Palo Alto may ban cars from some streets during coronavirus pandemic

PALO ALTO — In a similar move to Oakland and San Francisco, the city is considering closing some city streets to car traffic in an effort to stem speeding and promote social distancing.

Chief Transportation Officials Phillip Kamhi said his office is currently considering stopping non-local traffic on some residential streets during the shelter-in-place order to discourage non-local drivers from driving around Palo Alto.

Kamhi said roads will “not be entirely blocked” though, and so his office will only be “requesting and encouraging” cut-through traffic to focus on other routes. Kamhi said the city won’t give you a ticket or attempt to enforce the rule.

“We are still evaluating the options and have not yet determined how many streets or the mileage, but we are looking at piloting this on some of our existing and planned bike routes,” Kamhi said in an interview. “We are working on developing our plan as well as the materials and information that would accompany it.”

Palo Alto council members have already discussed closing some city streets and could vote to fully implement the measure at next week’s city council meeting.

Councilmember Alison Cormack had already complained about the speeding as the stay-at-home order kept people inside and speed-hungry opportunists came out two weeks ago and did so again at the city’s latest council meeting.

“They go so fast that you can’t even wave at them and tell them to slow down,” Cormack said. “It really is getting quite concerning.”

If approved, Palo Alto would join Oakland, which banned cars from 74 miles — or about 10 percent — of its streets. Cars in Oakland are banned in four select locations, with the city planning to expand in the coming weeks.

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Despite the street closures, Kamhi still recommends residents practice social distancing.

“Since these will not be complete street closures, bicyclists and pedestrians on these streets will still need to be safe and mindful when or if they enter these streets to allow for physical distancing,” Kamhi said.

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