The following comments were submitted by survey participants:

“Great idea. El Camino is the “Great Divide” that worries many parents of young riders. Anything to make it safer would be a welcomed change.”

“The congestion on El Camino makes for impatient drivers–I’m not sure I’d feel safe cycling in that traffic. That said, I also worry about cyclists who rely on El Camino as a route for their commute. It is not safe at the moment, especially during rush hour.”

“The demand for bikes lanes on ECR is not high enough to inconvenience drivers who use it WAY more.”

“I have taught my kids to use alternate routes and they would probably just keep using them.”

“I don’t think it is really needed.”

“I think it is imperative to have bike lanes along El Camino & through the downtown area. Not having them would be like not having roads across the Caltrain tracks.”

“There is no point in having a bike lane along El Camino in MP when PA and Atherton do not. It would make turning onto and off of El Camino dangerous if a car has to cross the bike lane.”

“El Camino Real is not suitable to bike traffic. The Alma cut through is sufficient. Biking is not safe as a means of travel in Palo Alto or Atherton on ECR either.”

“Would provide no benefits or utility to me or my family.”

“Traffic is bad enough.”

“It is not a pleasant place to ride because of heavy traffic and poor drivers.”

“I believe removing parking spaces on El Camino would have a negative impact on small businesses.”

“Buffered bike lanes on El Camino just seems intuitively to be a very bad idea for safety & stress reasons for cyclists & drivers.”

“El Camino is NOT a good road for bicyclists. Period.”

“No need for bike lanes on ECR.”

“ECR is a very, very scary road and drivers are not alert and do NOT honor the bike lane.”

“(Our) kids are experienced riders and so with a buffer lane I would allow them to do so, but, honestly, they don’t go anywhere that would require them to ride often on el camino.”

“Even with an adult rider, I would not permit my kids to ride on El Camino. Too much risk for safety, even with the buffered lanes. If there were an actual physical barrier that cars could NOT cross, I might consider it.”

“I can ride on middlefield or alma and the proposed buffered lane is too short.”

“El Camino is too dangerous, 50% + of drivers distracted on phones, never get pulled over.”

“I would go out of my way to avoid el Camino. I do now, and would continue to do so. Too scary and dangerous for me, and I would not trust buffer.”

“Traffic on El Camino is already a nightmare, this would only make it worse, there are fine alternatives.”

“Not safe, would decrease parking, lack of coordination with connecting cities limit it, would slow traffic.”

“I can’t see how this would increase safety adequately on a major road used by many drivers from many different cities. El Camino is a major artery to everywhere. Terrible idea. Cross streets between east-west at least makes some sense.”

“Intersections continue to be dangerous due to turning traffic.”

“There are more drivers throughout the day than cyclists so priority should be given to the former.

“Terrible idea to cycle on El camino, I much prefer using parallel roads.”

“As of now, El Camino is scary to ride on. People drive too fast, and bikers are unprotected. However, I’m not sure its worth it to eliminate parking. Make a parallel street an alternative.”

“I will never ride my bike on El Camino–it is a stupid and unsafe idea! A buffered bike lane is some paint on the road and that will not protect me from bad and/or distracted speeders!”

“Palo Alto and Atherton/ RWC don’t have bikeable El Camino, so I’m not convinced that this is really a good option. Alma and Laurel are much better bike routes. This could be marked off like Bryant in Palo Alto.”

“Need solution for more auto lanes as priority. If you can achieve both (auto and bike) I would support.”

“Two foot buffers plus the three or four feet needed for the bike lanes takes too much space.”

“I think ithe current organization of lights and congestion on El Camino is so poor that (I cannot see) how adding a bike lane is better unless the new infrastructure could more efficiently move cars, buses and truck along better than current situation.”

“Drivers will not know how to properly make a right turn without endangering a bike rider – drivers will use the bike lane to make early right turns when the road is congested.”

“El Camino is no place for bikes. There are cross-town streets like Laurel that are easier to use.”

“El Camino is too dangerous for bicycles with the number of traffic lights and turns onto side streets. Having a designated bike lane will not change this fact.”

“Menlo Park already has the slowest traffic compared to all cities north and south of us. Adding a bike lane would make a bad situation only worse.”

“As a biker I would feel safer with full separation from El Camino traffic so that a car can’t easily enter the bike lane. Menlo Park is a small city, a bike lane on El Camino would be much more useful if it extended into neighboring cities.”

“I already use Alma & Middlefield Aves for easy bike travel north/south. I would prefer to have better/safer east/west bike routes.”

“As a driver and cyclist I have mixed opinions about cycling on El Camino. It’s not a good road for bikes, and I fear that bike lanes are a poor compromise.”

“it seems like a very short piece of El Camino to have bike lanes. It would be much more practical if it ran from San Antonio Road to Woodside road.”

“Some roads just aren’t meant for bikes. It would make traffic just horrible on ECR and would make cars go on side streets putting people who ride their bikes there in more danger.”

“A good North-South route does need to be developed. Alma is great until it reaches Ravenswood. It would be great if a continuous route could be extended from there.”

“Bike riders need to be accommodated but not on major thoroughfare, which is already inadequate for drivers during commute hours.”

“While I find El Camino too dangerous/stressful for biking today, I believe I’d use it a lot more if there were buffered bike lanes.”

“You can get almost anywhere in MP without ever riding on El Camino. You might need to cross it but you wouldn’t have to ride on it.”

“(Bike lanes create a) false sense of safety and car traffic is already congested.”

“El camino should be bike friendly in the entire san mateo county!”

“I would seldom bike on El Camino, bike lanes or not.”

“I don’t think El Camino makes sense as the primary (bike) route. Alma and University would be better.”