The bicycle has its day in Menlo The bicycle has its day in Menlo (December 15, 2004)

** New bike plan comes before City Council this week.

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

There's been a lot of talk lately by city officials about mending Menlo Park's aging roads. But what about the humble bike lane?

It will have its day at the council as well, when council members eye a proposed bicycle plan on December 14.

The plan, stitched together after three public workshops and a community survey, recommends major upgrades to the city's bikeway network, including adding 0.3 miles of bike paths, 3.6 miles of bike lanes, and 16.8 miles of bike routes.

Bike paths are defined as paved byways separated from streets or highways, while lanes are striped and stenciled and run along streets or highways, and routes provide shared use with pedestrians and motor vehicles and are designated with signs.

The recommended new byways would pop up in a variety of neighborhoods. Some -- such as adding bike lanes on O'Brien Drive in the Belle Haven area or bike routes in the Chaucer Street/Pope Street/ Gilbert Avenue area in the Willows -- are designated as short-term projects.

Others are more ambitious, such as adding a bike path near Willow Road or bike lanes along Marsh Road.

Completing this entire network would cost an estimated $375,850, transportation engineer Rene Baile wrote in a staff report.

Still more ambitious are the bike/pedestrian undercrossings recommended in the plan. Modifying an existing tunnel under Bayfront Expressway at Willow Road to create such an undercrossing could cost $750,000, Mr. Baile wrote.

The plan also proposes an undercrossing under the Caltrain tracks between Ravenswood Avenue and Alma Street. This could cost $3 million, but the cost could be reduced if the project is built as part of a "grade separation" that would raise or lower the tracks or road at the intersection, Mr. Baile wrote.

Possible funding sources include the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or San Mateo County's transportation sales tax.

"Any transportation master plan such as the Menlo Park Bike Plan generally requires several years and multiple funding sources to complete," Mr. Baile wrote. "Adoption of the Bike Plan does not commit the city to fund any of the projects identified by the plan." Each would have to be taken up separately as part of the annual budget process, he added.

The city's Bicycle Commission has unanimously recommended approval of the plan.

Chair John Fox told the Almanac that he was especially pleased with the route suggestions included in the plan, because they could encourage less-experienced cyclists to try commuting and shopping by bicycle.

"Every cyclist commuting is less traffic for the larger community to fight," he said.
INFORMATION

The December 14 City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. To read the proposed plan, go to www.menlopark.org, click on "City Council," and go to the December 14 agenda.

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