HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2501-3982 City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: February 3, 2025
Report #:2501-3982
TITLE
Update and Potential Direction on Car-Free Street Improvements on California Avenue; CEQA
status – CEQA review is currently underway on the projects as described in this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and potentially provide direction regarding
ongoing improvements at Car-Free California Avenue.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This item provides an update on work to enhance California Avenue as a car-free street -both
significant work efforts through 2024, upcoming meetings, and next steps to advance this
priority objective. This effort furthers the first guiding principle of the City’s comprehensive
economic development strategy to “Reinforce each districts’ distinct scale and offerings
by…embracing California Avenue as a community and neighborhood serving place.” 1
In alignment with the Council direction to make the car-free street permanent, this report is
organized to discuss the following work underway to support this:
•Work on near-term improvements,
•California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements,
•Stakeholder engagement through 2024,
•Updates on signage and wayfinding,
•Outdoor activation guidelines, and
•Alternative street designs.
This report provides a status update and includes preliminary outputs; continued and ongoing
stakeholder engagement is necessary to finalize and implement elements such as signage and
1 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Business/Comprehensive-Economic-Development-Strategy
wayfinding, outdoor activation guidelines, and advance the discussion on alternative street
designs.
BACKGROUND
Previous City Council Direction
On June 20, 2020, the City Council temporarily closed portions of California Avenue to vehicular
traffic to facilitate outdoor dining and retail. This was in response to county and state
regulations related to COVID-19 and limits on indoor activities. Since then, Council has affirmed
the status of California Avenue as a car-free street multiple times and gave direction to staff on
November 6, 2023 to pursue making that status permanent2. That motion also included
direction to create a two-way slow bike lane down the center of California Avenue, install
wayfinding signage on California Avenue, and initiate a branding program based on the historic
and contemporary strengths of the California Avenue Business district. The City Council
approved a contract with Urban Field Studios (UFS) to assist with this work on December 18,
2023.
ANALYSIS
Near-Term Improvements
On December 16, 2024 the City Council approved a contract amendment with O’Grady Paving,
Inc. to implement near-term improvements3. This work is anticipated to begin February 18,
2025 and take place over a period of five weeks. This work will include replacing water-filled
barriers and vinyl banners with planters and bollards, resurfacing the street, providing stamped
concrete crosswalks at various intersections, and other aesthetic enhancements. A second
phase of work at the intersection of California Avenue and El Camino Real is dependent on
Caltrans approval and will commence once the City’s encroachment permit is approved.
CEQA Requirements
The CEQA analysis required to precede final City Council approval of car-free California Avenue
has been completed and will be reviewed by the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC)
on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The full analysis will be released subsequently to this
memorandum, but the findings indicate that the project will not result in any new or more
severe impacts compared to impacts previously identified in the City’s comprehensive plan. As
such, no further environmental review beyond the proposed addendum is required.
2
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=13051&compileOutputType
=1
3
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=14538&compileOutputType
=1
The CEQA clearance will enable PTC recommendation and City Council approval of an
amendment to the Circulation Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Subject to PTC
review, staff anticipates advancing the General Plan Amendment to City Council in March. This
amendment will formalize designation of California Avenue between El Camino Real and Birch
Street as a car-free street. This formal action is a critical step and will provide stakeholders with
certainty that California Avenue will remain car-free, such that they can make investment
decisions accordingly.
Stakeholder Engagement through 2024
From February to November 2024, City staff and UFS engaged merchants, residents, and
community stakeholders to hear their preferences on near-term improvements and car-free
street design.
Stakeholder engagement was extensive, involving merchants, community members, and other
stakeholders. Monthly workshops were conducted with California Ave. merchants focusing on
street design, signage, wayfinding, and broader design goals for a permanent car-free California
Avenue. Attachment A: Car Free California Avenue Engagement summarizes stakeholder
engagement by month and topic.
A brief listing of merchant and community stakeholder priorities for the transformation of
California Avenue is below, followed by a table of consensus and differences of merchants and
community stakeholders on street design considerations.
