A Call To Action: CalTrans Must Embrace Transparency on El Camino Real
California's Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plays a crucial role in managing and enhancing the state's extensive transportation infrastructure. From highways to bridges, Caltrans is entrusted with ensuring the safety and efficiency of California's roads. Yet, amidst its responsibilities, there's a palpable need for Caltrans to enhance transparency in its operations. Instances such as the demotion of an employee for dissenting against highway expansions and delays in responding to local city requests — we need better practices from the agency that should be leading the way for a vibrant, climate-friendly future for those who walk, bike, and use public transit.
At Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC), we've directly experienced Caltrans' opacity while leading our campaign to build protected bike lanes along El Camino Real by 2030. The California Department of Transportation owns El Camino Real and is currently repaving El Camino Real for the first time in a decade. SVBC is using this once-in-a-decade opportunity to ask Caltrans to install protected bike lanes while repaving. The SVBC Advocacy team has been engaging city-by-city with city councils, residents, and local stakeholders, as well as with larger regional stakeholders.
Recent community meetings, such as the one hosted by State Senator Josh Becker and Assemblymember Marc Berman, have amplified calls for Caltrans to adopt a more transparent approach in its interactions with cities and stakeholders. As SVBC continues engagement with Caltrans and El Camino Real stakeholders, the need for open communication and transparent practices remains evident.
El Camino Real stands out as a project where transparent engagement with stakeholders is paramount. Serving as the sole continuous north-south route for transit, walking, and biking across Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, it connects numerous destinations including shops, services, jobs, schools, and residences. However, it's also a high-collision corridor, with thousands of collisions and numerous victims including children over the past decade. It saw 3,840 collisions in the last decade, with over 700 children harmed in the last decade. Fully 10% of all crashes in San Mateo County happen on El Camino Real. With significant residential and commercial development planned along this route, prioritizing safety through protected infrastructure is imperative.
Recently SVBC met with members of the Palo Alto City Council, who echoed a sentiment we’ve heard from city councils across the Peninsula — that Caltrans is just not transparent and does not actively communicate, and that plans and communications are delayed. In a recent meeting with SVBC, Palo Alto City Staff, and Caltrans, the lack of communication Palo Alto City Staff had received was incredibly apparent.
El Camino Real is a particularly sensitive area in the City of Palo Alto as it is where many families who live in their vehicles and RVs reside. It was during this meeting that Caltrans announced they would soon be notifying dwellers to relocate as the agency began curb improvements. It’s actions like this which must be communicated early and proactive steps must be taken to ensure vulnerable residents are safe.
El Camino Real can become a safe roadway with protected infrastructure where residents can walk, bike, take public transit, and shop at local businesses, without having to fear for their safety. Over years multiple agencies have tried to pursue this goal, but there's a noticeable absence of comprehensive planning and coordination.
To reach this goal requires a concerted effort marked by transparency and collaboration across all levels of governance and community engagement. It's time for Caltrans to embrace transparency, ensuring that its initiatives align with the diverse needs and aspirations of the communities it serves. As long as action to create a better El Camino Real is delayed people will continue to become injured and die on this roadway. We urgently need transparency and improved practices from an agency that has the power to shape a vibrant, climate-friendly future, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit users.