County to Build Safe Crossings for Students in Los Altos and Palo Alto

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has approved funding for the installation of “pedestrian detection systems” to improve student safety at several expressway intersections used by students to get to and from school, including three in Los Altos and Palo Alto. 

Eleven intersections throughout the County already have these systems, including two Oregon-Page Mill Expressway crossings near Ohlone Elementary School in Palo Alto. With the new funding, safe crossings will be installed at:

• Foothill Expressway/Springer Rd. (near Loyola Elementary School in Los Altos)
• Foothill Expressway/St. Joseph Ave. (near Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos)
• Foothill Expressway/Arastradero Rd. (near Gunn High School in Palo Alto)

 “The goal is simple: make it safer for kids to walk and bike to school across our busy expressways,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian.

At intersections equipped with this technology, sensors detect pedestrians in the crosswalk and send a signal which gives the pedestrian additional time to cross the street. This prevents pedestrians from getting “caught” when the light turns green for traffic.

The Board allocated a surplus from the Adult School Crossing Guard Program to fund installation of the new crossings, which will be combined with funds already allocated to the project from the County’s Road Fund.

“It’s our responsibility both to make sure that our roads are safe and well-maintained for drivers, but also that they are safe for pedestrians, especially kids and their families,” said Simitian. “These new crossings will make sure that our kids have a safe and easy way to get to school. This is one of the times when my prior service as a local School Board member influenced my judgement about the importance of safe routes to school.”

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