Merchant Priorities: Merchant priorities for what needs to change for the successful
transformation of the street to enhance community experience and improve economic vitality
are ranked from top goal to lower priorities below.
•Top Goal: Retail vibrancy.
•High Priorities: Nature (trees, plantings), outdoor dining and events.
•Moderate Priorities: Walkability, public art, nightlife and public social spaces.
•Low Priorities: Non-pedestrian mobility (e.g., vehicle or bike access).
For detailed findings and discussion of engagement by month, please refer to the project
website: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Transportation/Transportation-
Projects/Car-Free-Streets-Cal-Ave.-Ramona-Street. Before the November 2023 City Council vote
to pursue permanently closing the street, 35 businesses signed a letter asking City Council to
keep one lane open to traffic. This topic recurred frequently during the merchant engagement
throughout 2024.
Community Priorities: Staff and UFS engaged community members through a community open
house on May 16 during ‘3rd Thursday’, neighborhood association meetings, and an online
survey (May–September) that received 930 responses. The key findings are detailed below.
•Top Priorities
o Accessibility and Inclusivity: Level paving, ADA compliance, and shaded seating
for families, seniors, and disabled individuals.
o Landscape: Strong desire for trees, shade, and drought-resistant landscaping to
improve comfort and aesthetics.
o Business and Economic Vitality: Support a diverse range of retail options,
preserve storefront visibility, and minimize construction disruption.
•High Priorities
o Bicycle and Pedestrian Integration: Need balanced co-existence, opinions divided
on whether bike traffic should share pedestrian zones or be rerouted to parallel
streets.
o Events and Programming: Support for farmers markets, night markets, and
cultural events, responsive to business needs and resident noise concerns.
•Medium Priorities
o Sustainability and Climate Resilience: Interest in permeable paving, solar lighting,
and shaded areas to adapt to climate change.
o Place Identity and Design: Desire to preserve Cal Ave’s unique charm while
avoiding overly commercialization.
o Implementation Efficiency: Preference for early, minimally disruptive
implementation to sustain local businesses.
•Low Priorities
o Public Safety and Maintenance: Concerns about emergency access, event
cleanup, and adequate lighting for safety.
Stakeholders: City staff met with representatives from Stanford Research Park and Urban
Village Farmers Market Association. Stanford Research Park representatives expressed a strong
desire for thriving local businesses on California Avenue. With close proximity to the Research
Park’s 140 companies and 30,000 employees, there is a historic identification with California
Avenue as a favored neighborhood main street destination. Employees are often at the
research park Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and with fewer days on-site, they have
less time and inclination to leave for lunch. The Farmers Market Association supports the
closure of California Avenue and prioritized their feedback on what is needed to support
market operations, vehicle access, and customer circulation.
Committees: City staff discussed California with the Retail Committee three times in 2024. Staff
also attended a Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PABAC) meeting to discuss near-
and long-term design, pedestrian and bicycle access, and improving mobility and the area’s role
as a community hub.
Areas of Merchant and Community Consensus: Table 1, below, shows a strong alignment with
minor differences between merchant and community interests regarding key elements of street
design.
Table 1. Comparison of Merchant and Community Feedback by Design Element
Design Element Areas of Agreement Areas of Divergence
- Community prefers park-like elements and
shaded public spaces.
Softscape Surfaces - Prioritize trees and natural garden
plantings over planters.
- Merchants are more concerned with
maintenance and practicality.
- Community favors wine-tasting and outdoor
movie screenings.
Events and
Programming
- Support night markets, musical
events, and seasonal/cultural
programming.- Some merchants prefer health and wellness
events.
- Shade is the top priority - Community prefers playful/sculptural designs. Public Seating
- Agreement on the need for child-
friendly seating.
- Merchants focus on functionality and theft
prevention.
- Community focused on artistic and interactive
lighting for alleys.
Lighting - Need for high-value functional
lighting with string lights a popular
choice.- Merchants focused on streetscape and tree
lighting and need for permanent improvements.
- Community prefers colorful and mosaic paving.
