City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: August 10, 2026
Report #:2511-5563
TITLE
Approval to Proceed with Final Design for the Permanent Installation of the Crescent Park Traffic Calming Project including a Bulb-out on Southwood Drive and East Crescent Drive; CEQA status – categorically exempt.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff evaluated three options in response to recent discussions with the Planning and Transportation Commission in order to address concerns raised by adjacent property owners:
Option 1: Permanent Traffic Calming. Proceed with the proposed modified bulb-out including further reduction in size where feasible, drought tolerant landscaping, new ADA-compliant curb ramps, and stop signs (Attachment A) in alignment with the November 2023 Council direction.
Option 2: Stop Signs. Remove the interim bulb-out and retain and relocate the existing (pilot) stop signs along the pre-pilot curb location, including upgrading the existing curb ramp to meet ADA requirements (Attachment B).
Option 3: No Traffic Calming. Remove traffic calming features including both the pilot bulb-out and stop signs. Upgrade the existing non-standard curb ramp to meet ADA requirements.
Based on the effectiveness of each of the options in addressing access and safety concerns and the level of neighborhood support indicated in the project survey, staff recommends that the City Council approve the final concept design and proceed with Option 1: Permanent Traffic Calming, which includes the permanent installation of the bulb-out at Southwood Drive and East Crescent Drive as part of the Crescent Park Traffic Calming Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is returning to Council to confirm direction in relation to traffic calming design concepts at the intersection of Southwood Drive and E. Crescent Drive in response to a request from Planning
and Transportation Commission (PTC) members who expressed concerns about a mismatch between their prior communications and the PTC motion communicated to Council on November 6, 2023 (Attachment A).
Based on PTC and community input, staff has incorporated a number of modifications into the recommended bulbout design (Option 1) including reducing the size of the bulbout, straightening the curb for parking near the approach to the bulbout, incorporating drought-tolerant landscaping into the bulbout design and providing a concrete pad adjacent to the on-street parking location (Attachment B).
Additionally, the project team has developed two other options including: Option 2: removal of the bulbout, adding delineators along Southwood Drive, upgrading of the pre-pilot curb ramp and retaining three stop signs (Attachment C); and Option 3: removal of the bulbout and stop signs and upgrading the pre-pilot curb ramp to current ADA standards. Although Options 2 and 3, do not fully align with the original intent and objectives of the traffic calming project, staff has included and analyzed them for Council consideration.
BACKGROUND
The Crescent Park Traffic Calming Project originated in 2018, in response to local resident concerns about cut through traffic, congestion during peak periods, and vehicle speeds during off peak hours. Based on this input, City staff followed the City’s traffic calming process to undertake data collection, evaluate neighborhood conditions, conduct community engagement and work with City’s on-call consultant, Fehr & Peers, to develop draft traffic calming concepts for pilot installation located entirely within the public right-of-way.
On September 9, 2020, PTC reviewed the pilot or interim concepts, 1 and, on November 9, 2020, City Council approved the concepts for pilot installation.2 Treatments included: a three-way stop with a curb extension (also known as a bulbout) at the intersection of Southwood Drive and E.
Crescent Drive, and an oval-shaped traffic circle and channelizers at the five-legged intersection of Southwood Drive, Center Drive and Hamilton Avenue. Features such as roundabouts, bulbouts and channelizers are horizontal deflections that reduce the number and area of conflict points within an intersection, reduce turning speeds, and reduce the collision angle (which reduces the potential for head on collisions). The bulbout concept also squares up the Southwood/E Crescent intersection, which in turn reduces vehicle turning speeds, pedestrian crossing distances and pedestrian exposure to traffic. These features have been identified by the Federal Highway Administration as safety countermeasures, and were implemented in the summer of 2021.
In 2022, staff collected post-installation data including a neighborhood survey to evaluate the performance of the pilot measures. The results showed reductions in traffic volumes, cut through 1 Planning & Transportation Commission, September 9, 2020; Item 2, Action Item, SR# 11517 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=7132&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 2 City Council, November 9, 2020; Item 5, Action Item, SR# 11603 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=2132&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto traffic, and vehicle speeds, which suggested that the pilot was likely effective (with the caveat that ambient travel patterns had also changed due to the pandemic). Additionally, 74% of Crescent Park residents who responded to the neighborhood survey supported making the traffic calming improvements permanent, voting “YES” to permanently installing the traffic calming measures. For residents along Southwood Drive and E. Crescent Drive in the immediate vicinity of the bulbout, 75% of respondents supported proceeding with the permanent improvements at this location.
