Encinal Elementary students urge wider, brighter bike lanes and protected walking paths on Middlefield Road

At a meeting of the Atherton Town Council, fifth-grade students from Encinal Elementary presented findings from a community science project that identified safety problems and recommended changes to Middlefield Road to make biking, walking and rolling to school safer.

The students, working with their assistant principal and a community-science organizer, said narrow bike lanes, faded paint and obstructions allow motor vehicles to enter bike lanes and make students feel unsafe. They recommended widening lanes, using brighter or glow-in-the-dark pavement markings, placing recycled plastic delineators or planter boxes to separate bikes from traffic, and improving the walking surface with compacted natural materials and a planted buffer.

The presentation drew praise from council members, who encouraged the students to continue engaging with the town’s transportation and bike/pedestrian planning committees and suggested staff would consider the recommendations as part of the town’s bike-ped master planning process.

Students and organizers described their method and findings. Organizer Sofia (Our Voice) said the class used a discovery app to record 123 photos, 74 audio comments and 50 text comments while surveying the area. Assistant Principal Gina Watkins told the council the project required “real data science work,” noting 17 pairs of fifth-grade students participated and that the exercise included walk audits and group analysis over several weeks.

Students cited specific hazards: narrow lanes that force cyclists into single-file lines, paint colors that blend with the roadway, physical obstructions in bike lanes, and walking paths that are uneven or too narrow for strollers and wheelchairs. Suggested fixes included widening the bike lanes by reallocating roadway space, brighter or glow-in-the-dark pavement paint, recycled plastic delineators with reflectors, planter-box buffers and a mixed natural-material walking path that maintains a “nature vibe.” One student suggested specific plant pairings (a tough exterior shrub with a soft interior planting) to create a low-impact buffer.

Teresa Baez Kelly, Safe Routes to School coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education, and council members including the vice mayor praised the students and recommended next steps: share results with Menlo Park where parts of Encinal’s route fall in that jurisdiction, present the findings to the town’s Transportation/Bike-Ped Committee and incorporate the ideas in the bike-ped master plan update.

Council members and staff described the town’s next steps as primarily educational and planning-oriented. Council members encouraged the students to continue attending meetings and suggested the town would coordinate with relevant committees and regional partners as part of its ongoing transportation planning work.

The presentation concluded with the town providing small gifts to the students and planning follow-up coordination between the school, County Office of Education and town staff on implementing or testing recommended changes.