El Camino Real Specific Plan Transportation Concerns
The Santa Clara City Council may ratify the El Camino Real Specific Plan on May 19, 2026.
The transportation portion of the proposal panders to the very vocal Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. We need more parking, more lanes for mass public transportation and fewer bike lanes along State Route 82 (El Camino Real) for the following reasons:
- 4,390 residential equating 8,780 additional cars are planned along the 3-mile section of El Camino between Lafayette St. and Lawrence Expwy. in Santa Clara.
- 35,000 – 100,000 vehicles utilize El Camino daily compared to less than 400 cyclists.
- Dedicated “pork chops” at intersections, where cars can currently turn right after yielding to pedestrians should NOT be made accessible only to bikes. Doing so will hinder the flow of traffic and causes unnecessary excess greenhouse emissions.
- Requiring vehicles to stop behind busses, or swerve around them, as the bus driver drops off and picks up passengers will not only be inconvenient but dangerous. Inconveniencing tens of thousands of drivers while accommodating perhaps a few hundred cyclists is not reasonable.
- Maintaining parking along El Camino should be a priority. With the State no longer allowing cities to mandate any parking for residential or commercial projects; parking already is, and will continue to be, in short supply. The City of Santa Clara should do all it can to protect this valuable asset for residents and customers. I urge the City to maintain the estimated 1,000 existing parking spaces along El Camino from Lafyette St. to Lawrence Expwy. These spaces bring greater value to the community than bike lanes ever will.
- Bike lanes are costly to install and remove. Vista, CA removed $1.5 million recently installed bike lanes, costing $200,000 to remove them, just months after installation. Other major cities have done the same and continue to do so.
I urge Mayor Gilmore and the City Counsil to carefully consider not moving forward with the traffic plan as currently proposed in the El Camino Real Specific Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Vivian Shults