- Merchants do not prioritize decorative paving.
Hardscape
Surfaces
- Importance of safety, minimizing
tripping hazards and level,
continuous paving
- Some merchants want vehicles to return for
retail visibility and accessibility
- Community prefers unique, business-specific
designs.
Outdoor Dining - Value high-quality materials and
improvements to dining areas.
- Some merchants favor pre-approved, cost-
effective designs.
- Community supports additional bike racks and
separated bicycle and pedestrian areas.
Bike Infrastructure - Shared safety concerns about bike
and pedestrian interactions,
especially with e-bikes.- Some merchants prefer bike-free pedestrian
area to minimize conflicts.
Staff has incorporated feedback received from the community and stakeholders into place
identity, signage and wayfinding; outdoor patio guidelines; and design alternatives for the
future of Car-Free California Ave. Each of these three topics, including next steps, are discussed
below.
Place Identity, Signage and Wayfinding
Staff and UFS have developed a preliminary California Avenue Signage Program included as
Attachment B to this report. The program directly addresses merchant and community
priorities to improve wayfinding to California Avenue businesses and to affirm California
Avenue’s unique place identity. The preliminary program will express an accessible, welcoming,
and attractive identity supportive of local businesses and community life.
Alternatives: Merchant and community feedback on alternatives for signage are summarized in
the following Table 2 below.
Table 2. Key Features of Design Alternatives and Feedback
Design Theme Key Features Merchant Feedback Community Feedback
Upscale Contemporary - Clean, vibrant, minimal
design to modernize and
upscale; poppy motifs; dark,
sophisticated color palette.
- Praised for simplicity;
criticized as too austere,
dark, and lacking warmth.
- Mixed opinions,
appreciate elegance and
readability, but cold,
austere, “Halloween-like;”
minimalism can have
longevity.
Artsy Saloon - Draws upon Mayfield past,
artsy, nightlife destination,
southwest color palette.
- Instagram-friendly; appeal
to younger demographics;
leans too much into
nightlife; Wild West dated;
red too Stanford.
- Divided, some like bold,
playfulness and historic
connection; others overly
western theme, kitschy
and dated.
Modern Optimism - Midcentury-inspired design;
cheerful colors; fun, pleasant
appeal people all ages.
- Broadly supported for
aligning with Cal Ave’s vibe;
like design; minor critiques
of tagline grammar, 50’s vs
21st C. modernity.
- Widely favored for its
vibrancy, warmth,
flexibility and community-
focused vibe; best aligned
with future aspirations.
Results from the community survey show a preference for Modern Optimism, valuing its
vibrancy, warmth, and alignment with California Avenue's unique identity. Concerns about the
tag line and details were noted and refined. Merchants favored Modern Optimism for its
balance of aesthetics and functionality, emphasizing safety, flexibility, and its appeal to diverse
audiences. Upscale Contemporary was also valued by merchants for its simplicity, but they felt
it was less aligned with Cal Ave's local and community-centered ethos.
Staff analysis also concluded that Modern Optimism is a good choice, since it:
•Represents California Ave’s unique identity as a local, historic, and community-centric
street reflecting feedback that "We want something that feels unique to Cal Ave, not
generic."
•Stands the test of time and can adapt to future changes in the area reflecting feedback
that "The design should be flexible enough to evolve with the area."
•Address accessibility concerns with practicality ensuring readability, visibility, and
durability, reflecting feedback that "Readability is key—it needs to be easy to see and
understand."
•Embodies an ‘unpretentious, and vibrant’ ethos of the independent local businesses.
•Is artistic, yet functional, and celebrates California Avenue’s abundant public art.
•Is broadly appealing to stakeholders and will be attractive to the range of people who
visit seeking shopping, dining, art, entertainment and community.