Based on this feedback, the project team developed conceptual designs for permanent installation, which were presented to the PTC on June 14, 2023. 5 At this meeting, PTC approved a motion which was reflected in the following way in the meeting minutes:
“to make permanent [traffic calming improvements at location] number one [University Avenue/W Crescent Drive] and number three
[Southwood/Center/Hamilton], but number three [Southwood/E Crescent] only with a condition that it be landscaped. Also, PTC recommended that number two needed more work and that the bulbout be made more suitable with direct input from adjacent property owners.”
On November 6, 2023, City Council approved proceeding with engineering design of improvements for permanent installation of the Traffic Calming pilot project in the Crescent Park neighborhood.6 As part of this consent item, staff indicated that they would engage the community to seek feedback while ensuring that the permanent improvements align with planning and engineering standards.
In February 2024, staff held a field meeting with resident and/or owners of the property adjacent to traffic calming treatments at the corner of Southwood/E. Crescent. The resident and/or owners at that property provided feedback on the aesthetics, parking impacts and landscaping preferences as well as their general dislike of the bulbout. Staff also hosted a neighborhood wide meeting in October 2024 to review the concept designs and gather broader feedback. Based on input from these two meetings, the following adjustments were made to the design:
1. The bulbout/curb extension design was reduced by five feet relative to the pilot to address aesthetic and maneuverability concerns without compromising safety.
2. The existing non-standard curb ramp in front of the property was converted to a concrete pad to enhance curb access and passenger loading.
3. The draft bulbout shape was revised to allow for convenient on-street parking within the public right of way in a manner compliant with AB 413 (aka California’s 2024 5 Planning & Transportation Commission, June 14, 2023; Item 3, Action, SR# 2304-1381 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=7357&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 6 City Council, November 6, 2023; Item 4, Consent, SR# 2307-1777 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=3855&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto Corner Daylighting Law). Under AB 413, parking would be prohibited at this location in the pre-pilot condition.
4. The bulbout surface was changed from undefined or concrete, to drought tolerant, low height landscaping to improve aesthetics and alignment with neighborhood character.
On April 9, 2025, PTC reviewed the refined conceptual design. 9 The resident and/or owners at 590 E. Crescent Drive provided public comment regarding the aesthetics and size of the bulbout, and its effect on their ability to park adjacent to the existing non-standard curb ramp. Following committee discussion, PTC voted to unanimously support the Council’s direction from November 6, 2023 to move forward with final design of the traffic circle at Southwood/Center/Hamilton/Center intersection. PTC members also suggested that staff meet again with the resident and/or owners at 590 E Crescent Drive to hear their remaining concerns regarding the access ramp and on street parking, and to return to PTC with an update.
On April 16, 2025, staff conducted another follow-up field meeting with resident and/or owners at 590 E. Crescent Drive. During the meeting, the resident and/or owners reiterated their dislike of the traffic calming treatments, and requested removal of the bulbout and retention of the existing non-standard curb ramp. As suggested by PTC, staff requested that the resident demonstrate their preferred method for accessing their property, however, the resident declined.
On September 24, 2025, staff returned to PTC10 and recommended proceeding to final design for the bulbout and stop signs at Southwood/E. Crescent intersection. At this meeting, PTC members expressed dismay that the resident at 590 E Crescent Drive remained unsatisfied with the design, and recommended full redesign of traffic calming treatments at Southwood/Crescent including consideration of channelizers, a new slip lane (not a traffic calming device), bulbout removal, and relocation of the curb ramp to the west. PTC did not support the staff recommendation to proceed with engineering design of the refined bulbout concept. PTC members also expressed concern that their recommendations from July 14, 2023 had not been accurately communicated to Council on November 6, 2023 (Attachment A)
ANALYSIS
Given concerns expressed by PTC, staff is returning to Council to confirm direction before moving forward with the final design of traffic calming treatments at Southwood/E. Crescent. Key concerns expressed by PTC include:
Questions about community engagement;
9 Planning & Transportation Commission, April 9, 2025; Item 2, Action, SR# 2503-5344 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=7636&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 10 Planning & Transportation Commission, September 24, 2025; Item 2, Action, SR# 2508-5607 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=7677&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto Aesthetic concerns regarding the bulbout size and landscaping; Accessibility concerns related to curb ramps and property access; Concerns about dissatisfaction of the abutting resident; and Accuracy of feedback from PTC conveyed to Council.
