The Town of Atherton City Council on May 20 adopted a resolution setting 15 mph speed limits at designated school-zone frontages and asked staff to investigate lower limits on arterial corridors, including a potential 25 mph reduction on Middlefield Road. The council also confirmed support for a 25 mph speed limit on Valparaiso Avenue.

The change implements recommendations from the town’s Transportation, Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee and relies on provisions in the California Vehicle Code that allow reductions in school zones where criteria are met. Public Works Director Robert Rivati described the legal framework and said the vehicle code permits reductions to as low as 15 mph in residential streets with speeds under 30 mph and one lane per direction. Council members voted unanimously to adopt the resolution as amended to include additional street segments identified in staff tables.

Why it matters: Council members, parents and bicycle-safety advocates said the town should prioritize child safety after a recent fatal collision near Encinal Elementary that participants said underscored risks for people walking and bicycling. Public commenters urged the council to include Encinal Avenue among the school-zone reductions and recommended that staff track whether new signage and engineering measures reduce speeds.

Most important facts: the council approved a resolution to set 15 mph in the school-zone sections listed in the staff report’s two tables (vote: unanimous). Council signaled support for setting Valparaiso Avenue at 25 mph and directed staff to prepare an ordinance and analysis to reduce Middlefield Road from 30 to 25 mph and to investigate whether some arterial frontages near schools can be posted at 15 mph when children are present.

Public comment and analysis: Parents, including an online commenter who identified themself as an Encinal parent, and Mike Swire, chair of a county bike-and-ped advisory group (speaking on his own behalf), urged more aggressive treatment for school corridors. Swire said a protected bike lane might have prevented a recent fatality and called for the town to “prioritize limited public right-of-way for the safety of those who don’t drive.” Several council members said they wanted consistent school protections across town and asked staff to coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions (Menlo Park and San Mateo County) on shared corridors.

Staff and evidence: Rivati noted that some streets are jointly controlled by San Mateo County or Menlo Park and said staff will request coordinated signing on shared segments. Staff also displayed a regional study (CCAG and Alta) showing a youth-focused high-injury network; council members and the police chief said an updated crash-history review can inform future decisions. The manual of uniform traffic control devices (MUTCD) was cited when staff described required school-zone signage language.

What the council directed: (1) adopt the resolution placing 15 mph limits at the listed school frontages; (2) include additional streets from the staff tables in the adopted resolution; (3) direct staff to prepare an ordinance to consider safety-corridor reductions (including Valparaiso/confirmation at 25 mph) and to investigate the legal ability to set 15 mph zones on arterial approaches where permitted by state law; and (4) coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and report back with updated crash data and proposed ordinance language.

Next steps: Staff will return with ordinance language and a traffic analysis to implement safety-corridor speed changes and with recommendations on Middlefield Road and other arterial frontages. The council asked staff to consider enforcement and signage language consistent with state rules.