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California Avenue will finally get some love next month, when Palo Alto’s contractors start painting two-way bike lanes, implementing colored paving and installing planters at the entrance points of the eclectic retail district that expelled cars and welcomed dining tents during the early days of pandemic.
The suite of improvements comprises just the first in a series that will later include a new monument sign at the El Camino entrance, additional road improvements and, if things go as planned, new parklets that will replace the impromptu constellation of tents and dining tables that took over the streets in June 2020, when the City Council moved to make the commercial strip car-free.
The council paved the way for the near-term improvements in its final meeting of the year, when it unanimously added $345,000 in contingency funding for the streetscape work. The agreement with O’Grady Paving includes colored paving, two-way bicycle lanes and installation of bollards that will restrict traffic while allowing emergency vehicle access.
Another contractor, Frank & Grossman, is charged with installing the planters once O’Grady completes its work. The city’s capital improvement budget includes $450,000 for the streetscape work.
“These improvements support long-term flexibility for future investments in California Avenue’s streetscape and will precede other work, such as installation of planters and plantings,” a report from City Manager Ed Shikada states.
Shikada told the council at the Dec. 16 meeting that work will begin immediately after the winter holidays.
Some components of the project remain in flux. While the council has already resolved to keep California Avenue car-free, it cannot formally implement this decision until it completes an environmental study, an effort that will kick off this spring, according to staff. In the meantime, city officials have been passing temporary resolutions to retain the car-free status quo. The latest of these, which the council unanimously passed on Dec. 16, will keep California Avenue car-free until the end of 2025.
Because the main entrance to California Avenue is at its intersection with El Camino Real, the western edge of the car-free strip, the city needs permission from the state Department of Transportation before it can make some of the permanent changes that it was planning to implement. While the city was hoping to install stamped asphalt paving – a colorful design that resembles red bricks – Caltrans nixed that idea because of concerns over bike safety. The city is now proceeding with a regular crosswalk, according to Shikada’s report.
The slow pace of work on California Avenue has tested the patience of area merchants and council members, some of whom have been urging staff to move faster with near-term improvements. Michael Ekwall, co-owner of the California Avenue restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio, lamented the city’s failure to bring order to the strip in the four years since it became a car-free zone.
“We’ve been living through this now for four years,” Ekwall said at the retail committee meeting. “The community really deserves better than what happened.
“I understand Caltrans construction is beyond our control, but Cal Ave. continues to look like Skid Row and has a kind of don’t-come-here chaos vibe.”
Council member Pat Burt, who sits on the Retail Committee, has consistently pressed city staff over the past year to move faster with near-term improvements even as they pursue broader and more ambitious plans for both of Palo Alto’s downtowns. On University Avenue, the city is preparing to devote more resources over the coming months to cleaning the street and adding tree wells and wayfinding signs as it inches ahead with a $43 million effort to widen sidewalks and create more public plazas. On California, the ultimate goal is to create a more cohesive and pedestrian-friendly design, with dedicated spaces for cyclists.
Earlier this year, the city surveyed residents and area stakeholders about potential design alternatives. The most popular option was “optimistic modern,” which features pastel colors and which emphasizes playfulness and relaxation. It edged out the “artsy saloon” option, which called out California Avenue’s boozy past by emphasizing arts and nightlife, and the “upscale contemporary” option, which is more urban and minimalist.
During this week’s broad discussion of retail efforts, Burt urged staff to expedite its process for designing a permanent parklet program for California Avenue. The city had already approved such a program for University Avenue and other streets where cars are allowed.
“We’ve had a lot of years with tents,” Burt said. “The merchants are anxious to invest in permanent parklets, the community is anxious for that to be on the street, and I think it needs to get to the council so that we can decide whether we support that or not.”
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