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Council votes to make portions of California Avenue and Ramona Street permanent car-free spaces
Summary
After months of temporary closures, Palo Alto’s council voted to reclassify a half-block of Ramona Street as a pedestrian-only street and a segment of California Avenue as a community street; motion includes an 8 mph bicycle speed limit and direction to staff on accessible parking.
The Palo Alto City Council on Monday voted unanimously to reclassify a half-block of Ramona Street and a portion of California Avenue as permanent car-free streets, clearing the way for long-term pedestrian-first designs and outdoor activation standards.
The action amends the city’s transportation element to create two street classifications: a pedestrian-only street (Ramona Street from Hamilton Avenue to the parking garage entrance) and a community street (California Avenue from El Camino Real to Bird Street). Under the adopted language, the Ramona segment will prohibit bicycles and skateboards and be limited to pedestrian use (with city emergency vehicles, maintenance and city-contracted vehicles exempted under controlled access). California Avenue will allow bicycles and similar micromobility subject to a speed limit and will allow certain commercial vehicle access under an exception process to accommodate the farmers market and other events.
Council amendments adopted as part of the motion lowered the bicycle speed limit on the community street to 8 miles per hour (the original staff recommendation used a 15 mph shared-path standard) and directed staff to pursue additional accessible parking options on adjacent streets and in nearby alleys to offset any accessible parking lost due to the reconfiguration.
Staff said California Avenue near-term improvements are already funded and the city will develop a signage plan and outdoor-activation standards in coordination with merchants and community stakeholders. For Ramona Street, staff said design work and outdoor activation standards are funded but additional near-term physical improvements — for example, bollards, planters and wayfinding signage — will be considered for the FY2026 budget; staff said it expects to have implementation completed by the end of the calendar year if funding is approved.
Council members and speakers emphasized that the closures have generated both vocal opposition and strong local support. Supporters told the council the car-free sections create public gathering space, boost foot traffic for businesses and improve public life; some business owners and property owners earlier in the process had expressed concerns about parking and deliveries. Council discussion included ways to maintain emergency access, to ensure truck and delivery access for permitted events and to create a parking and drop-off program that addresses short-term needs while discouraging long-term staging by delivery drivers.
The planning and transportation commission had voted unanimously to recommend the reclassification and staff returned an environmental analysis (an EIR addendum) finding no new or substantially more severe environmental impacts from the change. Council’s vote to adopt the comprehensive-plan amendments and associated ordinance language was unanimous. Staff said next steps include finalizing outdoor-activation standards, signage and a process for commercial vehicle exceptions and returning to the council with funding proposals for near-term physical improvements.
