By Linda Taaffe

The segment of Foothill Expressway that runs through Los Altos will more than likely require minimal upgrades during a massive project under way to improve Santa Clara County’s nine expressways.

A study of Foothill’s current conditions shows that the expressway has one Level-F intersection - at El Monte Road - and one anticipated by 2025 - at Grant Road. An F rating means the level of service on that section of road is unacceptable.

Project manager Dan Collen told the Los Altos City Council last week that he believes the county can mitigate such problems with minor improvements, such as signal timing controls.

“Foothill is OK as it is,” he said. “Pedestrian facilities are adequate.” The expressway’s landscaping is a model for others in the county, he added.

The County of Santa Clara Roads and Airports Department is in the process of conducting the Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study that will serve as a long-range strategic plan for the improvement and maintenance of county expressways. The first phase of the study began last September.

County officials plan to develop formal project lists for each expressway that will include a priorities list, funding and a draft implementation plan by next February.

Collen said each expressway has its own unique character, function and community relationship. The ultimate build-out of each expressway will vary to meet each community’s needs.

In Los Altos, city officials appear to want to minimize the number of cars that use the expressway. They expressed an interest in not encouraging more drivers on the facility and using traffic-calming measures to protect local neighborhoods from cut-through traffic, Collen said.

Mayor Francis La Poll, who is a member of the Policy Advisory Board that is providing project input, said he does not want additional or wider lanes to control traffic flow at the El Monte intersection.

La Poll said an additional lane would potentially attract more traffic, bringing more cars off Interstate 280 and into Los Altos.

“We don’t want more cars in our neighborhoods,” he said. “We would reach capacity and (traffic) would be even worse than it is now.”

Improved pedestrian crossings and the possible replacement of Loyola Bridge are included in the study.

The Santa Clara Roads and Airports Department is scheduled to collect public input during a community meeting at 7 p.m., today, at the Los Altos Youth Center, 1 N. San Antonio Road. For more information, call (408) 544-2476, ext. 333.