Signage Program: The signage program is comprised of “brand assets” - a logo with variants,
tag line, shape motifs, typography, graphic patterns and color pallet., and a signage program - a
system of modular signs, with flexibility to accommodate differing viewing distances and
contexts, with guidance for signage locations. The brand assets are applied to five sign
templates:
•District blade sign (at El Camino Real)
•Pedestrian directional signs
•Informational (Directory) sign
•Place identity markers (e.g., a banner with expression of place identity)
•Gateway sign concepts at the intersection of El Camino Real and California Avenue to
create an identifiable district visible to vehicle traffic.
Guidelines for sign type and placement are to assist pedestrians to navigate to/from side
streets and parking and access businesses and activities on the street. Sign types are designed
at different sizes and heights depending on the location, visibility and wayfinding need. The sign
types and placement will address key merchant priorities to:
•Help drivers find parking
•Excite visitors to explore the area
•Enforce street rules
•Help events run more smoothly
•Make the streets more clean and secure
•Help pedestrians navigate from parking & transit to local businesses
•Restrict vehicle access, while welcoming bikes and pedestrians
This modular system and placement guidelines benefit local businesses in several ways. It
ensures flexibility to adapt to various contexts, such as pedestrian versus vehicle viewing
distances. Gateway signage will serve as a visual anchor, creating a sense of arrival while
promoting California Avenue’s identity to passing drivers. Informational signs, strategically
placed at key entry points and intersections, will guide visitors seamlessly from parking areas or
transit stops to their destinations, reducing confusion and enhancing the visitor experience.
The application and installation of ‘directories’ for businesses along the street is something that
has also been discussed – such an undertaking will require collaboration, engagement, ongoing
maintenance and updates such that a commitment by local merchants for financial and
management oversight is required to ensure it can be implemented and maintained
successfully. Staff would not recommend such signage as a City responsibility, as it would
typically be handled by a business association or other business collective.
Next Steps for Signage: Staff will bring the full signage plan before the Architectural Review
Board for their feedback and identify next steps, including further City Council discussion. Based
on commission and council input, staff can proceed to final designs, cost estimating, and an
implementation schedule. Staff is currently working on the schedule for replacing the existing El
Camino Real and California Avenue monument sign and develop a complementary sign to
replace the Oregon Expressway sign. A request for financial support to procure and install the
final plan will be needed before implementation can begin
Outdoor Activation Guidelines
City Staff and UFS have made significant progress preparing preliminary Outdoor Activation
Guidelines that takes advantage of the car-free context of California Avenue. The term
“activation” is proposed, as potential uses including dining, retail, seating, recreational, and
potentially other privately maintained activities. The California Avenue Outdoor Activation
Program will enhance the commercial vibrancy of California Avenue, creating opportunities for
businesses to use public sidewalks and roadway spaces for outdoor dining, retail,
entertainment, and other business operations. This program will ensure these spaces are safe,
equitable, and well-designed for uses including dining, retail, and live entertainment.
Commercial use of outdoor space supports local businesses, enhances customer experience,
and directly contributes to a thriving community destination.
Vision for Car-Free Outdoor Activation Areas: The vision for car-free outdoor activation areas is
to prioritize customer experience and invite spontaneous and meaningful social interaction. By
carefully curating these spaces, the street can become a vibrant engaging atmosphere. Key
elements are:
•Opportunities for Social Interaction: Outdoor activations play a pivotal role in satisfying
people’s innate need for spaces for casual and serendipitous social connection.
•Visual and Experiential: Inviting outdoor spaces, where residents and visitors can see
each other and connect, can transform the street into a social gathering place. This can
encourage walk-in and spontaneous dining, as outdoor spaces need to visually and
auditorily add life, so the street feels lively and inclusive.
•Enclosures Shape Public Space: Enclosures define the boundaries of outdoor dining and
activation areas by using railings, planters, stanchions, or screens to ensure safety,
accessibility, and privacy. These boundaries need to be carefully designed to remain low
and transparent, enhancing visibility to and from the street. Sidewalls or screens that
can be raised or lowered confer weather protection while minimally detracting from the
openness of the street.
