This story was originally printed in the Nov. 27 Daily Post. If you want important local news first, pick up the print edition of the Daily Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.
BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
Cyclists and San Carlos residents are lobbying city council to make changes after a Palo Alto bicyclist was killed on a highway overpass that is slated for a pedestrian bridge.
Andrea Vallebueno, 31, of Palo Alto, died after a collision with a car on Holly Street near the Highway 101 overpass on Nov. 16, according to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office.
Resident Arley Lewis told the council on Monday (Nov. 25) that the merge along Holly Street makes it an “impossible situation” for both drivers and cyclists.
Vallebueno was a data scientist who worked at Stanford for their Regulations Evaluation and Governance Lab.
The council decided it will take up the topic of bicyclist and pedestrian safety along Holly Street at a January meeting.
“Cyclists always lose when they get into crashes with cars,” said Giuliano Carlini, a Belmont resident who regularly bikes along Holly Street.
“People make mistakes, it’s up to the road design to reduce crashes and injuries.”
The driver remained at the scene and has remained cooperative with the sheriff’s office. The sheriff polices San Carlos under a contract.
Katie Causey, who ran for Palo Alto council this year, and a member of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, said she wants the council to reach out to the county and Caltrans to find a temporary solution to keep bicyclists safe while they work on a bridge.
Mayor John Dugan said he wants to look into short-term solutions because the future pedestrian and bicyclist bridge will take too long to complete.
“We were close at one point, the project was delayed because of the (Highway) 101 express lane,” Dugan said. Construction of the express lane, more commonly called the toll lane, began in 2017 and finished in 2022. The lanes opened in 2023.
Council previously attempted to make Holly Street safer by moving the sidewalks back. Then council repainted the roads and re-did the sidewalks.
So the bicycle activists have put up a white “ghost bike” where she died. That’s illegal, but our local police let it go, just like when they watch bicyclists fly through stop signs without stopping. But what happens if the investigation finds the bicyclist is to blame for the crash — does the “ghost bike” get removed? I get the feeling that the facts don’t matter, the bicyclist is always right.
The malice underneath “just askin”‘s question is impossible to miss. He’s not actually asking a question, and he’s not likely to listen to an answer, but perhaps others will. Bicyclists mostly are not scofflaws, rather are fatigued human beings without effortless engines underneath them (mostly!), facing the necessity to quadruple their energy output just to slow down and then resume speed. And they are much more vulnerable the longer they take to cross in an intersection, which is also quadrupled if they stop and then start again. And they impede motorists while they are in the intersection This pisses off “askin” because HE has to stop, but it is not so terribly unreasonable most of the time. Besides which the majority “fly through stop signs” at speeds lower than cars and trucks who mostly stop but roll through. There are plenty of situations where a bicyclist is not seen by a motorist, but not many where a tiny, slow moving, almost weightless vehicle is “to blame for the crash”. “If you were’t there I wouldn’t have hit you!” is true, but is not really being “to blame for the crash” despite the fact that insurance adjusters do in fact partially blame parties in a crash just for being there. Bicyclists have the right to ride right in front of cars, including that driven by the original poster, who would not be happy if they did that.
A woman was hit by a driver and passed away and your reaction is to complain about imaginary lawbreaking cyclists in a made up scenario
It’s illegal to hit people with your car but ok
Nice to know you bicyclists have concluded the investigation and determined the driver is at fault. Why bother with police and crime labs when we all know the bicyclist is blameless and the motorist is guilty as charged by the bicycle coalition. A suggestion. Just slow down and let the facts catch up with your emotions. Since the driver is cooperating, you’ll still be able to track him or her down and turn their life upside down. You can argue for a long prison sentence and you can help the poor bicyclist’s family sue the daylights out of him. But just wait for the facts.
Why do you get so emotional when the community wants to improve the safety of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure Holly street is to dangerous of pedestrian and drivers
A woman is dead why are you getting so emotional when you get called out for victim blaming her
What’s the harm of waiting until the police finish their investigation before making accusations?
Why are you victim blaming this woman
Let’s wait and see how the police investigation comes out. Meanwhile, don’t blame the driver. If you have facts that prove his wrongdoing, give those facts to the police.
Like how you jump to conclusion so quickly because you like to victim blame women so much
It’s a myth that in any car-bike accident that the driver is automatically at fault. A biker can swerve in the path of a car without warning, and the driver isn’t to blame. It’s fascinating to see somebody so steeped in the mythology that they refuse to let facts change their opinion,
What’s your source
“What’s your source”? Is that your question? My source would be the police report that says who is at fault in this accident. I realize you don’t need to know what the police determine because you’ve got your mind made up. But I like to base my opinions on facts, not myths.
Can you tell me what happened to ethan boyes
Askin you, are you going to the fallacy of “one case proves a rule”?
I’ll answer your question if you answer mine. Ethan Boyes was a bicyclist who was killed in the Presidio, and bicyclist activists believe the drunken driver responsible should have faced stiffer charges. One case doesn’t prove a rule, however.
Do you know who Eugene Conroy was? I’ll give you a clue. He was a bicyclist who died in an accident, but tell me why no “ghost bike” was rolled out for him.
I don’t think Conroy’s case proves a rule either. But I’ll bet you don’t even know about it because it doesn’t fit into the bicyclist activists narrative.
You have to look at facts, not myths.
Waiting for your answer.
Why are you so joyful that a person died
“See see it’s his fault for that you’ll have to agree with me now!!!!!!” :'(
Wasn’t your first post of you crying about how ghosts bike are illegal because you have no heart or brain amazing you can survive without them for so long
All the facts I need are on my GoPro
It’s a myth that in any bike-car accident that the biker is automatically at fault. A car can swerve in the path of a bike without warning, and the bike isn’t to blame. It’s fascinating to see somebody so steeped in the mythology that they refuse to let facts change their opinion,
And who was Eugene Conroy?
Can you read
Am I reading this correctly? One person says wait to cast blame until the police finish their investigation. And the other person says they don’t need facts, they’ve made up their mind. I wouldn’t want the second person on my jury. This conversation is unbelievable!
So the person who says wait for the police to finish their investigation but is already blaming the woman who was killed
Can you tell me how The investigation into Lester Legarda death going oh wait minute that’s right the San Mateo county DA doesn’t want to bother to do their job because the absence of a police report
You must be aware that the case is closed because the DA determined the 22 year old driver wasn’t at fault. Why would you drag up something horrible like that? Let Loaf RIP!
Askin You, you never said who Eugene Conroy was. Here’s a clue, he was never memorized with one of those ghost bikes.
The comments here miss the point. It isn’t about blaming the driver. It’s about blaming the County leaders who prioritized the widening of US 101 at the expense of the shovel ready Holly Street Ped/Bike Bridge, which would have improved safety on this dangerous stretch of road. Why are we prioritizing driver convenience when so many people on foot and bike are dying on our streets?