HIstory

In July 2022, a local child was on his way to Downtown Los Altos and crossing Foothill Expressway at Edith Ave when his mother abruptly pulled him backwards, out of the crosswalk. He was one step away from being hit by a driver using the free right turn “slip lane” to merge onto Foothill Expressway. As the driver looked to his left towards oncoming traffic, they never saw the pedestrian in front of their car. If not for the mother’s vigilance, this incident could have had a much more tragic outcome.

The boy’s mother shared the incident on NextDoor and asked the questions, “Does anyone else absolutely hate that pedestrian intersection? Can we rally the town and community to do something about it?” Over 100 people responded and agreed that action needed to be taken.

As a result, the Anne Wojcicki Foundation offered to host a community meeting in September and invited concerned people to explore solutions together. The meeting was attended by over 35 people representing local groups, parents of children who cross Foothill Expressway, and elder generations of residents. The #1 solution identified was the elimination of the free right turn slip lanes but other ideas to explore included better signage and striping, speed reductions, traffic signal upgrades, and even a tunnel or elevated land bridge over Foothill Expressway. 

In October of 2020, a subgroup of meeting participants volunteered to start their own community group to carry forward the imperative of improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists to and from Downtown Los Altos. Safe Routes to Downtown Los Altos was born!

SR2DTLA is a 100% volunteer group of local residents and stakeholders. 

Founding members include Jill Woodford, Jennifer Denebeim, Harry Guy, Marc Sidel, Taylor Robinson, Donna Anderson, and Andrew Gutow.