Residents push for pathway on Coleman Residents push for pathway on Coleman (March 30, 2005)

** Bustling traffic on the narrow, leafy stretch of the road worries parents of bikers and walkers.

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

At some hours of the day, this stretch of Coleman Avenue appears pretty placid. Like its sister streets in the unincorporated neighborhood of Menlo Oaks, it's leafy, narrow and rural-looking, with a surface that gives a little kick to the tires.

But what worries many parents is the situation before or after class at the nearby Laurel elementary and Menlo-Atherton High schools. Cars roar down Coleman between Willow Road and Ringwood Avenue, sometimes slowed by the traffic circles there, sometimes not.

That's why many parents of Laurel youngsters say they're afraid to let their kids bicycle or walk to school -- there's not much room on the slim road. Some are even reluctant to let their kids bike accompanied by a parent.

"Traffic's just way too close. It's really scary when you're out there with your kids," Marcia Bever told the Menlo Park City Council last week. Ms. Bever is a resident of the Willows neighborhood of Menlo Park, and Coleman is a common commute route to Laurel School from the Willows.

Most of Coleman is in Menlo Park proper, and that section is wider, straighter and smoother. It's the unincorporated segment that worries parents, who brought their concerns to the City Council on March 22, even though Menlo Oaks is outside the council's jurisdiction.

Several parents asked that the Coleman matter be put on the council's list of top priorities for fiscal year 2005-06. They hoped the council would agree to have city staff hold neighborhood meetings to discuss solutions, and work with San Mateo County staff to advocate improvements.

Menlo Oaks resident Carla Dewar told the council she has gotten the signatures of 146 Menlo Oaks residents on a petition asking for a pedestrian/bicycle pathway along Coleman. (There is a total of 271 parcels in the neighborhood, she said.)

But faced with another tight budget, a divided council voted 3-2 not to add the Coleman matter to the priority list.

Money might have been juggled to cover the $30,000 Coleman project, but public works director Kent Steffens said he would have insufficient staff unless another project was dropped. Council members Mickie Winkler, Lee Duboc and Nicholas Jellins decided against that.

One possibility would have been to not install three lighted crosswalks. Ms. Winkler, though, called crosswalk safety extremely important. She said she couldn't guarantee success on the Coleman matter, as another political body -- the county board of supervisors -- would ultimately handle it.

Currently, city staff members are studying locations for lighted crosswalks. The cost is estimated at $105,000.

Andy Cohen and Kelly Fergusson dissented in the vote. Citing the work of the parents, Ms. Fergusson urged adding the Coleman matter to the list, saying, "There's some real momentum behind this project."

Several council members did say, though, that they planned to meet with county officials to discuss Coleman.

The project priorities will be included in the 2005-06 budget, which the council is set to adopt in May. For a list, go to menlopark.org, click on "City Council" and go to the March 22 agenda.
Working with the county

Meanwhile, Ms. Dewar and other residents have also been lobbying at the county level, working with officials such as Supervisor Rich Gordon, who lives in Menlo Oaks.

Ms. Dewar's petition, which she submitted to the county, states that the final design of a pathway "would be determined through a public process where residents will have input." So county public works officials created several possible plans for building a pathway.

Mr. Gordon said he's waiting to hear from the Menlo Oaks District Association what the neighborhood wants. But he says he's heard some "mixed reaction" so far.

While many residents think a pathway is necessary, others are leery about changing the rural feel of the road, he said. There are several places along Coleman where vegetation -- and perhaps at least one large tree -- would probably have to be removed.

"If we are to craft anything along there it's going to have to be a pretty minimalist solution," he said.

Mr. Gordon said he would probably have to recuse himself from board action on the matter.

Ms. Dewar said she and the Menlo Oaks District Association would have appreciated help from city and county staff in analyzing the county's possibilities for the pathway, but that she'll push ahead.

Referring to the neighborhood nay-sayers, she said, "It's frustrating to think that people are putting their landscaping over the potential death of a small child."

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