Please explore what Walter Hayes does for traffic. Embarcadero and Middlefield is a major intersection. Perhaps there is something to learn from what they have done there.
Cecilia

I recently moved away from the Palo Alto area to Grand Junction, CO. They have a policy here of slowing traffic to 25 mph in defined areas during times that children are likely to be present. There are blinking yellow lights at the beginning and end of said area. This policy appears to have been very effective, as there have been no incidents in the time that I have been here (six years.)

I’m sorry this happened to a child before something was done. Once it was, floodgates opened and parents described the many near misses and unsafe behavior they witnessed.

This is sadly the pattern. People see dangers, may complain sporadically, but organizing is difficult and getting big organizations to act, next to impossible, so individuals get dismissed and nothing gets done until something bad happens.

Donald and Arastradero is case in point. Many complaints about that intersection trickled off as nothing gets done. Yet daily dangers and near misses continue. It was “improved” without public comment by those most affected, subsequent complaints waved away.

The intersection is not just dangerous for cyclists at times, it’s dangerous for drivers at others. I’ve witnessed many occasions (after “improvements”) in which shear luck is the only reason kids are alive today, and why twice I myself wasn’t broadsided, even though I don’t drive much.

I’ve also witnessed specific dangerous habits by young cyclists because of how they learned to behave there. A councilmember even said to me that the way they ensure safety driving there is to ignore markings outside of school hours.

These accidents should spur action across the City before someone else is hurt or killed. But they should be spearheaded by someone without a history of past safety complaints being handled badly or ignored.

Democratizing Innovation (free, MIT prof) discusses research on who innovates to solve problems. Basically, necessity is the mother of invention, and people who experience problems, are willing to be first, and benefit from solving them, are who innovates to solve them, not so much big orgs or companies. Let’s not squash those who have direct experience with dangers around town, let’s hear them, now, by honest brokers with open minds, not wait for more injuries before we act. Let’s not assume things have to move slowly for safety, but ensure they are done holistically.

Many of the drivers of vehicles near schools are in fact parents dropping kids off to school and many of the reasons they are in such a hurry is because the kids need to get to school in a very narrow window of time and getting tardy slips is problematic. I am pleased some schools are allowing kids to arrive early, but making it less hassle and less likely to have repercussions for being tardy for first period will be helpful. Anything the schools can do to stagger start times will help too.

Our schools have become so much larger than they were originally designed for and although there are enough classrooms, there are still only the same space on streets outside the schools. Trying to get hundreds (thousands in highschool) in the same 15 minute window to our schools is not easy without buses. The time might be right to reconsider the school buses.

I totally agree that we need to make things safer for those who cycle and walk to schools. However, part of the issue is education for children who bike to school. They need to be taught how to ride a bike properly, learn to stop at stop signs, use hand signals, wear helmets properly, etc. Parents also need to enforce these rules. Cyclists also need to take responsiblity when sharing the road as those who drive in cars do. When the middleschool and highschoolers get out of school it is utter mayhem on the roads when they are riding their bikes. They take up entire lanes, run stop signs, don't use hand signals so we have no idea where they are going. They are also riding on the wrong side of the street. Let's all watch out for everyone, take things a little slower, and be careful and drive the speedlimit to avoid this happening.

IN ADDITION to all of the helpful suggestions posted above, PLEASE institute some basic bike riding lessons at the elementary (at least) school level. As I live near 3 schools, I see too often kids rushing during commute time riding very unsafely. More than several times I have veered at the last minute to avoid a bike rider crossing in front of my moving car or blowing through stop-signed intersections. Riding while texting with ear pods on is also common.

"When Ellson asked Holm what process the school district used to approve these changes, he could not provide an answer" .......... Par for the course for 25 Churchill.

"In this instance, the gates were closed and the collaboration hasn't happened."......Again, par for the course, especially with Mr. Austin at the helm.

A few years back, the PE department at Greene was recognized by the City for its contribution to the bicycle safety program. The Greene principal, and Austin protege, basically stated, "I don't give a (expletive removed) about bicycle safety". Pretty indicative, no? I'm sure Ms. Ellson would be dismayed, but not surprised by such an attitude. It bleeds down from the top, and we all know who is at the top.

Members of the Greene PE department will corroborate the statement made by the principal at the time.