•Shelter for Comfort and Aesthetics: Instead of permanent constructed structures,
umbrellas and awnings can serve as flexible, visually appealing solutions for weather
protection. There are new fabricators and suppliers of overhead large format umbrellas
and awnings that can provide shade, rain cover, and UV shielding, and space for electric
heaters and lighting. This improves comfort for patrons while maintaining the openness
of the street. Umbrellas and awnings are designed to align with the business aesthetic.
Collectively, umbrellas and awnings contributing to a more cohesive and colorful
streetscape, rather than individual designed structures that visually obstruct views to
adjacent storefronts or can be an obstacle to emergency access.
•Car-Free for a Thriving Environment: A car-free street is a unique opportunity to shape
public outdoor space by prioritizing pedestrians, cyclists, customers and diners to create
a safe and accessible environment that promotes business success and community
connection. The absence of vehicles allows the district to reimagine its public space as a
living, walkable community space. If people feel a sense of membership by seeing,
meeting and spending time with friends and colleagues on the street there are more
likely to be frequent patrons.
These outdoor spaces are functional extensions of businesses and pivotal contributors to a
welcoming and vibrant destination. The goal of developing guidelines is to provide a broad
framework for businesses to work within. The actual curation and activation of many of the
spaces will require investment from the business community to enliven the street.
Street Zones, Patio Locations and Setbacks: Staff and UFS recommend dividing the car-free
portion of the California Avenue right-of-way into five zones, as seen in Attachment C. To
ensure access to sufficient space by other uses, such as the farmers’ market, the preliminary
allocations limit patios to directly in front of the operator’s storefront. Outdoor patios are
permitted in three zones as shown in Attachment C.
•Frontage Zone
•Curbside/Street Furniture Zone
•Activity Zone
Attachment D includes two that span between El Camino Real and Mimosa Lane, and from
Mimosa Lane to Birch Street. These maps indicate the zones for the respective segments of
California Avenue.
The preliminary guidance includes restrictions for a required 8-foot pedestrian path of travel on
sidewalks, emergency vehicle access, designated pedestrian paths of travel, emergency
accessways, and designated bike lanes or bike racks.
Next Steps for Outdoor Activation Guidelines: Staff is working to sequence the discussion of
outdoor activation guidelines with City Council immediately following necessary legislative
actions to close the street. While some businesses have expressed eagerness to invest in
outdoor spaces, certainty about the condition of the street closure will create a more stable
environment and reduce the likelihood of further changes. Next steps include additional
stakeholder engagement, leading to bringing the outdoor activation guidelines for Council
approval. Staff will continue to work with Urban Field Studios to:
•Establish clear guidelines for space layouts, enclosures, and shelter elements to ensure
outdoor spaces are functional, visually appealing, and cohesive with the district's
character.
•Allocate public space to businesses, in a way that balances outdoor dining, retail
visibility, and other community uses such as farmers markets and pedestrian zones.
•Enable flexibility in use to permit spaces that have multiple uses throughout the week,
such as informal dining or community gathering spaces during non-peak times and the
Farmers’ Market on Sundays—to maximize the use and value of the public spaces.
•Define requirements for design elements such as low and transparent enclosures,
umbrellas and awnings to address comfort and visual vibrancy of the street.
Staff anticipates incorporating feedback from stakeholder engagement then bringing the
guidelines before City Council to formally adopt them.
Alternative Street Designs
This section provides an update on the development of two design concepts for the
transformation of California Avenue into a vibrant, permanent car-free street. The street
designs will advance City Council goals for sustainability, economic, and community vitality
while addressing public life, mobility, and placemaking.
To date, staff and UFS have defined and confirmed design goals, objectives, evaluation criteria,
and programming. The project team has completed the assessment and mapping of existing
conditions, including constraints to the multiple functions of the street, for outdoor dining,
retail visibility, public life and pedestrian/bike safety.
Currently, UFS is creating two street space allocation studies for additional stakeholder
engagement. Following this feedback and engagement, detailed designs and opinion of cost will
be prepared for both alternatives, culminating in summary presentations and discussion with
ARB, PTC and Council.
