By Sara Ballenger
Right now, Los Altos city officials are on the fence as to which residents will lose theirs to make way for a bike lane.
The city met with several perturbed Berry Avenue residents, July 10, to discuss which residents who live on the south side of the street might have to remove their fences, which according to the city, are built into the public right of way.
It has not yet been determined if or when residents will have to move their fences. They will only be removed if the Los Altos City Council decides to move ahead with plans to widen Berry Avenue to include a raised crosswalk and a 10-foot-wide asphalt combined bike lane and sidewalk as part of the federal traffic calming grant, Loyola Safe Routes to School.
The Los Altos City Council is scheduled to approve the plan or suggest changes at its meeting next Tuesday.
“The primary concerns of the residents in the neighborhood are what is going to happen with individual property lines in terms of the fences,” said 30-year Berry Avenue resident Adele Aced. “Another issue is the width of the path. It’s the same width as a lane in the street, you could drive a car down it. It’s also asphalt instead of concrete which is like putting a third street right up against our property line.”
The city was awarded the $500,000 Caltrans “Safe Routes to School” grant in April 2000 after a group of Loyola parents prepared an application seeking funding for more than a dozen street improvements, based on recommendations from a privately-funded traffic-planning consultant.
The city must complete the traffic plan by Sept. 30 to qualify for the grant money. The city has already filed two extensions on the grant and must comply with the grant’s requirements to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety, said Jim Porter, Los Altos public works director.
“I am not sure what action the council will take on July 23, regarding the current design or future of the project,” Porter said. “However, staff is proceeding with the project per council’s direction and will continue to proceed unless the council directs us otherwise.”
Changes have been made to the initial grant proposal which was to include a round-about at the intersection of Berry Avenue and Springer Road intersection. The council rejected the idea of the round-about in April, which had heavy neighborhood opposition.
Another change to the original grant proposal will end up costing the city as much as $250,000, Porter said.
“The grant application was based on installing bike lanes on an existing street with a five-foot sidewalk,” Porter said. “The current Class I bike path design with curb bulb-outs (similar to islands with some landscaping) is quite a bit more costly to construct.”