Questions about Community Engagement
For this project, a range of traffic calming measures, such as speed humps, were evaluated in the pilot planning process and determined to be not appropriate for addressing intersection related safety issues. Pilot improvements were selected after consideration of various traffic calming measures and the improvements that were installed as the pilot project received support from a supermajority of neighborhood residents. In total, the design process for this project has incorporated multiple opportunities for community input including two community meetings, multiple PTC presentations and individual meetings with the resident and/or owners of 590 E Crescent Drive. This engagement has helped staff to incrementally refine draft concepts for potential permanent installation (see Attachment A).
Aesthetic Concerns Related to Bulbout Size and Landscaping In response to PTC feedback, the project team modified the concept design to add drought tolerant landscaping and reduce the bulbout size. During engineering design, staff will assess whether the bulbout footprint can be further reduced by another two feet, beyond the current reduction of five feet, without compromising its effectiveness. In addition, the proposed platform could be widened to provided additional landing space for the resident’s access.
While traffic calming treatments may change the appearance of an intersection, many people consider this change to be positive, particularly where landscaping is added. In addition to potential aesthetic benefits, landscaped bulbouts slow traffic, increase permeable surface area, provide a buffer between motor vehicles and pedestrians and reduce the potential for vehicle incursion into pedestrian space or even private property.
Figure 1: Before (left) and After (right) Bulbout Installation at Kellog and Middlefield
Accessibility Concerns Related to Curb Ramps and Property Access Following PTC feedback, staff reassessed accessibility conditions and consulted with the City’s
Chief Building Official / ADA Coordinator regarding concept plan design for the bulbout at Southwood/E. Crescent. Under the proposed concept design, there are at least two accessible means of accessing the property at 590 E. Crescent Drive from the public right-of-way. These include an ADA-compliant pedestrian ramp that would lead to the crosswalk, and a standard concrete platform (creating a break in the landscaped parkway) for stepping into a motor vehicle.
In additional, the property has a residential driveway.
If Council approves advancing the bulbout option (Option 1) to engineering design, staff will further enhance pedestrian access from the vehicle drop off area during engineering design to ensure that vehicles can pull up to the curb as close as possible to the concrete path.
The concept design would remove the legacy non-standard ramp because it does not comply with current ADA standards. During PTC meetings, the abutting resident and/or owners indicated that they would prefer to access their property via a ramp in the location of the prior unmarked crosswalk; however, a ramp in this location would lead straight onto the street in a location other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk, which is not acceptable to the City due to the potential hazard it would create for pedestrians.
Concerns about Satisfaction of the Abutting Resident
Traffic calming treatments, and City roadways more generally, are designed to serve the entire community including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, students traveling to school and neighbors in the immediate vicinity. All design treatments within the draft concept are located within City-owned right-of-way, with no elements encroach into private property.
For traffic calming programs, majority support for treatments is typically considered to be a satisfactory outcome, and unanimous support is unlikely, potentially unattainable or is achievable only in a manner that does not model government efficiency. For this project, approximately three quarters of residents who responded to the community surveys supported the design concepts, which staff considers to be a very high level of support relative to typical transportation projects and traffic calming program outcomes in other cities. Staff understands that all aspects of the design may not appeal to all community members, and staff has made multiple good faith efforts to incorporate community input, particularly from the resident closest to the traffic calming treatments, into the design concept displayed in Attachment A.
Accuracy of Feedback from PTC
Following the PTC meeting on September 24, 2025, staff reviewed the full video from June 14, 2023. Based on this review, staff concur with PTC members’ perception that there was a mismatch between the Commission’s general conversation and the final motion that was conveyed by staff to Council.
The PTC motion recommended that Council approve advancing the project to engineering design, with modifications such as landscaping at the Southwood/E. Crescent location and additional engagement of the resident.
Prior to the motion, one commissioner supported the bulbout design due to safety benefits, another expressed hesitation about second guessing engineering analysis, and other commissioners expressed strong dissatisfaction with the design of the bulbout. Some critiques identified actionable concerns regarding the size of the bulbout, accessibility of pedestrian ramps and a preference for landscaping instead of concrete. Other critiques were more general, describing the current temporary pilot or the design as ugly, awful, bizarre and not acceptable.
After listening to the full video, staff believes that some commissioners wished for a full redesign of traffic calming treatments, and not the type of minor modifications that could be achieved in the context of engineering design for the original design concept. Staff does not recommend returning the project to the community-based design stage due to concerns regarding efficient use of staff time and opportunity costs for other traffic calming project requests throughout the City.