Design Alternatives: Two concepts have been developed to reflect varying levels of investment
and transformation:
1.Adaptive Street: Focuses on incremental, cost-effective improvements with minimal
disruption to existing infrastructure. Key features include:
o Slow two-way bike lanes at center of street.
o Designated outdoor dining areas.
o Resurfacing the street to remove travel markings.
o Modifying planting areas to better serve outdoor dining.
o Flexible public spaces shared with the farmers’ market.
o Enhanced wayfinding and signage for restaurant and retail visibility.
o Would require smaller financial investment beyond near-term improvements
2.Reimagined Street: Envisions a tree-lined pedestrian promenade for economic and
community vitality, with green infrastructure for climate resilience. Key features include:
o Extensive tree canopy for shade and urban cooling.
o Green infrastructure for stormwater management and biodiversity.
o Slow two-way bike lanes meandering to maximize outdoor dining and public
spaces.
o A large public space for events, markets and gatherings.
o Expanded farmers’ market capacity.
o Public art as civic design
o Urban ecosystem with native plant beds and permeable surfaces.
o Would require significant financial investment beyond near-term improvements
Next Steps for Alternative Street Designs: City staff and UFS will continue work with community
members and merchants for input on space allocation studies, including feedback on activities
(social, cultural and recreational), spatial requirements and location for public spaces. Based on
community and merchant feedback, street design plans and preliminary cost estimates will be
developed. Staff will bring these to the Architectural Review Board and Planning and
Transportation Commission for review and input this spring before returning to City Council
with refined concepts and next steps.
Partnering for California Avenue’s Success
Transforming California Avenue into a vibrant, car-free main street requires a collective effort
by the City, property owners, merchants and residents. A thriving California Avenue will attract
more customers and visitors, encourage longer stays, and support the success of local
businesses. Each party has an essential role to play, and this vision cannot be achieved without
partnership.
The City is taking the first step by developing a vision for outdoor activation and the design of
California Avenue, in collaboration with merchants and the community. In addition, the City is
changing zoning regulations, implementing near-term improvements, and considering longer-
term investments to support economic vitality. The City is committed to support economic
development through policy, regulation, outreach, visioning, and targeted investments.
Sustained success depends on active participation by property and business owners, who are
key to realizing this vision. Merchants, for example, will lead the way in implementing the
outdoor activation program by upgrading outdoor dining spaces to meet new standards.
Property owners can attract new tenants, promote opportunities for retail and invest in
building and tenant improvements. In the longer term, elements such as the Outdoor
Activation Guidelines may best be administered by a business association as a common-area
partnership rather than enforced by the City as a regulatory function.
This process is an invitation to collaborate. By working together, we can create a California
Avenue that reflects the best of our community and fulfills our common aspirations for a car-
free, vibrant, and thriving main street.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The Study Session does not require additional funding at this time. To date, the City Council has
approved contractual costs of $264,708 for the work of Urban Field Studio and expenditures on
interim improvements have been funded through operating budgets and pandemic allocations.
On December 16, 2024 the City Council increased the contract with O’Grady paving for
immediate near-term improvements on California Avenue (as discussed earlier in this report).
The cost of these near-term improvements, including bollard installation, planters, stamped
concrete, grinding/repaving of pavement and work at the California Ave & El Camino Real
intersection is approximately $825,000. Any additional costs for project-specific investments
will be further refined and discussed with the City Council as the project elements, such as
implementation of the signage plan, continue to take shape.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement is discussed extensively in the background section of this report. It
directly informed project outputs to date and will continue to be proactively addressed as the
project continues. Staff will also be engaging Cal. Ave. community stakeholders to inform them
about the study session and encourage their participation.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW As described earlier in this report, CEQA review related to
amending the circulation element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan is underway and will be
brought forward to the Planning and Transportation Commission and City Council as required
by CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Outreach Summary by Topic by Month
Attachment B - Preliminary Cal Ave Place Identity & Signage Plan
Attachment C - Outdoor Activation Guidelines Street Zones
Attachment D – Outdoor Activation Guidelines Setback Maps
APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager