City swerves away from El Dorado bike tunnel

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Responding to a rising tide of opposition from neighborhood residents, a Palo Alto City Council committee moved Tuesday to eliminate from consideration a proposed bike tunnel on El Dorado Avenue. With its 3-0 vote, the council Rail Committee dealt what is likely a fatal blow to the El Dorado proposal, which earlier this year was viewed at City Hall as the most promising alternative for improve east-west connection across the rail tracks in south Palo Alto. Council members had selected the El Dorado plan earlier this year from a menu of options that also included underpasses at Loma Verde, Lindera Drive, Ely Place and Ferne Avenue. This week, transportation staff recommended further evaluating the El Dorado alternative, which “responds to a longstanding east-west connectivity barrier and advances City policy direction to expand safe, comfortable, and direct active transportation connections, particularly in south Palo Alto,” a new report from the Office of Transportation states. But the city’s early enthusiasm for El Dorado faded in recent months, as Midtown residents have banded to oppose the project. About 300 signed a petition protesting the city’s preferred option, which included a new traffic light on Alma Street and El Dorado and a bike tunnel that brings westbound riders across the tracks and toward Park Boulevard. David Hung, who lives near the project site and who spearheaded the petition, noted that with a width of 27 feet, El Dorado is among the narrower streets in the Midtown area. He proposed that the city consider Loma Verde Avenue, which is 42 feet wide, or El Carmelo Avenue, which is 35 feet wide, as stronger alternatives, “The dominant issue is a structural one,” Hung said at the Nov. 10 meeting. “El Dorado is simply too narrow to safely handle additional higher volumes of traffic.” Neighbors also voiced concerns about traffic safety for the children who cycle on El Dorado and about access difficulties for residents who live on cul-de-sacs off the street. The new traffic light will likely bring more drivers to El Dorado from Alma Street, which is known for high speeds. Annette Glanckopf, a Midtown resident who co-chairs the umbrella group Palo Alto Neighborhoods, suggested that city staff has been too aggressive in recommending El Dorado over some of the other alternatives. In pursuing the El Dorado option, staff “totally whitewash and downplay this very strong neighborhood opposition, which occurred when the neighborhood finally realized that the south Palo Alto bike-ped crossing really meant Midtown and El Dorado,” she told the committee. “Let’s pick the best solution for all and one our community can live with,” Glanckopf said. The council committee, which consists of Chair Pat Burt and Councilmembers Ed Lauing and Julie Lythcott-Haims, proved receptive to the argument. All three members concurred that the city should eliminate El Dorado from consideration and revisit Loma Verde options. Lauing spoke for everyone when he declared: “El Dorado is dead.” “I think the combination of the good work from the neighborhood and staff strongly suggests that there’s no reason to strongly consider this El Dorado project because there are other alternatives,” Lauing said. The committee’s recommendation, which the council is scheduled to consider next month, recommends looking at three different Loma Verde alternatives. Two would send bike tunnels under the tracks near Loma Verde. In one case the tunnel proceed under Alma; in the other case it would end at Alma and allow cyclists and pedestrians to cross at a traffic light. The third Loma Verde option came out of Hung’s proposal. Referred to as a “hybrid,” it would create a traffic light at Loma Verde, allowing cyclists to cross there, take a dedicated bike trail between Alma Street and the tracks, and then use a tunnel just north of Matadero Creek to cross the tracks. With their vote, the committee directed Office of Transportation staff to eliminate El Dorado options, re-evaluate the Loma Verde alternatives and, in a nod to neighbors’ concerns about El Dorado width, to explore options for a tunnel on El Carmelo Avenue. Lythcott-Haims said they felt “encumbered by a lack of knowledge” about the Loma Verde options but felt comfortable enough to pursue the option favored by the neighborhood “Nevertheless, based on everything we have discussed about the hybrid, I’m excited about advancing any option that includes further examination of the hybrid,” Lythcott-Haims said. All three committee members lauded the neighbors whose organized efforts prompted the city to pivot. Burt said he wishes that the city had moved away from the El Dorado sooner. “The exercise was tortuous for the neighbors was needed to really flesh out the issues,” Burt said. Lauing agreed. “The neighborhood came alive on this one,” he said. Most Popular Palo Alto's historic Squire House hits market for $19.9M November 6, 2026 6:03 pm As Palo Alto Link comes to an end, seniors seek other options for rides November 9, 2026 2:34 pm Stanford looks to build 8-story housing complex at Research Park November 6, 2026 12:26 pm