By Lauren McSherry

Cyclists and pedestrians who use El Monte and Moody roads to reach Foothill College, St. Nicholas School and open space in Los Altos Hills are well aware that the roads lack safe bike lanes and continuous, unbroken pathways.

But all that is slated to change. Last week the Los Altos Hills City Council authorized city staff to begin the first phase of a five-part project to improve the two streets for traffic flow and safety.

In February, the council approved a draft of a master plan to improve the transportation corridor along the two roads.

The plan includes improving safety at the cloverleaf interchange of Interstate 280 on El Monte. The area serves as a vital link between Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

Currently, a sidewalk, the only route available for pedestrians, is somewhat inaccessible. Bordered by guardrails, it runs down the center of the road, while bike lanes abruptly disappear where the I-280 exits dump traffic merging onto El Monte.

The draft plan calls for adding signalized pedestrian crossings at Foothill College and Stonebrook Drive, and providing paths and bike lanes on both sides of El Monte. The plan also includes funneling El Monte to one lane between the cloverleaf ramps.

The first part of the project that the council approved involves widening the shoulder and building a path along the southern side of Moody Road from Rhus Ridge Road along Adobe Creek to the Santa Clara County Fire Department’s El Monte Station.

This part of the project should be completed by the end of the year, said Richard Chen, associate engineer for the city.

He said the entire project could take several years to finish, depending on funding.

The project’s total cost is pegged at $840,000, with the Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrans providing most of the funds, according to the draft plan. The city of Los Altos Hills could also contribute $70,000 in matching funds.

“(The council decision) provides for the field survey work and maps, so that we can begin our in-house design for the project,” said Dave Ross, city engineer.

The intersection of El Monte and Foothill Expressway is one of the top five intersections in Los Altos involved school-route traffic accidents.

El Monte, Foothill, El Camino Real and San Antonio Road had the most red-light violations between 1998 and 2002, said Los Altos Police Sgt. Matt Hartley.