If Council wishes to pursue removal of the pilot, the project team has identified two new options for Council consideration at the Southwood/E. Crescent location:
Option 2: Remove the bulbout and keep existing stop signs; and Option 3: Remove the bulbout and stop signs.
Comparison of Options
The following table provides a comparison of the three options for Southwood/E. Crescent intersection:
Table 1: Comparison of Options
Option 1.Modified bulbout 2.Bulbout removal
with stop signs
3.Bulbout and stop sign
removal
Description Landscaped bulbout
design with further
size reduction
(Attachment A)
Remove the bulbout,
keep existing stop signs
and add delineators
along Southwood Drive
centerline to reduce
conflict zone in
intersection
(Attachment B)
Remove the bulbout and
stop signs
Accessibility
considerations
New ramps within
bulbout (approx. 25‘
from pre-pilot
location) and
conversion of pre-
pilot curb ramp to
concrete pad for
vehicle access
Curb ramp in pre-pilot
location to be
upgraded to current
ADA standards
Curb ramp in pre-pilot
location to be upgraded
to current ADA
standards
Table 1: Comparison of Options
Option 1.Modified bulbout 2.Bulbout removal
with stop signs
3.Bulbout and stop sign
removal
Effect on traffic
calming goals
Lower speed and less
cut through traffic
than pre-pilot, highly
visible stop sign
Likely lower speed and
cut through traffic than
pre-pilot but non-self-
enforcing i.e. drivers
may roll through or not
notice the stop sign
Similar to pre-pilot i.e.
concerns about
speeding and cut
through traffic
Aesthetic
considerations
Landscaping with
permanent
installation
Large, concrete
intersection
Large, concrete
intersection
On-street
parking
adjacent to 590
E Crescent
Permitted
(>15’ from crosswalk
with curb extension)
Prohibited under AB
413 (<20’ of crosswalk)
Prohibited under AB
413 (<20’ of crosswalk)
California’s Daylighting law (AB 413) prohibits parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk approach or 15 feet of a crosswalk approach where there is a curb extension or bulbout. Under the revised concept design, the approach alignment has been modified to increase the available curb distance. This adjustment allows for parking or short-term stopping behind the concrete path, which may accommodate the resident’s request to park near the former curb ramp.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council approve the concept bulbout design (Option 1), with the design modifications indicated above. This option reconfigures E. Crescent Drive to intersect Southwood Drive at a right angle, converting the existing three-legged intersection into a T- intersection and adding a three-way stop control. This realignment has been shown to reduce cut-through traffic and lower unsafe vehicle speeds for right and left turn movements to and from E. Crescent Drive.
This option aligns with similar installations throughout Palo Alto and reflects a good faith effort to balance resident input with access, engineering best practices and neighborhood concerns regarding speed, cut through traffic and safety.
NEXT STEPS
Pending Council approval of the conceptual designs, staff will prepare final construction drawings for both the traffic circle at Hamilton and Center and the approved design features, which might include the landscaped bulbout, ADA-compliant curb ramps, concrete pad and stop signs, at Southwood/E. Crescent (or changes indicated under Options 2 or 3 if one of those is selected by Council) and initiate the construction phase for permanent installation. Staff will return to Council for review and approval of the construction contract.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The project is funded through the existing Transportation and Parking Improvement Capital Improvement Project (PL-12000), which supports neighborhood traffic calming projects. Staff will be requesting dedicated funding in the next fiscal year budget process for the construction of the permanent improvements
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff has held three neighborhood-level community meetings, two meetings with residents at 590 East Crescent Drive and four PTC meetings, to provide residents an opportunity to share their comments on this project Residents have also provided feedback through a survey card that was sent to every household in the Crescent Park neighborhood. Additionally, a dedicated website has been established for the project, aiming to provide information and seek feedback from residents. Furthermore, all households were notified by mail of previous PTC and City Council meetings informing them that this item is being discussed and the availability of the staff report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The modifications involve minor upgrades to an existing residential street right-of-way and will not introduce any new environmental impacts. This project qualifies as a minor alteration to the existing street system and is therefore categorically exempt under Class 1 Exemption, Section 15301 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Letter to Council from PTC Chair
Attachment B: Option 1- Modified Bulbout Design
Attachment C: Option 2 – Remove Bulbout and Retain Stop Signs APPROVED BY:
Ria Hutabarat Lo, Chief Transportation Official