Menlo Park: Grant pays for safer routes to school

This is wonderful news as Valparaiso is the most natural place for a bike corridor at the north end of Menlo Park.
Two other bike corridors are needed, one at Menlo-Ravenswood and the other at Middle Avenue. Learn more at Web Link

This is a very nice benefit for cyclists , but is 100% taxpayer dollars. It may be a good use of taxpayer dollars, but it should be compared to what 1/2 Million $ could accomplish elsewhere. Additionally, perhaps the users (cyclists) should pay for a small amount of the cost by a "license" fee for bikes. Now the costs for road modifications for cyclists are primarily paid by automobile owners/drivers and the benefits go only to cyclists.

Can't we all work together and pay a "fair share" for these modifications?

Complete BS that roads are "primarily paid by automobile owners/drivers". The truth is that roads (both local roads and highways) are primarily paid by county sales tax and property tax. These taxes have nothing to do with automobiles.

It is true that taxes are primarily paid by adults, so does that mean we should deny vital safety projects that benefit mostly children bicycling to school?

Bicycle infrastructure costs a tiny, tiny fraction of what automobile infrastructure costs. And every adult on a bicycle is one less car in your way, competing for parking, and adding to congestion. But the vast majority of people on bicycles also own cars, and are contributing to road maintenance just as much as any other driver on the road.

Finally, this is a project to improve safety for people on foot and on bicycles. The most vulnerable road users. You would begrudge low-cost improvements to safety to save tax dollars? Keep in mind that the moment we get out of our car to walk to our final destination, we are all pedestrians. These are your neighbors and your neighbors children we are trying to protect. To begrudge safety improvements in the name of saving taxpayer dollars is a false economy indeed.

This seems like a solid, sensible, incremental, cost effective improvement that should really help both kids getting to/from school, and adults commuting / running errands / getting some exercise.

Where's our local government, and which species of aliens have you replaced them with?

Seriously though, sounds great.

Will this just be on the Menlo Park portion of Valparaiso as this street also runs through Atherton and the County?

Can anyone find an official description of this project?

Also, the pedestrian/bicyclist signals to be installed at six El Camino Locations as reported in the San Jose Mercury in January?

I did a quick search on the Menlo Park City, OpenBayArea, and MTC Websites and found nothing other than a link to this Almanac story.

Our city needs to do a much better job of keeping its residents informed - especially of good news!