Palo Alto advances California Avenue car‑free plan; short‑term work to start Feb. 18

City staff told the Palo Alto City Council on Feb. 3 that construction of near‑term improvements on California Avenue will begin Feb. 18, moving the corridor closer to a permanent car‑free street while longer‑term design choices remain under study.

The presentation by economic development staff and consultants described a two‑track approach: implement immediate infrastructure upgrades and planters and then evaluate two long‑term design alternatives — an “adaptive” approach that rearranges the existing street and a more ambitious “reimagined” approach that would remove curbs, add continuous pedestrian surfacing, larger trees and extensive green stormwater infrastructure.

The near‑term work scheduled to start Feb. 18 will repave the street segment between El Camino Real and Ash Street, replace temporary orange barriers with permanent planters and bollards, and install more durable decorative paving and wayfinding elements. “Construction work on the near term improvements on Cal Avenue will be starting this month. On February 18th, it’ll be about a 6‑week construction period,” Bruce Vicucci, a project consultant, said during the presentation.

Staff said the city will pursue the environmental and circulation amendments needed to close the street permanently, take the required addendum to the city’s EIR to the Planning and Transportation Commission on Feb. 12, and return to the council in March for formal action on permanent closure and adoption of the circulation changes. Staff also said the El Camino Real/California Avenue intersection work — a separate Caltrans encroachment — is advancing and will link bike facilities across El Camino.

The consultants described a palette and a preferred branding concept, called “modern optimism,” selected from three design options after merchant and public outreach and an online survey. The brand includes a logo, color palette and templates for gateways, directories and blade signs meant to improve wayfinding. “Modern optimism was really identified as the preferred concept because it’s friendly, warm, accessible, easy to read, and it’s fun, and it’s artistic,” Vicucci said.

A primary focus of the design discussion was how to lay out the wide (about 90‑foot) street for multiple uses. Staff described five longitudinal “zones” — frontage, pedestrian, furniture, activity and access — so the street can host outdoor dining, retail displays, a farmers market (which staff said needs roughly 85 stalls), music and performance space, and emergency vehicle access. The presentation emphasized flexible, modular elements that can be moved or repurposed for market days and other events.

Council members raised recurring concerns about bike‑pedestrian interactions on a car‑free street and asked staff to analyze alternatives that separate faster through‑bikes (for people traveling to Caltrain or Stanford Research Park) from slow, local shoppers and families. “The challenge is how to address the speeds of bicycles… whether there’s changes in the ground surface or plane, how to identify very clear areas where there’s pedestrian crossings,” Vicucci said. Council members suggested improving nearby parallel routes such as Cambridge Avenue to carry through‑bike traffic and reduce conflicts on Cal Ave.

Public commenters welcomed the work but urged more neighborhood outreach. Michael Lee, a representative of the Evergreen Park Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood formed a committee to work with the city and asked for more consistent engagement: “We wanted to work with the city closely to act as stakeholders… We had a conversation at the block party in May which I thought was quite good. We don’t feel like we’ve been involved since then.”

Council members expressed broad support for the near‑term work and for continuing to study the reimagined alternative, with several urging staff to preserve the long‑term vision rather than settling for minor, incremental fixes. Staff expects near‑term construction to be finished in March and plans a round of outreach in March and April on the larger long‑term alternatives and outdoor‑activation guidelines.

Next steps listed by staff included returning to the Planning and Transportation Commission on Feb. 12 for the comp‑plan circulation amendment and EIR addendum, merchant outreach, a March return to council on the permanent closure action, and subsequent work on signage, wayfinding and outdoor activation guidance. If the council endorses a permanent closure in March as staff expects, additional design and funding work will follow before adopting a final long‑term concept.

The council did not take a formal vote on a final alternative during the Feb. 3 meeting; members instead asked staff to continue outreach and analysis and to return with cost estimates and schedule options for both the adaptive and reimagined approaches.