Publication Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Cheers greet passage of Charleston traffic project
Cheers greet passage of Charleston traffic project
(December 21, 2005) Work to begin next summer
by Cyrus Hedayati
Representatives of school and neighborhood groups cheered and celebrated Monday evening after the Palo Alto City Council unanimously approved the $965,000 Charleston/Arastradero Corridor Project, a two-year traffic trial that will begin next summer.
The work on the road in south Palo Alto will improve traffic lights and add crosswalks, a median strip, and turn lanes into Gunn High School. A controversial part of the plan will reduce four lanes of traffic from west of Fabian to east of Foothill Expressway to three lanes -- one in each direction, with a central turning lane.
The lane reduction would also allow the city to add bike lanes. The plan entails completing the construction by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. Gunn High School agreed to move its summer school program to Paly on the condition the council approve the plan.
Gunn High School and Terman Middle School parents and representatives of the Green Meadow Neighborhood Association came to show their support, urging the council to vote in favor of the amendment.
Before voting, several of the council members expressed thanks to those who had supported the project. Councilman Vic Ojakian addressed concerns within the community over the need for the budget amendment.
"If any of the public are wondering why we're supporting this," he said, "Go stand on the corner (near Terman middle school) and look at how many cars are lined up there."
Approving the funds required a mid-year budget amendment, which took the votes of six council members to pass. Due to a conflict of interest for Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell -- who lives too close to the area in question -- and the absence of Vice Mayor Judy Kleinberg and Councilwoman Hillary Freeman, the matter required a unanimous vote for passage.
The funding includes $690,000 for Gunn High School intersection improvements, to be paid for by development fees from the Stanford Research Park, and $275,000 for other corridor construction, to be paid for development fees related to bicycle-and-pedestrian safety.
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