By Aiko Hill

Looking Back, Moving Forward

On any day, we see bicyclists touring through Los Altos. Come the weekend, the bike traffic increases significantly. Mountain bikes, tandems and the latest in composite technology - you can see them all. Bike riding has been a common activity for a long time but the ‘high-end’ nature of the sport is a fairly recent phenomenon. What’s not so new is the vision exhibited (again) by our Village leadership that has allowed the many bikers to traverse our roads safely.

When the rail was replaced by Foothill Expressway, the discussion began.

In 1975, residents were still debating the feasibility of adding a bike path and this debate was the subject of many a city council meeting. Mayor Ruth Koehler and Councilman Lee Toole favored providing bike lanes along the expressway from Arastradero Road to Edith Avenue and along frontage roads from Edith to Vineyard. Audrey Fisher voted against the bike lanes, contending that cycling was never going to be safe unless cyclists would obey the traffic laws. She added that there were more bicycle violations than motor violations in Los Altos!

In March 1975, bicyclists and pedestrians commuting between Los Altos and Palo Alto could travel via a safe and scenic route on the Hetch Hetchy right-of-way connecting the two cities at Los Altos Avenue to Arastradero Road in Palo Alto. Use of the route was made possible by the completion of a bridge over Adobe Creek, paid for by our city.

Bicycling was growing in popularity by then. Just two years prior, two sophomores at Awalt High School (now Mountain View High), David Martin and Scott Parcel, had laid out a plan for a trans-continental bike journey. They planned to leave Feb. 3 for a 14,000 mile, seven-month trip via tandem bike around the perimeter of the United States. You can imagine what their parents must have thought, but the two prevailed. After pointing out the trip’s “educational benefits” and laying out a detailed route plan, they obtained their parents’ permission and the approval of their principal and the high school district superintendent. The final agreement was that they would receive credit under the independent study program at Awalt. Brilliant!

So, there is a long history of safe bike riding in our area. Whether you are driving or riding remember - obey the traffic laws and share the road!

Send comments and suggestions to aikohill@aol.com.