March 31, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Barriers in, now they want circles and humps too

by Jocelyn Dong

Any given day, along the broad, leafy avenues of College Terrace, you can find a young couple peacefully pushing a stroller, or a grandfather chasing after his grandson's soccer ball as it bounces down the sidewalk. Joggers and bicyclists cruise by house after house, a mix of architecture that gives the neighborhood a comfortable yet eclectic feel.

Street barriers, while controversial in other parts of the city, have a lot to do with this tranquil scene. Installed in 1974 on the neighborhood's cross streets, they ward off drivers tempted to use College Terrace as a shortcut to and from Stanford University, the Stanford Research Park and local highways.

But telltale signs hint that things in the neighborhood these days are not as calm as they may appear. A motorcyclist guns his engine and speeds away after barely slowing for a stop sign. Cars routinely back up on Stanford Avenue at the corner of El Camino Real, as Starbucks customers queue to turn into the parking lot and Stanford University students, staff and visitors take the perimeter route to get off campus.

These realities -- and traffic data that back up residents' concerns -- speak to the reason that College Terrace is once again wading in traffic-calming waters. This time, they're taking aim at speeders and commuters along California and Stanford avenues, the neighborhood's unblocked boundary streets.

How could a neighborhood that already has most of its streets closed off need more traffic help? That's a question Kathy Durham, president of the College Terrace Residents' Association, says she's gotten a lot from leaders of other Palo Alto neighborhoods. Her response, in the association's newsletter: Too many cars are going way too fast along the boundary streets.

In the 30 years since the street closures were put in, traffic along Stanford Avenue has doubled, to about 10,000 cars a day. The majority of cars are driving 35 mph on California and Stanford, where the speed limit is 25 mph. School kids use Stanford as their route to Escondido Elementary School.

For five years, the College Terrace Traffic Calming Task Force has advocated for improvements. Since last May, an advisory group of neighbors has met with city staff and Stanford University representatives to fashion some traffic measures. At a recent meeting in the Escondido's multipurpose room, about 50 neighbors gathered to review possible solutions to their traffic woes.

Consultants from Kimley-Horn Associates in Pleasanton presented three options, called "low," "base" and "enhanced base."

The low option would rely on electronic speed signs, driver education and some police enforcement. It would cost about $36,000.

The base option would install four raised pedestrian crossings, two speed tables, four traffic circles, a one-way road closure and change the timing at an El Camino traffic signal. The cost for that option was estimated at $103,000.

The enhanced-base option would offer a variety of measures that could be added individually to the base plan, including electronic signs, an additional speed table, speed humps, a center island, a bulb out and a center median to one of the pedestrian walkways.

At the meeting, perhaps in a nod to the Downtown North traffic-barrier trial -- which has been criticized for its lack of neighborhood participation prior to the trial -- neighbors were assigned to breakout groups to discuss the three plans.

Kimley-Horn consultant Jim West said the small groups serve two purposes: to stimulate discussion and "get all the comments out" now rather than later.

Several residents expressed concern about traffic circles, which are placed at intersections. The base option doesn't call for landscaped circles, but the residents threatened to veto the plan if the rounds consisted only of concrete.

"I don't want an ugly traffic circle in front of my house," one resident remarked.

Some neighbors complained about the hazards that SUVs -- parked at corners -- create because drivers can't see around them. Others simply called for the strongest traffic measures possible, considering future construction at Stanford University and the traffic the expansion will generate.

An informal opinion survey was taken at the gathering to gauge residents' concerns about everything from speeding to the existing closures. Additional outreach meetings are planned so that neighbors can review the options and give additional input. A survey of each College Terrace household will be taken prior to the selection of a plan.

Funding for the project comes from the Stanford Management Company, which promised the city $150,000 as part of approval of new development at 2475 Hanover St.

Chief Transportation Official Joe Kott estimated that a trial of whichever plan residents choose could start next January, following approval by the Planning and Transportation Commission and City Council and solicitation of bids for the work.

Information on the project can be found at www.cttc.info.

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