Four Years of Serving on the Public Works & Transportation Commission in East Palo Alto
My four years on East Palo Alto's Public Works and Transportation Commission have been fulfilling, and I strongly recommend this type of community involvement to all EPA residents. It's a roughly three-hour monthly commitment and has been a positive experience.
As the current Chair (a rotating position), I've had the privilege of collaborating with exceptional individuals like Deborah Lewis-Virges, Court Skinner, Uhila Makoni, Chris Kao, Gail Wilkerson, as well as dedicated staff. This experience has given me a deeper understanding of our Public Works Department's capabilities and constraints.
Our commission prioritizes action and tangible results. By simply advocating for priorities, I've seen positive impacts. Other commissioners have done the same and I want to particularly commend Chris Kao for his advocacy for cycling infrastructure and Deborah Lewis-Virges for her professionalism and high expectations.
Some of my contributions include:
Opening the Bay Trail at Rutgers Street in the Ravenswood Preserve. The bike path to Facebook somehow excluded EPA residents from accessing it from the Vill. It took over two years of emails, phone calls, PWTC meetings, and attending a MidPen meeting, but a new pedestrian gate will be installed sometime in the fall of 2024.
Installation of dog poop stations and garbage cans on the Bay Trail. I asked for garbage cans and poop stations to be installed on the Bay Trail and Jay Farr and Public Works were able to get this done very quickly. The result is a lot less litter on the Bay Trail and a much nicer environment
Setting up meeting with San Francisquito Creek Director Margaret Bruce with the commission to do a site inspection of the proposed levee along the Bay, from Friendship Bridge to the Dumbarton and beyond. This was a great meeting where commissioners got a chance to see the proposed route of the new levee and understand the design variables. A new levee is incredibly important for East Palo Alto residents. Not only will it protect us from flooding, but a FEMA approved levee will most likely remove the requirement for flood insurance for EPA Homeowners - something that costs every home over a thousand dollars per year.
Getting the City to prioritize repaving Runnymede from Pulgas Avenue to the Bay. This is an incredibly busy part of the city and has hundreds of cars on it daily dropping off kids at Aspire School. There is also a heavily used entrance to the Bay Trail there, and the street is in atrocious shape with potholes, gouged asphalt, and lacking any sidewalks on one side of the street. I will look forward to the day when this street is rebuilt, hopefully in the next year. There are a lot of streets in EPA needing reconstruction, and hopefully the City can tackle this in a meaningful way in the next decade.
There are a bunch of issues that came before our commission from staff in the last four years that I enjoyed discussing. These include roundabouts, parking regulations, bike lanes, and other infrastructure. It matters when we have local residents asking tough questions to staff and outside consultants. Often they do not have the local knowledge and do not see the problems we see at night, weekends, or in the early mornings. We need a lot more investment in our infrastructure in East Palo Alto, and the list will only expand once the East Palo Alto Sanitary district comes under the umbrella of City Management.
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve on this commission and was just reappointed to another four year term earlier this summer. I look forward to serving and encourage others to apply to commissions when openings come up.