Does the future of Los Altos include the bicycle? Our city is currently in the early phases of updating our General Plan, slated for completion by 2028, which will create a vision for what Los Altos can become through 2050. This is a major opportunity to think about how we want to manage change and envision our future. As the chair of the Los Altos Complete Streets Commission (CSC), and given that it’s Bike Month, I’ve been asking myself what should be included in the General Plan to make Los Altos a more bike-centric city for future generations, improving our quality of life, and inspiring more people to ride bikes.
Los Altos already has a Complete Streets Master Plan (CSMP), and we use the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for roadway standards, but it is still up to us to design roads that include biking infrastructure. As we plan toward 2050, we should ask: how do we evolve Los Altos into a truly multi-modal and bike-friendly city? Because Los Altos is smaller than our surrounding cities, we have the advantage of being nimble and thoughtful in how we improve our streets and neighborhoods.
Nearby cities like Palo Alto and Mountain View provide strong examples of connected bike lanes, wayfinding signage, with links to schools, transit, and commercial areas. We now have another opportunity to decide what kind of roads and bike transportation systems will best enhance our own community values and character.
Cities around the world are discovering that bike-friendly communities are not created simply with paint or isolated bike lanes. They are built through safe, connected networks where people feel comfortable riding as part of everyday life. The real test of a successful bike-friendly city is not whether experienced cyclists can move quickly across town, but whether an 11-year-old student or a 75-year-old resident feels safe enough to ride independently. As Los Altos plans toward 2050, we need to think beyond recreational biking or using the CSC to determine where to add/improve bike lanes as we resurface our roads. I challenge us to think of biking as a practical transportation option for trips to work, school, parks, frequenting downtown businesses, grocery stores and visiting friends. We already have elements of this today outlined in our CSMP and Safe Routes to School, but let’s use the General Plan to help the city stay focused on creating things like safer crossings i.e., at intersections like San Antonio Road and Portola Avenue, building better neighborhood connections and dedicated routes through the city, improving wayfinding signage, and implementing traffic-calming measures such as bulb-outs and roundabouts that slow traffic and improve safety for everyone.
Investing in safer and more accessible biking infrastructure is about preserving many of the qualities residents already value most. More biking can mean quieter streets, safer neighborhoods, healthier lifestyles, and less traffic congestion while developing stronger community interaction. Encouraging people to bike occasionally is one thing, but building a community where biking becomes normalized is another. Let’s seize this moment and ensure our General Plan helps shape Los Altos into a truly multi-modal city where biking becomes accessible, practical, and desirable for future generations.
