Palo Alto Residents Demand Traffic Solutions From City Council
PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) -- Frustrated residents in one Peninsula neighborhood say they've had it when it comes to the traffic.
During the weekday evening commute, Center Drive isn't the quaint Palo Alto street Carla Nowell has come to love. She's lived there since 1989. Now, she says backing out of her own driveway has become downright dangerous.
"Well, I'm very apprehensive. Each time, I wonder if somebody's going to come down. And usually people are accelerating," said Nowell.
The Crescent Park neighborhood recently conducted its own survey and found that 88 percent of residents said that traffic is a significant issue that negatively impacts their quality of life. 94 percent said the city isn't doing enough to address traffic problems
"When asked what they recommend the city do to address traffic problems, the most frequent answer was freeze development," said Palo Alto resident John Guislin.
On Monday night, Guislin presented the results of the neighborhood survey to the Palo Alto City Council. Among the top causes for the increase in congestion, backup from commuter traffic from U.S. Highway 101, commuters traveling to and from large tech companies and cut-through traffic into neighborhoods.
"Many of us have to drive, but many of us can walk and bike," said Yoriko Kishimoto of Palo Alto.
The public also shared potential ways to help the city reduce traffic. Palo Alto city officials said they need to have more traffic data before they can move forward with any solutions. They expect to be able to update residents on their plans in the next quarter or so.