SHUTTLE / BUS OPTIONS:

The city's free Embarcadero Shuttle serves Paly students living near this busy arterial street. Students from downtown can also take this shuttle in the eastbound direction from the shuttle stop at Alma and Lytton.

Schedules are available at public libraries, on the city website, and in the Paly main office.  The city website also links to schedules and routes for Stanford's Marguerite shuttle and other busses.

Busses that serve Paly students include the VTA Routes 22 and 522 along El Camino Real, and the Dumbarton Express from East Palo Alto.

Check for updated route and schedule information on the city website at www.cityofpaloalto.org under Featured Sites for links to Shuttle Service for additional transit info.

WALKING AND SKATING:

These are healthy and ecologically responsible ways to get to Paly.  If you live less than a mile from school, it will certainly be cheaper and probably take less time than arriving by car, especially at peak periods.

• Yes, pedestrians do have the right-of-way within a crosswalk, but note that the law also states that "no pedestrian shall unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk."
  
  
• Skaters and skateboarders: You are still considered pedestrians and should use the sidewalk to avoid conflict with cars.  However, you're moving faster than pedestrians, and drivers may not notice you in time to stop.  Make eye contact before crossing in front of a car!
  
  
• Skates and boards can be securely stored in student lockers.

DRIVING and CARPOOLING:

Congestion and traffic safety problems have increased in the past decade due to enrollment growth and a greater percentage of students coming to school by car.

• Be part of the solution: Choose alternatives to driving / being driven to school whenever you can.
  
  
• If you must drive, please carpool with friends and neighbors.  Students who have had their license for six months can organize a carpool and be eligible for the best parking spots and lower permit fees!
  
  
• Carpool to school with other students even when post-school activities (sports, jobs) may prevent going home together.

HINTS for PALY DRIVERS:

• Allow plenty of time:  Don't put yourself or other drivers, cyclists or pedestrians at risk because you are running late.
  
  
• Park only in designated student spaces and display your permit to avoid fines.
  
  
• Try rainy day carpooling:  This really helps reduce the backup on both Embarcadero and Churchill.
  
  
• Drop off zones:  Parents - please model safe and courteous driving.  Use one of the three designated passenger loading zones (by the Tower Building, the Haymarket Theatre, and the baseball field). Paly Campus Map

Check out the teen driving link on the Safe Routes to Paly page at www.paly.net under the PTSA heading.

Bikes are vehicles and subject to the same rules of the road as a car.
Students who practice following the rules of the road as cyclists also are likely to have fewer collisions and citations when they get their driver's licenses.

• Cycle defensively to reduce the risk of colliding with another vehicle:
  
  
  • Yield the right of way at stop signs and at intersections.
    
    
  • Don't ride the "wrong way" on the street or sidewalk (e.g. on the 100 block of Churchill in the afternoon).
    
    
  • Stay off the sidewalk:  You're moving faster than a pedestrian and may not enter a driver's field of vision.
    
    
• Make eye contact with drivers at intersections or driveways - never assume that a driver sees you.  Watch for drivers turning right - they're usually looking left.
  
  
• Make sure your helmet can do its job.  Unless it's BUCKLED and fits SNUG and LEVEL on your head, your brain will not be protected in case of a crash (or a fall).  Adjust periodically so the straps form a "Y" just under your earlobe.  Shop for helmets with anti-rock devices and locking side adjusters.
  
  
• Bike parking is restricted to the racks near the Embarcadero pedestrian/bike crossing and by the main gym.
  
  
• Security Alert: Paly does not have bike cages.  Reduce the chances of losing your bike by using a good U-lock and always locking the frame (rather than your wheel alone) to the bike rack.
  
  
• The city's bike route map can be accessed on the city web site at www.cityofpaloalto.org using the Bicycling link under Featured Sites.

• Choose the best route.  This is often not the same way you would go in a car.  Here are some of the main alternatives to high traffic streets like Embarcadero and El Camino:
  
  
  • Use the new Embarcadero Bike Path that parallels the railroad tracks from downtown to Churchill.  There is a gate from the path directly into the Paly campus near the 300 building.  (The path name derives from the success of finally providing a bike and walking bridge across Embarcadero.)  The path can also be accessed using the Homer Undercrossing at Homer and Alma.
    
    
  • Use the Bryant bike boulevard, when possible, to cross Oregon Expressway or Embarcadero.  Then take Churchill to Paly's back driveway.  Bikes are given priority, and cars may not go straight on eastbound Churchill from 7:30-8:00 a.m.
    
    
  • From north of Embarcadero and east of Middlefield:  Try using Addison or Melville to Bryant, then continuing to Churchill.
    
    
  • From Newell, Louis or Greer:  Use North California to the Alma/RR underpass, then turn right on Park Blvd. to Castilleja Avenue and Paly s back driveway.
    
    
  • From College Terrace:  Cross El Camino at Cambridge or Stanford Ave, then bike toward Paly on Park Blvd. and Castilleja Ave.  Avoid riding on El Camino Real.
    
    
  • From near Walter Hays:  Use Coleridge rather than riding wrong way on the Embarcadero sidewalk where drivers won't see you

Look for info about commute options and sharing the road safely on the Paly website: www.paly.net
Under the PTSA link, select Safe Routes to Paly

The PTSA Traffic Safety Committee welcomes volunteers as well as your questions, comments, and suggestions.  Best wishes for safe commuting to Paly!
-- Audrey Alonis (coastwise@aol.com) and Rich Swent (rswent@pacbell.net)