Yesterday on Melville a teenager was riding her bike back from (I assume Paly) with no helmet. At the Middlefield stoplight I rolled down my window and asked her to get her helmet on and stop behaving so dangerously. She looked at me with a blank face. But how did she leave Paly without a helmet on or her home for that matter? I am guessing she was 16 or so. Where are her parents? Where are the police? Also the kids ride two and 3 abreast on narrow streets. Who is controlling these unsafe behaviors?

10+ years ago, when my three kids went through PAUSD, the elementary school participated in a district wide bike safety program for all 2nd graders (maybe different grade). It was week long effort, culminating in a bike rodeo where students brought their bikes to school and were trained by PAPD and PAFD to navigate intersections, driveways, cross walks. Bikes and helmets were inspected for safety. Is that program no longer in place?

When we see young teens on electric bikes, scooters, skate boards, hover boards, they are moving faster than the average pedestrian or the average person on a pedal bike. These electric devices are not being ridden correctly for the ages and inexperience of the rider.

As a driver, or even an adult bike rider or pedestrian, it is very hard to predict what the rider of these electric devices will do next. They transfer from sidewalk to bike lane and even cross the street without giving any warnings to other road users. We are told to share the road with them, but they are not sharing, they are claiming the roads and sidewalks as their own and anyone in their way cause them to suddenly move elsewhere without warning any other road user.

When we hear of what is being done to teach students how to ride bikes safely, it is assumed these are pedal bikes. When they are moving much faster without effort they need a completely different skill set with much more emphasis on dmv handbook for driving. Some of these students on electric vehicles are still much too young to handle the complexities of traffic at the speed they can travel on their Ebikes, Escooters, Eskateboards and Ehoverboards.

Rules for bikes are the same as the rules for cars. I know, I went to traffic court once for running a red light on my bike. It was a great lesson and I have been a saint on my bike ever since. Cyclists, often rightfully so, get a bad rap for their loose interpretations of the rules. But as Bystander has stated, electric craft usage is anarchy. They rip past you in the bike lane, move into car lanes, run lights and stops, and use the sidewalks too. I was visiting Stanford a few weeks back and almost got clipped by one doing nearly 30MPH on a walkway.
Why road rules are not enforced with these vehicles is a mystery. I've never seen one pulled over or pursued by the police. Helmets seem optional, and so does adherence to basic safety rules. It's not as if the technology is way ahead of the law here, and one must think that a few hefty fines or trips to traffic court would dissuade many of the bad actors.

Then again, if enforcement comes down to traffic cameras that rarely work, then the behavior will only get worse.

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Cannot understand why a rich city and a rich school district cannot come up with a plan to provide some sort of shuttle service to it's middle and high school-aged kids with frequent stops for pick up and drop off. Fewer cars on the road, fewer bike accidents. more community building among kids.

@staying home - I think the training and bike "rodeo" are still happening, but as kids grow up, I think they forget and maybe even more likely, lose the desire to obey rules and please grown-ups.
More broadly speaking, I think it's up to all of us to do our parts: adults and students, drivers, cyclists, skaters, parents, schools, city, police.

May be too high-tech for Palo Alto and probably won't pass the council who is more focused on builders .. there needs to be a separation for bicyclist. Specially the younger kids. Put in barriers on the road between cars and bicyclists. There is separation on Middlefield road near the middle school area - I am very annoyed by it when I drive, but I appreciate it for the safety it brings in for the children.

At the crossing - have barriers that allow a "lane" for the crossing .. keep these activated during the school start and end time.

Do something for the children!

Editor, could you make sure names are spelled correctly?
It's Melissa Oliveira, NOT Olivieira. And no, it is NOT of Spanish origin. Just shows a careless attitude to misspell such an easy name.

We can protect children near the schools a little better. but most of these accidents with bikers of any age occur away from schools in all streets. In between school and home how could we protect them ? We can't though. A bit more policing would help. But since we can't protect them they have to learn how to protect themselves. That's a job for the family and the school and they don't seem to be doing it well at all.

The focus on accidents that can be imputed to drivers will be taken care by the courts though the trauma inflicted will last without end. But what about those in which the young bikers are careless, oblivious or simply do not have developed cognitive, physical skills and experience commensurate with riding on a public street?
That's what we are talking about. Shouldn't we create a task force for recommending and implementing biker traffic of minors with helpful measures?
It's about time.