City approves downtown bike route trial for year

More than 150 on-street parking spaces will be removed

Menlo Park’s staff received a tongue lashing from one City Council member Tuesday night over a planned downtown bicycle route trial, but the council ended up unanimously approving the project.

Mayor Rich Cline and Councilman Ray Mueller were absent.

Councilwoman Catherine Carlton criticized transportation division employees for not educating the community enough about the Oak Grove University Crane Bike Improvement Concept Plan.

Under the plan, a 1.5mile bike route would connect the city’s downtown to the east side of El Camino Real for a year as a pilot program. The purpose is to provide safer access to Hillview Middle School, Menlo-Atherton High School and Nativity School students.

Staff mailed 1,846 postcards to residents, business owners and property owners along the proposed route and received only 14 phone calls or emails in response. Of those 14, only 23 percent — the equivalent of 3.22 people — responded favorably.

“That’s not community engagement,” Carlton said. “We keep calling stuff research … (that) is not statistically sound. It’s useless information at best.”

One downtown employee said the pilot program, which would involve removing 183 onstreet parking spaces along Oak Grove for the bike route, would be premature without a downtown parking garage in place.

Councilman Peter Ohtaki said it was time for the council to move forward on a parking garage.

“As we continue to put these improvements in, but take away parking downtown, that increases the need to move forward on the parking garage,” Ohtaki said.

Transportation Manager Nikki Nagaya said staff is evaluating design proposals.

“I think we’ll be making progress next year,” Nagaya said.

The council opted to leave on-street parking on one side of Oak Grove between Laurel Street and the train tracks after representatives of two Oak Grove condominium groups said it otherwise would be difficult for visitors to park nearby.

The pilot program is slated to begin in May 2017 after construction is completed. The project’s cost is estimated at $236,200.