Andrew Boone
Andrew Boone covers the Livable Streets Movements for Streetsblog in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Andrew's claim to fame is once having bicycled more than 12,000 miles of smiles in one year. nauboone@gmail.com
Recent Posts
East Palo Alto Bay Trail Will Be Built. Will Current Residents Benefit From It?
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The pieces are in place to build a key link in the San Francisco Bay Trail, providing a continuous bike route through East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Given the trail’s proximity to Facebook and the lack of housing close to the company’s campus, East Palo is also looking to strengthen its affordable housing policies to […]
Design of High-Speed Trains Threatens to Diminish Caltrain Capacity
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The insistence of California High Speed Rail officials on running trains with floors 50 inches above the tracks threatens to reduce the capacity of Caltrain and hamper the benefits of level boarding for the commuter rail agency. Last Tuesday, Caltrain officials gave an update on the electric trains the agency plans to purchase next year, which will […]
San Jose to Adopt Vision Zero But No Target Date to End Traffic Deaths
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The San Jose City Council is expected to adopt a Vision Zero plan [PDF] tomorrow, making it the third major city in the Bay Area and the tenth in the nation to commit to ending traffic deaths. But San Jose isn’t setting a timeline to achieve this goal. “For years, San Jose created a roadway system exclusively for […]
Money Abounds for Highways, Not Safe Crossings, at San Mateo County TA
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The San Mateo County Transportation Authority is still throwing tens of millions of dollars at freeway widenings in a futile attempt to build its way out of traffic congestion. But when it comes to building a safe passage for people to cross a frightening interchange, don’t expect the agency to spend a dime. The planned […]
Santa Clara OKs Road Diet, Bike Lanes on “Ludicrously Overbuilt” Tasman Dr.
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Santa Clara’s City Council unanimously approved a road diet last week on the city’s 1.5-mile section of Tasman Drive. Tasman, east of Great America Parkway, will have two of its six traffic lanes re-purposed for wide buffered bike lanes and permanent median fences to protect Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)’s light-rail tracks. West of Great American Parkway, where Tasman was […]
Belmont Police Blame Cyclist for Getting in the Way of Driver’s Left Turn
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When a 90-year-old driver turned left into the path of a man bicycling on Ralston Avenue, the Belmont Police Department blamed the victim for talking on a cell phone and not wearing a helmet. The department also warned people on bikes against “carrying packages and bags” in its press release. None of those behaviors are illegal, nor […]
Menlo Park’s Plan to Ruin Downtown With Parking Garages
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Building new parking garages in downtown Menlo Park will cost tens of millions of dollars while clogging streets with more traffic. But that’s what municipal leaders are seriously considering in an attempt to boost business, apparently oblivious to modern parking policies that have paid off for other Peninsula cities. Last month, the Menlo Park City Council voiced support […]
Better Bike Parking Options Can Alleviate Crowding On-Board Caltrain
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Facing a continuing surge of nearly 5,000 additional weekday passengers each year, Caltrain is looking into better bike parking to alleviate overcrowding on the trains while improving access to its stations. The agency was awarded a $150,000 state grant in early April to write a bicycle parking management plan that aims to prioritize the next phase of bike improvements at stations. Current bike parking facilities include […]
To Expand Bike-Share on the Peninsula, Cities Will Have to Support It
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Bay Area Bike Share’s ten-fold expansion announced last Thursday will vastly increase the usefulness of bike-share in SF, the East Bay, and San Jose at no cost to the public. Peninsula cities, however, won’t be sharing in the bounty unless they chip in some of their own funds. Without public support, the 20 existing stations in Mountain […]
Facebook Expansions Could Spur Dumbarton Rail in Menlo Park
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Long-delayed efforts to restore train service on the Dumbarton Rail Corridor, which links the mid-Peninsula to the East Bay, could get a boost as Facebook looks to add housing and offices along the tracks in Menlo Park. This spring, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority will study how to bring service to a 4.5-mile segment of the Dumbarton tracks […]
Fantasizing About Self-Driving Cars, Sunnyvale Opposes El Camino Bus Lanes
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The Sunnyvale City Council voted 4-3 last month to oppose dedicated bus lanes that could cut transit riders’ trips nearly in half along the length of El Camino Real, making bus trips almost as quick as driving. More than one council member said the city shouldn’t invest in transit because self-driving cars are going to make it […]
Widening El Camino Real in Menlo Park Won’t Cut Traffic, But Bike Lanes Will
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Redesigning El Camino Real to squeeze in more cars will cause more cars to squeeze into El Camino Real, warned the consultant working on a redesign of the street in downtown Menlo Park last week. But creating a safe street for people to get around without a car can actually cut traffic. At a community […]