Call the lawyer to solve another problem with incident and your car insurance.
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Awhile back when we were involved in an accident and the other drivers at the scene drove off, my husband and I made a pact: for every accident we witnessed we would wait and leave a statement. My brother-in-law told us he had done the same thing and a very grateful driver sent him a thank you note and a bottle of spirits for saving his driver record and his insurance rates. Outrageously, a car of 4 teenagers under the influence was driving in the wrong direction on a highway and crashed into another driver. However, they twisted the story and said it was the other driver going in the wrong direction. Without my brother-in-law's statement, he could have lost the case. I am sorry, but people will admit they are at fault to you personally and completely change their story later. Since making this pact, I have left three statements. One time I was on vacation standing in line outside at a popular restaurant and witnessed a car accident involving a teenager and a foreign couple who were tourists and did not speak English well. I advised them to call the police and file a report because they were afraid to. The two other times I was a car in the intersection witnessing the accidents. One involved a pedestrian getting run over. In the restaurant scene, the other diners advised me not to get involved.

From my perspective, the fact that what has been an Expressway at this 280 intersection has a stop sign is just not an instinctive or intuitive approach to such an intersection. Whereas those who use it a great deal and become familiar with it, anyone who is from out of town or seldom use this intersection, particularly for those who want to continue straight rather than turn, are taken by surprise. Added to that the need for bikes to cross the straight on lanes to reach the bike lane is another surprise for those who are unfamiliar with it.

Good intersections should be intuitive and instinctive rather than a need to depend on flashing lights and signage particularly at times of low traffic flow to move through them. Otherwise, it will make them cumbersome and consequently dangerous.

This has been the most dangerous bike route in Palo Alto for as long as I can remember. Our kids love bicycling in the Arastradero Preserve, but we have to take them in the car because the bicycle route to get there is too scary, even when we are riding with them. Hopefully, these changes will really work, but I am surprised that the stop lights that families asked for are not included in this plan.

This is a grievously dangerous intersection - deadly actually - and should be avoided at all costs. To put the bike path between TWO lanes of traffic frequently traveling in excess of 50 mph is ludicrous.

I-280 makes a series of dangerous bicycle crossing sites including El Monte, Sand Hill and Alpine Roads. I suspect that bicycle riders were NOT consulted when these "intersections" were constructed many years ago.

It's time to spend some money and make them truly safe. This doesn't mean to "simply" add a flashing light. This means to provide a SAFE bicycle path over, under, around, through, whatever to get bicyclists from one side of I-280 to the other.

As more and more people begin to bicycle to / from work it's important that this project begin immediately.

I agree with James. This current effort is a Bandaid, and will help ONLY if the cars slow down. That is unlikely without some other physical features (stop signs, traffic lights, speed bumps, etc.) or constant enforcement. The latter will - of course - never happen. I always am afraid when I bike through this interchange, especially westbound.

One suggestion is to add a bike lane/sidewalk on the center divide, similar to that on El Monte at 280. While this would require crosswalks at both the east & west ends, it would reduce the distance & time that cyclists & pedestrians are exposed to car traffic. As an frequent bicyclist, I really do not like riding in a bike lane with car traffic on both sides of me, the proposed "fix" does not eliminate that problem.

There have been bike fatalities going both directions at this interchange. The Eastbound change to move the bike lane left of the auto traffic will eliminate dangerous conflict points at those on ramps.

Here is a link to the interim plan drawing:

Web Link

The project page is here:

Web Link

in the end it all relies on drivers obeying the reduced speed laws.

Any Chance the underpass could be opened on El Camino at BofA? This would really help !!!!

If it's that dangerous, which I question, then cyclists should proceed with caution and/or walk their bikes through that short stretch. Driving that corridor several times a day for many years I'd say that many cyclists have exhibited a great disregard for the traffic laws, rules of the road, and common sense. They frequently cut across lanes and fail to stop at the stop sign in both directions. As I see it it's they who create the hazards for the most part.

This is a joke, yes? The speed limit is already 35 mph going Westbound near Christopher Lane. These are the same vehicles accelerating onto the I-280 on ramp after screaming down a steep hill. Maybe one or two touch 35 mph but most don't now and they won't after this new signage goes up either.

In the Eastbound direction, vehicles are accelerating to merge with the vehicles exiting I-280 and they are all doing close to 50 mph.

So what happened to the stop light at the intersection of Arastradero and Page Mill? And maybe another where the northbound I-280 exiting vehicles try to turn left on Page Mill?

I like this solution much better.
Web Link

Yes, the intersection was designed to move cars onto the freeway. We can't start transforming every thoroughfare into a Disneyland for bikes. Cars commute, bikes are usually for leisure rides at this location.
A single tragedy doesn't warrant massive spending and overreaction. Cyclists sharing the road with cars, especially near freeway ramps, on 84, on 92, on the 1 are ALWAYS at risk. You're living on the edge.

No one is suggesting Disneyland. This intersection needs serious change. Accidents like that which left the Donnelly children without their father will continue to occur at Page Mill and 280 until something substantial is done. New signage and all the paint in the world won't make that intersection safe for bicyclists. A bike tunnel, as shown here Web Link , would exist fully on public lands, take advantage of existing topography, and get bikes safely from Old Page Mill Road to the Arastradero stop sign. If it costs more than paint and new signs, so be it.

"If it's that dangerous, which I question, then cyclists should proceed with caution and/or walk their bikes through that short stretch. Driving that corridor several times a day for many years I'd say that many cyclists have exhibited a great disregard for the traffic laws, rules of the road, and common sense. They frequently cut across lanes and fail to stop at the stop sign in both directions. As I see it it's they who create the hazards for the most part."

While I can't speak to the illegal behavior of other bicyclists or drivers, I can tell you that the safest way to traverse this crossing (westbound) as a bicyclist is to come over the hill from Page Mill and use your downhill speed to (signal and) merge with car traffic leading up to the left-side bike lane, riding in the center, one lane at a time (timing gaps with cars). While this solution isn't ideal and may not work for timid bicyclists, it is perfectly legal, regardless of how much a driver may have to slow for a short period of time to accommodate the crossing cyclist. The problem is that many drivers are not aware that this is legal (and safe) behavior and deem it "dangerous", regardless of whether they're aware of the left-side bike lane issue or not. (If you call that "cutting across lanes" then I encourage you to read up on the actual "rules of the road" you profess, and stop honking at those of us who do obey those rules).

Those of us who bicycle here regularly have discussed the placement of "sharrows" with planners, but they can only be placed where the speed limit is 35 MPH or less, and currently that does not start until the very beginning of the left-lane bike lane, leaving little room for advanced notice for drivers or out-of-town cyclists who frequently find themselves stranded at the I-280 onramp.

Taking Old Page Mill instead of climbing Page Mill Road forces bicyclists cross two lanes of fast traffic at nearly a right angle, as Jeff was trying to do. What is WAY more dangerous for a bicyclist would be to get off of your bike and try to walk it across these two lanes of traffic. You may have good intentions, but your advice obviously does not come from experience bicycling this route. (If you don't believe me, then go park your car on Christopher Lane and try walking across this road under normal traffic conditions, as you're recommending bicyclists do... I'll even give you a bike to walk with).

Also, there is now a federal standard for signs that say "Bicycles May Use Full Lane". This would be an ideal place for one, and then we could take down that useless old yellow bicycle warning sign that nobody sees at the top of the hill because it's obscured by trees. (Older yellow "Share The Road" signs, like the one on nearby Arastradero, are dying a fast death because they're easily misinterpreted).