Yesterday was local election day in California and around the nation. For the areas I generally pay attention to, most elections were for school districts, special purpose districts, and bond measures to fund schools.
From a transportation and land use perspective, several interesting issues in San Francisco bolstered turnout to 30%, which is more than double the statewide turnout.
Update: The Santa Clara County Coroner identified the victim of yesterday’s Page Mill Road fatal collision as 52-year-old Jeffrey Donnelly of Palo Alto, CA. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
I count three vehicle-vs-bicycle crashes this morning in the San Francisco Bay Area, including a fatality on Page Mill Road just north of I-280 in Los Altos Hills.
According to the Redwood City office of the California Highway Patrol, a southbound cyclist was merging onto Page Mill Road from Old Page Mill Road immediately north of I-280 when he was struck by the southbound driver of a black Volkswagen Jetta at Christopher Lane. The call came in 6:53 AM on Tuesday, November 3 2015.
Note: Earlier today, I incorrectly reported the location as Page Mill at Foothill Expressway. The collision location was Page Mill Road at Christopher Lane, immediately north of I-280.
Cyclist killed on Page Mill Road at entrance to NB 280 at border of #LosAltos and #PaloAlto. pic.twitter.com/OGEyXwBrUH
— Matt Keller (@MattKellerABC7) November 3, 2015
The turn from Old Page Mill onto Page Mill becomes an off-ramp going to northbound I-280. To fix this nasty bit of work, Santa Clara County Roads proposes safety improvements to this interchange to avoid exactly this type of collision. .Los Altos Hills residents, however, have fought this safety project because they say it will erode the rural character of their town and negatively impact property values. The median home value in Los Altos Hills has shot up 18.4% over the past year to $4.2 million, so I can understand their concern.
CHP dispatch shows an ambulance was called for a vehicle-vs-bike collision on Alameda De Las Pulgas at Cedar Avenue in West Menlo Park, CA. No further details are available, but this happened just as children are going to school at Los Alamitos Elementary just a few blocks away. Residents in this area complained about dangerous traffic on this street at a town hall meeting just last night.
Finally, the driver of a school bus apparently hit a cyclist this morning on Geneva Avenue at Delano in San Francisco.
It wasn’t just cyclists having a bad day in the Bay Area, with multiple sigalerts on several regional freeways. I-880 through San Jose was closed at Brokaw (jackknifed truck) and at 237 (motorcycle wreck). The Benecia Bridge was closed much of this morning because of an injury crash. Serious, multi-car collisions also took place on Highway 101 at Hellyer in San Jose, and in San Mateo at 3rd Avenue.
Drive safely and keep your eyes off the phone and on the road, please!
Two Kickstarter projects in a single day! This one comes from Elly Blue, whom I’ve bought books from before.
This teaser video quickly highlights the features of the new products from Lumenous, which promise to enhance night-time visibility with wearable technology without making you look like a complete dork. The commuter jacket communicates with your phone via Bluetooth LE, so it knows when you’re slowing or approaching turns.
The Kickstarter for this project has many more details. Available products to order include a backpack, a performance vest, a commuter jacket, an all weather jacket, and a shell. As of this writing, early bird specials are still available on all of these items.
Hi all. Is it finally autumn in California?
Remember, San Jose Bike Train runs this Wednesday, November 4 at 8 AM from San Jose Diridon Station, with a pickup shortly thereafter from Bel Bacio Cafe. The trails should be dry by then. More bike news below the photo of our last Bike Train, which took place on Back to the Future Day.
Break out your fenders and hats, kids. The National Weather Service says to expect roughly a quarter inch of rain.
Wet weather on the way Sunday and Monday. #cawx #BayArearain pic.twitter.com/GtZ7l0g1Tv
— NWSBayArea (@NWSBayArea) October 30, 2015
I planned to get up early for a long morning ride over the Santa Cruz Mounains on the first workday after the return of Standard Time, but I think I’ll stick with my standard 7 mile bike commute instead.
The weather service forecasts a quarter inch to a half inch of rain throughout the Bay Area, with up to an inch of rain at some coastal mountain locations. This isn’t anything at all like the ongoing deluge in Texas, but it’s enough to cause minor flooding for some of our local trails. You can check the status of South Bay trails at my trail status web page.
