Menlo Park reveals draft alternatives for El Camino Real

Menlo Park has been studying changing the lane configuration on El Camino Real (ECR) for a year and consultants have just presented three draft alternatives for the road to the city's Bicycle and Transportation Commission. As part of SVBC's El Camino Real initiative, we have been advocating for bicycle lanes to be added to ECR in Menlo Park as part of this process.Last spring and summer, Menlo Park surveyed residents and other users of ECR to help inform their study. The results were very favorable to adding bicycle facilities. They showed that 61% of survey takers regularly bike on ECR (the same percentage that walk on ECR); that 55% of drivers also ride bicycles on El Camino Real; that most bicyclists travel El Camino Real to shop and visit local businesses, and 60% are traveling to or from work. The second most desired change on ECR (with 72% positive ratings) was for the inclusion of bicycle lanes on El Camino Real. Check out the full results, which are chock full of useful information.The draft alternatives took the survey results info into consideration. They are: 1. three continuous vehicle lanes 2. buffered bike lanes and 3. one-way cycle tracks. SVBC supports both the buffered bike lane and one-way cycle track options. We believe that ECR should be safe for all people, and that adding a third, high-speed vehicle lane will not contribute to that goal. ECR is currently a barrier cutting through the community, and adding bike lanes will make it easier and safer for more people, including schoolchildren, to cross ECR and access the many business on that road. Adding a third lane will only induce car demand, increasing traffic, congestion, and safety hazards.There will be a third community workshop in February to discuss these alternatives and I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the concepts and attend to make sure your voice is heard.