The Palo Alto City Council on Nov. 9 unanimously approved a package of traffic-calming upgrades for the Bryant Street bike boulevard, including new or rebuilt traffic circles, curb extensions and high-visibility crosswalks, and directed staff to finish engineering design for a 2027 construction bid, Palo Alto Online reported. Palo Alto Civic covered the same vote.
Why it matters: Bryant Street became the nation’s first bike boulevard in 1982. City staff told the council it now carries about 2,000 vehicles a day, above a stated best-practice range of 500 to 1,000, and that the 85th-percentile speed was 28 mph, above a 15-to-20 mph target.
The work focuses on the stretch between Homer Avenue and Embarcadero Road, with traffic circles at Lincoln and Kingsley avenues and an upgrade to the existing circle at Addison Avenue, Palo Alto Online said. Staff cited 10 reported collisions on the Bryant-Lincoln corridor from 2016 through 2024, 30% involving bicyclists. The council also added direction to study speed tables or raised crosswalks, especially at Channing and Homer, consider a lower speed limit, and treat an eastbound left-turn restriction from Embarcadero onto Bryant, along with some curb extensions, as pilots, Palo Alto Civic reported.
Some residents and council members worried that closing or restricting turns could push cars onto Emerson and Waverly streets. Barbara Hazlett, who lives on Emerson, supported calming but opposed closing access to Bryant and urged speed enforcement on Embarcadero, Palo Alto Online reported. Council member Keith Reckdahl questioned whether mini-roundabouts would do more than the existing Addison circle and favored speed tables. Consultant Hugh Louch of Fehr & Peers said the Addison circle would be upgraded and new circles designed to higher standards.