The Royal Camino (ECR) on State Highway 82, the main avenue connecting San Jose and San Francisco, is sandwiched between Federal Highways 280 and 101. Maintenance and rehabilitation are primarily paid by the state with modest local government participation. In fact, Caltrans can be redesigned and redesigned without city approval.
In 2024, Caltrans decided to repeat the ECR south from Menlo Park to Sunnyvale via Palo Alto (Stanford University) in Mountain View at Menlo Alto (Stanford University). The work included upgrading curb RAMMP and sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have also added BCYCYCLE LASES. This work was primarily completed by July 1, 2025.
Caltrans attacked $7,133,000 for the project, but did not explain the cost of the soft white post and green marker separation bike Laes. I have a guest mate under $2 million.
Restaurants and other commercial establishments complained about road parking and business losses before, during and after lane posts were installed. Patron subtime should search for street parking in residential areas. It’s hard to know the losses in our current business, but we’ve seen prospective customers give up and drive.
How have you been using new dedicated bike lanes for your bike since it was completed? Every Sunday, my wife and I go out for lunch at ECR restaurants or on a side street off the coast of ECR. At Avenge, we drive weekly along the ECR to the Safeway Pharmacy and Grocery Store in Menlo Park. My wife drives weekly along each of the two large box stores along the ECR and drives Mountain View Ranch 99 every other week. It’s four trips a week, nine times a week. On August 17th, 2025, we celebrated our 62nd anniversary and went to ECR’s favorite Chinese restaurant. We arrived early and sat next to a large window looking out the street. And we said at the same time, “Look, bcyiclist!” First seen using the new bike lane. We estimate that he drove around 100 miles between July 1st and August 17th.
Thousands of students, staff and faculty biked to Stanford every day, and did so for years without a dedicated bike race along the ECR. Stanford’s internal bike raises are simply separated by paint and words.
Is the new bike lane worth the direct cost of installation and the indirect cost of the LTH business? I don’t think unless it’s used more frequently, there are fewer cars on the roads, clogging traffic and reducing carbon emissions. Even if that happens, businesses will continue to lose money. But hey, this is California!
Alvin Labuschka is a Senior Fellow and Honorary Award from the Hoover Society, David and Joan Treitel.
