Figure 1 – Bike lane with a buffer zone beside street parking
In February 2023, the Menlo Park City Council (“Council”) decided to field trial new bike lanes on Middle Avenue (“Middle”) and chose a design that eliminates (a) all street parking between El Camino and Olive Street and (b) two thirds of the on-site parking next to the Nealon Park playground and tennis courts. I understand that some bicyclists are uncomfortable passing the small number of vehicles parked on Middle and that parents are generally concerned about the safety of young children. However, I cannot fathom why the Council decided (3-2) to remove hundreds of places to park in exchange for “super-sized” bike lanes. This trade-off is both unfair and unnecessary.
The Complete Street Commission is responsible for making recommendations that fairly balance the needs and interests of ALL users of our city streets, and it recommended a street reconfiguration that would include standard bike lanes and preserve street parking on one side. This solution makes sense.
Unfortunately, three council members – Jen Wolosin, Betsy Nash, and Maria Doerr – rejected the Commission’s proposal. I believe they both grossly overestimated the benefits of the design they selected and largely ignored the hardships residents, guests, and service providers would experience. I support this claim with new information and perspectives the Council should have, but did not, consider, and I encourage them to reconsider their decisions.
Middle Avenue Bike Safety
Figure 2 – Existing Middle Avenue Parking Strip
The three council members claim the current riding environment on Middle exposes bicyclists – especially young students – to two dangerous conditions. They might collide with the opening doors of parked vehicles or be struck by vehicles backing out of head-in parking spaces at Nealon Park.
Bicyclists have two ways to safely pass vehicles parked in the eleven-foot-wide parking strip runs on Middle. They can travel in the roughly four-foot-wide available space between a vehicle and the vehicle lane. Or, bicyclists can take the vehicle lane whenever there is a safe opening in the flow of passing traffic. Both are reasonable tactics for cautious bicyclists who are qualified to ride on Middle. They simply must remain fully aware of riding conditions and patiently exercise good judgment. Since fewer than 15 vehicles are typically parked between Olive and University and vehicle traffic is generally light on this long section of Middle, passing by parked vehicles should neither be dangerous nor inconvenient.
The Council considered three alternative Middle bike lane designs which differ in terms of (a) the amount of space available for street parking and (b) the total width of the space dedicated to bicyclists. This space is often divided into a bike lane and buffer which separate bicyclists from either vehicle traffic or parked vehicles. The “total width” of a bike lane equals the width of the bike lane plus the width of the buffer. For example, the total width of the bike lane in Option 1 is ten feet
Option 1 – extra wide bike lanes (seven feet) and extra wide buffers (three feet) along the travel lane.
Option 2 – the standard width for bike lanes (five feet) and standard width for buffers (two-feet)
Option 3 – dimensions identical to Option 1 except narrower there is high demand for street parking, e.g., apartments, New Community Church, homes between University and El Camino
Figure 3 – Bike Lane – Street Parking Options
The graphic below compares the general bike safety and street parking characteristics of the three bike lane options. It was prepared by a technical transportation consultant.
Figure 4 – General Characteristics of Bike Lane Design Options
My Assessments of Bike Safety
1. The treatment of the risk of potential collisions with opening vehicle doors (“dooring”) is extremely misleading, as it implies that “bigger bike lanes are always better”. This is not accurate. The seven-foot bike lane width provided by Option 2 is generally viewed as the standard design for bike lane along parked vehicles. It is the existing width of bike lanes on Oak Grove and far exceeds what exists on sections of Valparaiso and Santa Cruz. It is noteworthy that neither city staff nor the consultant explained why the “super-sized” bike lanes in Option 1 would be meaningfully safer. Why? Because they don’t.
2. While there is no actual evidence that biking on Middle between University and Olive is dangerous, this is not the case between El Camino and University. This is where bike safety will become a major problem. Currently few bicyclists ride on this section but that will change once Middle Plaza opens this year. The combination of a major new four-way intersection at El Camino, a steady and confusing traffic flow in and out of the nearby Safeway parking lot, and two active entrances at the corner Shell station will be hugely challenging for both motorists and bicyclists. Unless there is a creative solution both will be subjected to regular conflicts and accidents.
3. It is noteworthy that the Council plans to eliminate street parking about sixty members of the New Community Church community meetings use on Sundays when the Menlo Church members have access to twenty-seven street parking spaces on much busier Santa Cruz Avenue. between University and Arbor. Plus, additional vehicles are often parked in bike lanes because no signage prevents this usage. This disparity would not exist if street parking was retained on one side of Middle.
Examples Of Existing Bike Lanes In Menlo Park
Figure 5 – Seven-foot total bike Lane width
Oak Grove between El Camino and Crane
Used by Hillview Middle School students
Figure 6 – Five-foot total bike lane width – no buffer
Santa Cruz Avenue between University and Fremont
Main route to downtown from Hillview Middle School
Figure 7 – Five-foot total bike lane width – no buffer
Along the front of Menlo Church
Main route from downtown to Hillview Middle School
Figure 8 – Five-foot total bike lane width – no buffer
Valparaiso Near El Camino
How Bike Lane Designs Affect Street Parking
Here is a set of illustrations that show how the three bike lane designs would affect the availability of street parking along the full length of Middle. Use the following links to view them.
Option 1 – No street parking
Option 2 – Street parking retained on one side
Option 3 – Street parking retained in three high demand sections of Middle
• New Community Church on the north side of Middle between Fremont and Windsor.
• Two apartment complexes on the north side of Middle between Windsor and University.
• Houses on the south side of Middle between University and Morey.
Our city has not evaluated the negative impacts that lost Middle street parking would have on current users, e.g., residents, guests and their service providers. It should have proactively informed, educated and collected feedback from every household on Middle Avenue (and those on nearby cross-street); however, the Council chose not to.
Our city has not evaluated the negative impacts that lost Middle street parking would have on current users, e.g., residents, guests and their service providers. It should have proactively informed, educated and collected feedback from every household on Middle Avenue (and those on nearby cross-street); however, the Council chose not to.
Affected Households (Source: My Research)
Many households on Middle would be affected by the loss of street parking – 365 days a year, and 24 hours a day with overnight parking permits.
Figure 9 – Distribution of Households On Middle Avenue
• Option 1 (No street parking) – 100 households lose street parking
• Option 2 (Street parking retained on one side) – 26 households lose street parking
• Option 3 Variation (Selected street parking) – 49 households lose street parking
My Observations – Middle Avenue Street Parking
1. The Council has shown little concern about the negative impacts that eliminating parking spaces will have BOTH on 91 households on Middle and on additional households located nearby on sixteen side streets. Instead, the Council has displayed a “they will get used to it” attitude. (There are sixteen side streets
2. The Council should have held a special study session for the Middle Avenue Improvement Project before selecting a preferred bike lane design and invited all households affected by lost street parking to attend. The focus of the meeting should have been street parking NOT bike safety. The Council should still do this BEFORE conducting a field trial.
3. The ranking of bike design alternatives from a street parking perspective:
=> Option 2, Option 3, Option 1
Comparison Of The Studied Bike Lane Design Alternatives
The following table summarizes the defining characteristics of the three bike design options.
Figure 10 – Comparison of option trade-offs (Source: Dana Hendrickson)
My Recommendations – Bike Lanes & Street Parking
1. Field trial bike lane design Option 2 as it provides excellent bike safety and preserves street parking for all residents, guests and service providers, motorists who attend the New Community Church and users of the playing field, playground and other facilities at Lyle Park.
2. Use four-foot bike lanes and three-foot buffers to encourage bicyclists to maintain a safe distance when passing parked vehicles.
Figure 11 – 7-foot total bike lane width
Note continuous green colored pavement markings
Santa Monica, CA
3. Install signage that warns BOTH motorists and bicyclists to remain aware of potential conflicts. Use continuous green colored pavement markings on the three sections of Middle where there are high demands for parking spaces.
4. While the city can install bike lanes on its streets, ultimately motorists and bicyclists share the responsibility to remain alert to potentially dangerous situations and proactively avoid actual conflicts and collisions. For example, all bicyclists should wear bright attention-getting clothing and helmets that help motorists notice them. This is especially important for inexperienced small children.
Impact of Bike Lanes on Users of Nealon Park
All the bike lane designs the Council reviewed include two major changes to the parking area next to Middle. The head-in parking spaces are replaced with fewer parallel spaces. And a new bikeway is routed between the parking spaces and the park. This would allow bicyclists to avoid passing behind vehicles that could be backing out of parking spaces, a situation the Council and Commission consider dangerous.
Figure 13 – Bikeway bypass of parked vehicles
Surprisingly there was no discussion of how the loss of parking spaces would affect the users of the popular playground, small field and five courts. There are currently 46 parking spaces and perhaps 15 would remain. This is a huge reduction.
So, who would be most affected by so many lost parking spaces? The actual usage patterns of the various facilities at Nealon varies widely in terms of times and intensities. So sometimes there are many spaces available, and at others, vehicles spillover onto the opposite side of Middle.
Pickleball has grown in popularity, and 16 or more players often share one of the playing courts starting at 8:00 am. Many of them are “pick-up” players so they do not share rides. Tennis players take advantage of the remaining three courts during the mornings and evenings when it’s not too hot. The playground and picnic area are packed with caregivers and children whenever the weather is good, and entire families are there on weekends. The playground and adjacent small field are also popular sites for birthday celebrations, and participants bring lots of items with them. So nearby parking is desirable. The dog park attracts about 50 owners each weekday between 8:00 am and 10:00 am. A variety of adult and youth sports teams use the main playing field during the spring, summer and fall seasons, usually in the afternoons and evenings. Games and practices attract dozens of vehicles. Lastly, the Little House Senior Center has sole access to the large parking lot along the right field line from 8:00 am to 3 pm on weekdays.
Figure 14 – Nealon Park Parking Lots
My Observations
1. I doubt many bicyclists would use the “bypass” bikeway because riding directly alongside a vehicle lane is convenient and bicyclists can avoid pedestrians who might cross the bikeway.
2. Safety-minded bicyclists can easily avoid collisions with vehicles exiting head-in parking spaces as drivers do not back out abruptly .due to the high volume of traffic on this section of Middle.
3. If parents and guardians were forced to park further way near right field, they might not use the playground. If playing court users were displaced they could consume all available spaces in right field.
Recommendations
1. Preserve the existing head-in parking spaces and Install bake lanes next to vehicle lanes.
2. Caution bicyclists and motorists to avoid collisions with signage next to bike lanes and at the front of the parking area.
3. Mark the bike lane in front of Nealon with continuous green color.
Wrap-up: Lessons Learned
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My two previously published analyses of the Middle Avenue Complete Street project.
• Blog post – Does Replacing All Street Parking On Middle Avenue With Bike Lanes Actually Make Sense? This analysis was completed before the February 14, 2023, Council Meeting. (The Almanac, February 8, 2023)
• Guest Opinion – Menlo Park should rethink nixing parking on Middle Avenue.
The Council did not make sound decisions because it was not well-informed and likely biased. (The Almanac, March 19, 2023)
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