BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Planning Commissioner Keith Reckdahl, who is running for Palo Alto City Council, says the city needs to keep cars in mind when making changes like closing California Avenue to traffic or converting parking spaces to bike lanes on El Camino Real.
If cars are overlooked, then small businesses will lose customers and be forced to close, Reckdahl said in an interview.
“It’s still a car-centric world, unfortunately. Most people are still driving,” Reckdahl said. “We can’t tell everyone that they have to bike, because retail needs both biking customers and driving customers.”
At California Avenue, the city should put up signs along the side streets so people know where to park for the restaurant they’re going to, said Reckdahl, one of nine candidates running for four open spots on council.
Reckdahl, 59, lives about two miles away from California Avenue and walks there, but he drives to University Avenue.
He doesn’t like how the orange construction barriers look at the end of Ramona Street where it’s closed to cars.
On El Camino Real, Reckdahl said he didn’t like the pressure Caltrans put on the city to approve the bike lanes. The Planning and Transposition Commission had only one chance to weigh in. “That was really a bad event because normally if you want to pull something like that it would take two years. The city would study it to death,” Reckdahl said.
Reckdahl wants to know how many businesses are affected, and how far away people will have to park now. The Chamber of Commerce did some outreach but it wasn’t enough, Reckdahl said. “We’re going to have to keep on this. Because these small businesses, if they lose half their customers, they’re done. And almost all those people are going to be driving on El Camino,” Reckdahl said.
Well, of course. Incredible that in a supposedly educated city a candidate has to say this to the illogical zealots!
Thank you, Keith!
Planning Commissioner Keith Reckdahl, who is running for Palo Alto City Council, says the city needs to keep cars in mind when making changes like closing California Avenue to traffic or converting parking spaces to bike lanes on El Camino Real.
If cars are overlooked, then small businesses will lose customers and be forced to close, Reckdahl said in an interview.
“It’s still a car-centric world, unfortunately. Most people are still driving,” Reckdahl said. “We can’t tell everyone that they have to bike, because retail needs both biking customers and driving customers.”
For once, a candidate who understands that we’re not going to be eliminating cars. I’m so tired of the anti-car make-believe spouted by staff and council. Get real!
15+ years ago the MP fire chief warned that gridlock was preventing his guys from reaching accidents on 101 and ambulances from reaching the hospitals.
Now we’ve spent a small fortune on lane reductions, bollards, traffic ‘calming” devices, dangerous roundabouts etc to create more dangerous gridlock AND a candidate proposing to shut off the University Ave access to 101.
Maybe the zealots could follow the news and check maps to see where their Builder’s Remedy projects are going instead of beating us with their magic wands.
Maybe staff and council could finally finally improve their outreach since the poor El Camino Real restaurants had no idea they were about to see their businesses destroyed just when rhey were finally recovering from years of lockdown.
We’re paying for a huge Communications Team; how about using for something useful?
First time I’ve read something that makes logical and common sense. Someone with thought and a pragmatic view on things, not just taking some sort of social justice political platform to make a name for themselves.
Having read this – Reckdahl gets my seal of approval.
Finally someone with integrity and critical thinking skills, and not just jumping on the bandwagon of what is fashionable.