By Linda Taaffe

Berry Avenue residents will be spared from coughing up tens of thousands of dollars to make their properties conform to city sidewalk improvements intended to make the street more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.

Los Altos Public Works Director Jim Porter said city staff redesigned the project to match the pathway’s elevation with existing adjacent private properties. A 5-foot dirt buffer in the public right-of-way between the path and private properties will provide engineers enough space to make up any grade difference between the two areas, he said.

The city attorney earlier this year sent release forms to about 23 residents on the south side of Berry Avenue, asking permission for city officials to make improvements on their property, which would cost residents from $3,000 to $10,000 each, depending upon how much work was actually done. The city would not have been liable for work on the property, according to the letter.

The improvements included making changes in the city right-of-way between the street and residents’ homes to construct a 10-foot-wide Class I bike path on the south side of Berry Avenue under the federally funded Safe Routes to School grant.

Not a single resident signed the form, saying the city was essentially asking them to sign a blank check.

Neighbor’s also took issue with the pathway’s size. The pavement was “excessive” and “too close to the property line,” they said.

Part of last week’s redesign changes included making the pathway two feet narrower.

Public Works Director Jim Porter said the path could not be smaller than 8 feet wide in order to qualify as a federally-approved Class I bike path. If the city designed the pathway smaller, it could risk losing the half million grant money earmarked for the project.

The path was intended to keep bicyclists off the roadway and to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety for children in the Loyola School area.

The grant project also includes a raised crosswalk, bulb outs and other street improvements near the school. Other minor project modifications included deleting the paving from the north side of Berry and removing the street’s center line striping.

The improvement changes will run $175,000 over the project’s budget, city staff estimated.

The street improvements must be ready to start by Sept. 30 to qualify for the grant money.