Willow Road pedestrian and bicycle safety project update
At its July 14 meeting, the Menlo Park City Council received a presentation on the Willow Road Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvement Project. The project aims to make Willow Road more accessible, safer and comfortable to walk and bike.
The project includes a raised Class IV bikeway that is separated from the vehicle travel lanes, new crosswalks across Willow Road at O’Brien Drive and Bay Road, new eastbound Class II bike lanes from O’Keefe Street to Chester Street, and transit boarding islands to speed up bus trips and reduce conflicts between bikes and buses.
In addition, the project includes improvements at the U.S. 101 ramps. The project is currently in the planning phase and City Council directed staff to continue with proposed improvements and to pursue grant opportunities to help fund construction. The design phase is expected to begin later this summer and last 15 to 18 months.
TR5642 July 21, 2026 at 6:46 pm
I am glad to see this effort but baffled how we just spent millions on reconfiguring Willow Rd and more expensively rebuilding the bridge over 101 with these defects. That was only a few years ago. The bridge design with double bike lanes and designed-in conflict zones is a complete design failure and I’m glad this plan tries to improve it.
However, I see that it keeps the bike lane that is behind the barrier. This is good on one level that it provides safety. But without improved operational funding to keep that lane clean (it is not reached by normal street cleaning), it will continue to be a debris field that is unusable.
Additionally, the multiple conflict zones where cyclists will ‘magically appear’ from behind the K-rail at the turn point continues to be a concern. Current timing gives bikes, pedestrians and right turning cars all the same phase. The notation of bike sensors may improve that. But if it means multiple stops and long delays (this is a busy intersection) each time, i will make crossing the bridge a bad experience and encourage cyclists to stay in the ‘car lane’ anyway for free flow. I hope the timing of those signals is being carefully evaluated