Upgraded bike/ped crossing coming to 101/University Avenue 

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has entered into an agreement with the City of East Palo Alto to fund a portion of the US 101/University Avenue Pedestrian/Bicycle Overcrossing project, enhancing bike and pedestrian safety on a busy corridor that provides a vital cross-county link between East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.

The Board’s December 6, 2022, action is the most recent in a series dating back more than two decades to mitigate the impacts of development authorized by the Stanford University 2000 General Use Permit.

“This is an unbelievably busy route for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. I’m really pleased to see this project move forward,” said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who spearheaded the collaborative effort with city and county partners in San Mateo County, including the City of East Palo Alto.

“If we want to get people out of their cars, adding a pedestrian and bicycle overcrossing will make it a whole lot easier, not to mention safer, for folks to go back and forth across the 101 to access jobs, shopping, and recreational opportunities like the Bay Trail,” said Simitian.

In early 2020, Simitian, who represented portions of San Mateo County when he served in the California State Legislature from 2000-2012, suggested an expenditure of funds from the Stanford Recreation Mitigation Fund for projects in San Mateo County affected by development at Stanford. Prior to Simitian’s proposal, the vast majority of mitigation funds had been spent in Santa Clara County, despite the fact that development impacts occurred in both counties.

Later that year, the Board of Supervisors voted to fund seven distinct projects (including the US 101/University Avenue Pedestrian/Bicycle Overcrossing project), six of which are located in San Mateo County communities, using more than $10 million in funds stemming from the 2000 Stanford University General Use Permit approval.

The funds were made available as an in-lieu payment by Stanford University after the University was unable to come to agreement with San Mateo County regarding a trail alignment; the trail alignment had been a required mitigation for the University’s more than two million square feet of development authorized in 2020.

“Santa Clara County’s support of this overcrossing will help make pedestrian and bicycle crossing of 101 so much easier and safer," said Ruben Abrica, Mayor of the City of East Palo Alto. "The regional support we’ve received for this project demonstrates the fact that pedestrians and bicyclists need practical solutions that connect our communities.”

The US 101/University Avenue Pedestrian/Bicycle Overcrossing project will include construction of a new 12-foot-wide pedestrian and bicycle structure that includes a new pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing along the north side of the US 101/University Avenue overcrossing in East Palo Alto. The northbound US 101 to southbound University Avenue loop off-ramp would be realigned to square up with University Avenue with a tighter-radius-curve for pedestrian and bicyclist safety enhancement. The current overcrossing structure is primarily for automobiles, with a small sidewalk for pedestrians and bicycles.

Construction is expected to begin in May 2023 and end in April 2024. “This is a project that truly connects us, both literally and figuratively,” said Simitian.