Our community very strongly supports a safer Palo Alto Way crosswalk on Santa Cruz Ave, including a pedestrian activated light to alert motorists of crosswalk use. Our petition effort resulted in over 200 residents being contacted and with over 98% of them in support for this important safety action.
The petition asks for a pedestrian activated light system to let motorists know that the crosswalk is being used and the addition of stop limit lines to keep stopped motorists safely away from the crosswalk and thus creating a high visibility buffer to further safety. See the Safety Issues Report section 6 – Palo Alto Way Crosswalk.
Pedestrian activated lights are common farther north on Santa Cruz Ave and other locations in the Menlo Park area. Federal Highway Administration states that safety is significantly improved by use of these light systems.
The intersection at Palo Alto Way and Santa Cruz is a major crosswalk that connects to the Palo Alto Way bus stop and allows the various communities (Menlo Commons, Oak Hollow, University Park) to connect with each other. Students that access the local schools and school bus stop near Palo Alto Way need a safer crosswalk at this location.
The petition involved over 200 community members of the Santa Cruz/Alameda traffic corridor and was primarily a door-to-door campaign by several residents over a period of a little over 2 weeks. In the last few days of the petition, online signing was also provided.
The community support for this safety improvement is extraordinary. The number of supporters itself is impressive and double the number of community members that attended the overflow event of the August 28th, 2017 County-Community Safety meeting at Oak Knoll school. The community has a very high interest addressing the many traffic and road safety issues in our neighborhood that exist in the Santa Cruz/Alameda traffic corridor (between Sand Hill Rd and Avy Avenue to the north).
Comments from the safety petition:
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