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Portola Valley council may OK bike lane plan

by Dave Boyce

Portola Valley's Town Council may back a plan to create a bike lane on westbound Alpine Road as it passes under Interstate 280, where a cyclist was killed by a truck in 2010.

At its meeting on Wednesday, July 25, the council will consider approving a letter to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority supporting the county's request for $175,000 to create the bike lane.

The council meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 Portola Road in Portola Valley.

Other items before the council:

• An initiative to discourage weekend overflow parking on Portola Road by visitors to the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. The town's Bicycle, Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee is recommending two road signs to direct drivers to park at the Town Center, about 1,000 yards away.

• Extra patrols by Sheriff's Office deputies to catch speeders in the vicinity of Arastradero and Alpine roads and the entrance to the Woodside Priory School at 301 Portola Road.

• Contracting with an auditing firm to look into a "wide fluctuation" in the town's sales tax revenues over the past three years.

• A letter to the Board of Supervisors asking for advance notice when the board considers development and public works projects within the town's sphere of influence, which includes Ladera, Los Trancos Woods and Vista Verde.

The county public works department recently asked supervisors to approve a request for $500,000 from the Transportation Authority to install two traffic lights on Alpine Road in Ladera. The supervisors referred the matter to staff for further study after hearing complaints by Portola Valley officials over the lack of notification.