluorescent green "Open Streets" T-shirts and yellow stickers, the motley crew hoisted mugs of Heffeweiss beer and saluted Durand. He immediately returned the favor with a toast that sounded like he'd been waiting for some months to give.

"We've proven that together -- we can move barriers," he said. Assistant Editor Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.

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