Transit-oriented development
If there is one trend that has shaped Palo Alto's most fervent debates of 2012 it's the city's push to encourage dense development near major transit stations -- namely, downtown and near California Avenue. This year has seen no shortage of mega-proposals near transit hubs, including the approved Lytton Gateway building on Alma Street and Lytton Avenue, the proposed mixed-use building at 135 Hamilton Ave., the sky-busting 27 University Ave. office complex, and the new three-story building slated to replace Club Illusions at 260 California Ave. In the Architectural Review Board's final meeting of the year, board member Lee Lippert noted the project's proximity to the Caltrain station as the major reason for why the lattermost building's size and height aren't a problem in his mind. Lippert cited the city's push for transit-oriented developments and predicted that Palo Alto will likely see many more buildings in the area that are "taller, bigger and bulkier than this." For residents in adjoining neighborhoods, where parking spots are gradually becoming a delicacy, this is hardly reassuring. Stay tuned.
Goodbye, plastic
"One word: Plastics," Mr. McGuire famously advises young Benjamin in "The Graduate." Now, the past's word of the future is set to become the near future's word of the past in Palo Alto. Following a popular regional trend, the city is preparing to charge ahead in its crusade against plastic bags in the coming year. Plastic bags have already been banned from local supermarkets. In 2013, the city will look to extend the prohibition to all food establishments and to require stores to charge for paper bags.
Open data
"Hackers" aren't what they used to be. The word once had a sinister ring, connoting downed websites and stolen credit-card numbers. In Palo Alto, they have become the city's willing partner. On March 31, the city teamed up with several downtown firms to co-sponsor the Super Happy Block Party," a "hackathon" and digital street party that saw herds of designers, programmers and venture capitalists take over a block of High Street for a day of programming, networking and bobbing heads to "silent disco." The city also held a smaller, more formal "hackathon" event with a group of Stanford University students, who over a night of programming, pizza and Red Bull came up with an index of city streets and their conditions. The information is available on the city's new "Open Data" website, which officials hope will continue to entice local programmers -- the brainy and benign new-age hackers -- to make data publicly available and easily accessible to local residents.
Pedaling along
Palo Alto's large and enthusiastic bicycling community has much to celebrate these days. From the recent lane configurations on Arastradero Road to the upcoming streetscape project on the commercial strip of California Avenue, the city is undergoing a Renaissance of biking improvements. The City Council approved in July a new master plan for biking improvements and has wasted no time in pursuing many of the big-ticket items on the list, including a new bike bridge over U.S. Highway 101 at Adobe Creek. The project received a major boost in November when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a multimillion dollar grant that would fund most of the design work for the new bridge as well as pay for improvements to Matadero Creek and to perimeter trails around Stanford University -- projects intended to create one giant biking network spanning much of the city. As Vice Mayor Greg Scharff phrased it in the final council meeting of the year, "I think Portland needs to watch out. We're going to be the No. 1 bike city."
Friends with benefits
Palo Alto's finance officials had a banner year, with the city's major revenue sources all experienced larger-than-expected bounces, ending 2012 on a fiscal high note. But with employee expenditures continuing to rise even faster than revenues, reforms to pension and health care plans were high on the City Council's agenda in 2012 and will remain there in 2013. The unsustainable costs have also prompted the council to consider ways to reduce costs, including a deeply unpopular proposal to close the city's animal shelter. This move was averted by the formation of the Friends of Palo Alto Animal Shelter, which vowed to raise money to keep the operation running. The council was swayed to keep the shelter going and various councilmembers pointed to public-private-partnerships (as epitomized by the city's many "Friends" groups) as the city's model for the future.
Comments
Downtown North
on Jan 2, 2013 at 11:31 am
on Jan 2, 2013 at 11:31 am
Is the Lytton Gateway building on Alma St & Lytton Ave really going to give the Chamber of Commerce reduced rent on the first floor because it is supposed to be nonprofit?
Pat Burt and Greg Scharff voted for that. I hope the Chamber has more sense now that AT&T is on its board. It could be a Public Relations disaster.
Downtown North
on Jan 2, 2013 at 11:50 am
on Jan 2, 2013 at 11:50 am
Palo Alto residents shouldn't buy the city's hype about "transit oriented development". Large developments are just a give away to developers and a disaster for residents. From an environmental perspective, developments should be limited to dense urban centers. We have two, San Francisco and San Jose. Developers don't care about the environment or transit, they want to maximize their property value, make as much money as possible and are fine with destroying the character of smaller cities along the peninsula. 2013 will be the year to stop massive developments in Palo Alto or the quality of the city services, schools, parks and home ownership will continue to decline.
Barron Park
on Jan 2, 2013 at 12:22 pm
on Jan 2, 2013 at 12:22 pm
I find Greg's warning to Portland:
"I think Portland needs to watch out. We're going to be the No. 1 bike city."
somewhat premature. Presumably this is based on the $10M bridge over 101 that may be constructed in 3 or 4 years. That bridge is only a very small part of the incentives to use your bicycle in Palo Alto.
As an avid bicyclist, I find that the biggest obstacle to using the bicycle instead of a car for shopping is the lack of decent bicycle stands that allow locking with strong U-shaped locks (instead of relatively weak and inconvenient cable locks).
The best bike stands have a tray for a wide front tire and an arm with a loop coming up at about a 60 degree angle, so the lock can go through the loop and the bicycle frame.
These need to be installed throughout all the commercial areas of the city. Even 1000 of them would cost only a tiny fraction of the bridge, and would have a much bigger effect on bike ridership in Palo Alto.
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Jan 2, 2013 at 5:41 pm
on Jan 2, 2013 at 5:41 pm
I see bigger obstacles to an increase in bike use besides a safer locking stand.
The first is their inconvenience in wet weather - either in a rain storm or afterwards on slippery streets. Many older and younger people are not experts in riding bikes.
The second is difficulty in carrying large or several parcels. Baskets on front or rear are not a cure all for many due to the shifting of weight and balance.
And not least the lack of size and hence visibility to drivers - especially when the bicyclist blows through a stop sign.
I almost forgot. When accompanying young children to and from school or shopping, there is no safety seat as there is in a car.