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Walk audits identify school-area safety fixes; some recommendations cross multiple jurisdictions
Summary
Walk audits for Menlo-Atherton High School and other local schools identified intersection, sidewalk and transit access issues; several suggested improvements lie outside Atherton control and will require coordination with county and neighboring cities.
Town staff presented completed walk-audit reports prepared through the San Mateo County Office of Education and summarized findings and recommended next steps.
The Menlo-Atherton High School walk audit, conducted in April 2025, included participants from Atherton, the San Mateo County Office of Education and neighboring jurisdictions. Staff said the report catalogued observed travel routes to the school, identified safety issues and offered recommendations ranging from intersection treatments to improved links to transit. Staff noted that some recommended improvements are outside Town of Atherton jurisdiction (for example, portions of Ringwood Avenue and sections of Middlefield Road) and will require interagency coordination.
The committee also heard that a separate walk audit for Encinal (Ansonville Elementary) included participation from fifth graders and will result in student presentations to the council on a future meeting date. Staff said the audits aim to inform the active transportation plan and to identify near-term safety countermeasures that could be considered as funding or jurisdictional opportunities arise.
Why it matters: the audits connect observed travel behavior to targeted fixes around school campuses. Staff highlighted one practical issue: bus stops, sidewalk gaps and how a sidewalk or crosswalk improvement could affect bus operations and travel lanes at busy pick-up locations.
Next steps: staff will make audit materials available on the project webpage, coordinate with county and neighboring city staff about jurisdictional recommendations and consider which items can be fed immediately into the active transportation plan for implementation planning. The Encinal auditors and student presenters are scheduled to report to the council at a future meeting.
Ending: The committee asked staff to clarify jurisdictional responsibility for specific crosswalks and to return with more-detailed maps and next-step options; the audit reports are posted as attachments to the meeting agenda for public review.
