Palo Alto Council Advances Bryant Street Traffic Calming on 6-0 Vote

With Mayor Vicki Veenker away at a UN climate conference, Vice Mayor Greer Stone led the Palo Alto City Council on Nov. 9, 2026, through a meeting whose biggest decision centered on the nation's first bike boulevard. The council voted 6-0 to send the Bryant Street Bike Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue traffic calming package to final design and added new signage, red-curb and speed-limit directions. Two study sessions also gave early, non-binding direction on a 200-unit rental building at 720 San Antonio Road and the Quarry Road transit link.

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• Bryant Street calming advances 6-0 to final design, with added signage and a lower speed-limit push
• Emerson-area neighbors back slower Bryant traffic but fear an Embarcadero left-turn pilot will divert cars to their streets
• Eight-story, 200-unit rental proposal at 720 San Antonio draws broad but conditional council support
• Quarry Road transit link: Council members favor street-level bike lanes, avoiding about $284,000 and 3+ months

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Bryant Street: Calming Moves Forward, Circle Debate Doesn't End

Why it matters: Bryant Street carries about 2,000 vehicles daily, with 85th-percentile speeds of 28 mph. Best-practice targets are 500 to 1,000 vehicles and 15 to 20 mph. Ten collisions occurred there from 2016 to 2024, and 30% involved bicyclists.

"Current conditions on Bryant Street exceed best practice targets for bicycle boulevards," said Ozzy Arce, Senior Transportation Planner.

Where things stand: The package includes traffic circles, curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, bike-boulevard markings, a short-term parking zone and a pilot left-turn restriction from eastbound Embarcadero Road onto Bryant. Staff swapped a diagonal diverter at Bryant and Lincoln for a traffic circle after neighbors raised concerns. The Planning and Transportation Commission backed the package unanimously and suggested phasing.

"If you're going to wait to put anything in until you put everything in, that could delay some much-needed relief, perhaps unnecessarily," said Bart Heckman, Commissioner, Planning and Transportation Commission.

Circles under fire: Councilmember Patrick Burt said he is scared riding through the existing two-way-stop circle at Addison. He also faulted the staff report for ruling out diverters because they divert traffic. Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims said she was "really confused" by the Addison circle.

The consultant, Hugh Louch, said the Addison circle would get a truck apron and the new circles would be designed as mini roundabouts. He added that speed tables would not address cross traffic at Lincoln and Bryant. Staff agreed to explore all-yield configurations. Councilmember George Lu asked about San Francisco-style slow-street bollards. Staff said the toolkit includes such measures but fire access must be checked. Circle costs remain unknown until engineering advances.

The other side: Four residents spoke. Barbara Hazlett, Tom Kellerman and David Epstein, who live on or near Emerson Street, praised the recent $3M Embarcadero/Emerson safety upgrade and urged the council not to approve Bryant closures. Kellerman argued that spreading traffic is safer than concentrating it, and Hazlett asked for speed enforcement on Embarcadero. Jack T., a Bryant resident, supported slowing traffic but opposed closing off Embarcadero. Staff clarified that the proposal restricts only left turns, not right turns. Heckman noted that Bryant residents had strongly supported the package at the commission.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Burt moved the staff recommendation with three additions. These are signage on perpendicular streets warning of the bike boulevard crossing, removal of excessive red curbing at Lincoln and Bryant, and pursuit of a lower Bryant speed limit. Staff will also explore speed tables or raised crosswalks at Channing and Homer. Drivers on cross streets "generally are intuitively looking for cars," Burt said. The vote was For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 1 (Mayor Veenker). Bryant cyclists and commuters gain momentum. Emerson and Waverly residents will watch the left-turn pilot closely. Local Streets and Roads Measure B pays for the work.

What's next: Staff will return with a bid package on the consent calendar in 2027.

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720 San Antonio: Support, With Strings

The basics: Prescreening is an early study session. "It cannot result in any formal action," said Claire Raybould, Manager of Current Planning. The proposal would rezone 716-720 San Antonio Road from service commercial to planned home zoning.

Where things stand: The applicant is High Street Residential, the development arm of Trammell Crow, working with BDE Architects. "We're proposing an 8-story podium with 200 homes and about 169,000 rentable square feet," said Brian Schmidt, Vice President, High Street Residential. The building would rise about 89.5 feet, with a 24-foot special setback and 15% below-market units. Staff are also weighing a bike and pedestrian connection to Wyandotte Street in Mountain View and a transportation easement. No one offered public comment.

Why it matters: The project adds rental and below-market housing near the San Antonio Road Area Plan. However, its requested exceptions could set precedent before that plan is finished. Staff said the mix of very-low-income and moderate-income units helps regional housing targets. Questions about the site's housing element capacity figure of 43 units were left for follow-up.

The other side: "What we're seeing is that the density and the height — it's almost every project creeps up a little bit," said Burt, who asked for upper-floor step-backs like those on El Camino Real. Councilmember Keith Reckdahl supported the project but wanted ground-floor retail. "I think a decade from now, you're going to wish you had more bike parking," he said.

Lu favored an engaging ground floor, possibly without retail, and suggested exploring Wyandotte access or a paseo. Stone raised parking and loading concerns but praised the rental focus, unit mix and very-low-income units.

What's next: No action was taken. The applicant now has the council's priorities in hand before any formal application.

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Quarry Road: Council Leans Toward the Cheaper Bike Option

Where things stand: Sylvia Star-Lack, Transportation Planning Manager, presented 60% design plans to extend Quarry Road as a bus-only transitway between the Palo Alto Transit Center and El Camino Real. The plans include a Dutch-style protected intersection. The design budget rose from $878,000 to $1.005M, funded by Medical Center Development Agreement funds, Stanford and an MTC grant.

Staff asked the council to choose between Option A, with street-level bike lanes, and Option B, which raises the lanes to sidewalk level. Option B "would add approximately $284,000 in design and construction costs, and at least 3 months to the project timeline," Star-Lack said. It would also bring more utility and stormwater impacts. PAYBACK and the Planning and Transportation Commission both favored Option A, as did Councilmember Ed Lauing and Stone.

The other side: Burt asked staff to model a pedestrian and bike signal between El Camino and the bus area. Lesley Lowe, Executive Director of Transportation, Stanford University, said the modeling assumed maximum bus volumes and agreed to look into it. "Most of the time the light on El Camino will be green unless the vehicles, the buses are approaching," she said. Reckdahl pressed for wider refuge islands and safer bike crossings at University Circle. "But we're gonna have seniors crossing here, and that's a long crossing for a senior," he said.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No vote was taken. Lu and the City Manager recused themselves because of Stanford ties.

What's next: Construction could begin in late 2027 or early 2028, pending Caltrans approval.

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Minor Items

• Measure J: Councilmember Lythcott-Haims reported the yes vote at 51.08%; the measure needs just over 50%.
• Proclamation: Council declared Nov. 8-14, 2026, Law Enforcement Records and Support Personnel Week, honoring police records staff.
• Consent calendar: Approved 6-0 with the Mayor absent; the items were not discussed.
• Closed session: A motion to enter closed session carried 6-0; there was no reportable action.
• Emergency alert test: The countywide test is Dec. 10 at noon; residents are encouraged to sign up for Alert SCC.

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Looking Ahead

The council's next meeting includes a joint session with the Utilities Advisory Commission on water supply reliability, plus the 470 Olive Avenue rezoning and police officer employment agreements. There is no meeting Thanksgiving week. The Nov. 30 meeting brings two closed sessions and a hearing on 450 Lytton Avenue (Lot T). Grid modernization and ADU actions follow on Dec. 7.