Projects & Issues

Stanford Avenue Issues


County Supervisors Approved County Roads Dept. Recommendations: May 2000 

On May 2, 2000, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved the County Road's Department proposal for Stanford Avenue. Approved actions include: lowering the speed limit to 25mph; installing "no u-turn" signs and a "speed table;" making "short-term improvements" (adding gravel to facilitate parking); and implementing "no parking zones" near intersections and from Ryan Court down to Peter Coutts Road. The Board of Supervisors also directed County Roads to continue to study potential "long-term improvements" -- including the addition of paved parking spaces and paved pathways along Stanford Avenue. County Road's detailed recommendations are available at  http://claraweb.co.santa-clara.ca.us/StanfordTransmittal.pdf (PDF format).

Recent SCRL Efforts and Letters

For many years, SCRL, campus homeowners and Stanford University have been concerned about traffic safety hazards and other impacts of parking on Stanford Avenue. SCRL and Stanford have supported a complete prohibition of parking along Stanford Avenue as the best solution to the current situation. SCRL has submitted many letters and statements over the past few years on Stanford Avenue issues, including:SCRL Letter to County on Stanford Avenue Issues, Feb. 2000SCRL Letter to County on Stanford Avenue Issues, Dec. 1999SCRL Statement at County Public Meeting on Stanford Avenue Issues, Nov. 1999Stanford University officials also presented statements at the County's public hearings, indicating Stanford's continued support for a complete parking ban on Stanford Avenue.

Background Information

SCRL conducted a survey of its membership in 1997 about parking for foothills access. Based on that survey and rising concerns about safety issues due to increased parking along Stanford Avenue, SCRL asked Stanford University to work with the County to remedy this situation and eliminate parking on Stanford Avenue. (SCRL Letter to Stanford University, Feb. 1998) In 1998, Stanford University requested that the County of Santa Clara investigate this situation; Stanford also supported a complete ban on parking. Santa Clara County agreed to study the problem and hired consultants for the project in 1999. The County held three public meetings in November 1999 and in January 2000. SCRL, Stanford University officials, and campus homeowners spoke about their concerns and requested a parking prohibition.

Other Stanford Campus Homeowner Efforts

Over 400 Stanford community members signed a petition circulated by the Stanford Avenue Action Committee, a group of Stanford campus homeowners concerned about the Stanford Avenue situation. (SAAC is not affiliated with SCRL). The SAAC petition and SAAC letters to the County and Stanford University are available in the Stanford Avenue section of the Stanford Community Information Access website: http://www.stanfordcia.org/stanford_ave.html. (The Stanford Community Information Access website is not affiliated with SCRL.)