Palo Alto Assistant City Manager Ed Shikada discusses challenges facing the city when it comes to traffic and Palo Alto's plans for improving transportation for residents and commuters. Palo Alto Weekly journalists Gennady Sheyner and Jocelyn Dong join him in this episode of "Behind the Headlines."
Watch the webcast here. Or listen to the new podcast version of the episode (details below).
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Related article:
• Residents sound off on frustrations with traffic (Oct. 23)
Webcasts are posted every Friday afternoon on PaloAltoOnline.com, as well as on Palo Alto Online's YouTube channel, youtube.com/paweekly.
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Comments
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 28, 2018 at 10:55 am
on Oct 28, 2018 at 10:55 am
After watching the video with the new City Manager Shikada, some good questions from the Weekly but alarming answers from the City.
It would seem as if this is the first City Manager Palo Alto has ever had, or the first time traffic issues have come up. Almost like Shikada is starting from scratch? He suggests that solutions in Palo Alto have to be slow cooked because residents demand solutions that only benefit some individual needs (?) - can we get some clarification of that comment. I would agree that Palo Alto is not San Jose, and that very few places on the planet have the unique mess, but what about how analysis or funding for projects is done in other cities. Is the issue that the costs for Palo Alto are just way out of proportion to our means?
Perhaps the Weekly can do a retrospective of what the City's transportation department is in charge of altogether (how many people make sure the lights are working and how many do planning and what does that mean). What milestones they have achieved in the last 20 years.
What is there to build on?
If the issue is that this is like a start up at this point, then I would suggest leaving the three vacancies empty and first think outside the box about how to get projects developed and off the ground. For example one problem seems to be communication with the residents.
The City is notorious for failing at communications, so hire a small team (based in Palo Alto) to do that instead of reinventing everything from the inside year after year and never getting anywhere.
Mountain View
on Oct 28, 2018 at 2:38 pm
on Oct 28, 2018 at 2:38 pm
Solution...less talk, more action.
Community Center
on Oct 28, 2018 at 2:39 pm
on Oct 28, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Actually, after this webcast, I can't say I learnt anything new. The City is still has no plan and still will continue with their road diets to congest the roadways.
Midtown
on Oct 28, 2018 at 3:47 pm
on Oct 28, 2018 at 3:47 pm
One of the problems is that everyone wants some "grand solution" instead of attacking all the small issues that add to the problem.
Maybe the city should take up the example of the new PAUSD superintendent. Try small sprints that fix small problems.
Get a right turn lane that the intersection of Churchhill and El Camino.
Fix the new left turn problem at the intersection of Park and Page Mill Road.
Coordinate all the construction around town to manage driver frustration.
Fix the left turn backup on Middlefield and the Mitchel Park Library
Don't go for grand solutions that will never get implemented, fix the hundreds of small issues that would lead to better flow.
/marc