The City of Menlo Park, California recently adopted its first Bicycle Development Plan, prepared by Alta Planning + Design. Menlo Park is already known as a bicycle-friendly community - the city has about nine times as many bicycle commuters as the state average, and serves as the gateway to some of the most popular recreational cycling roads on the San Francisco peninsula.

The City's goals in developing a comprehensive bicycle plan were to identify projects that would make bicycling safer and more attractive to cyclists of all age levels and abilities, and to encourage less-experienced cyclists to try commuting or shopping by bicycle. The plan focuses on connecting the city's destinations - residential neighborhoods, schools, parkland along the San Francisco Bay, the downtown area, the city's many high-tech business and research centers, and a major commuter rail station - with an emphasis on neighborhood routes that utilize Menlo Park's network of quiet, tree-lined streets as an alternate to heavy-traffic arterials.

To develop the route network, Alta worked closely with local cyclists and the city's Bicycle Commission, and Alta staff led Commissioners on a weekend ride to survey many of the potential routes. The final Bicycle Plan recommends an expansion of the city's bike lane network and over 16 miles of new neighborhood bike routes, along with a variety of parking, signage, and other amenities to make bicycling safer and more convenient. Following its adoption by the City Council in December, the Bicycle Development Plan received some positive press when a reporter from the local newspaper left her car at home for a day and rode some of the newly-recommended neighborhood routes. The City is wasting no time implementing the plan, and has recently applied for TDA Article 3 funding for three of the recommended priority projects.

For more information about this project, contact Alta Senior Associate Brett Hondorp in our Berkeley office.

Alta Planning and Design is pleased to announce the release of the final report of the "Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned" study as submitted to the US Department of Transportation on August 1, 2002. The report has been cleared by the USDOT and is now final.

You may download the final copy of the report in PDF format from Alta's website. Go to www.altaplanning.com/focus/rails_lessons.html to view and download the report.

For more information, contact Alta Principal Mia Birk in our Portland office.

Jeff Olson, Regional Manager - Saratoga Springs, New York
Jeff Olson has joined Alta Planning + Design as our new ‘Alta East’ Regional Manager. Jeff is the former director of the U.S. Millennium Trails program and was the New York State Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager from 1993-98. Jeff's work on projects, including the Grand Canyon Greenway, the New York State Bike Route system, the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Communities Program, and a wide range of other projects has helped to create this exciting new opportunity. His experience includes work at the local, regional, and national levels for a variety of public, profit, and non-profit clients. In addition, he teaches America’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Planning course at the State University of New York at Albany, where he has also served as Co-Director of iHi: the Initiative for Healthy Infrastructure. Jeff’s leadership has created projects that have received numerous awards from USDOT, ASLA, NRPA, AAPHERD, and other organizations. He has served on the board of Mississippi River Trail, Inc., is an Advisor to the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and was a co-founder of APBP. Jeff is an avid cyclist, skier, a dedicated husband and father of three children who he wants to raise in a world of optimism and hope.

Alta seeks a junior to mid-level landscape architect/designer for our Portland, Oregon office. The work will include field investigation and site analysis, research, design, permitting, AutoCAD drafting, planning, public outreach, project management, and numerous other facets of our work. An ideal combination is landscape architecture and planning experience. Desired skills include:

• BA or MA Landscape Architecture
• 1-5 years experience; internships could count
• Strong AutoCAD skills
• Other software, such as Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft products
• Graphics and hand illustration skills
• Professional Landscape Archtitecture registration is not required, but is desirable

Please submit a cover letter, your resume, 3 references, and a sample work product to Alta Principal George Hudson.

• Pro-Bono Assistance: Alta staff are available to help community groups and agencies on a pro bono basis, whether it is answering questions or assisting with research. Every year we donate hundreds of hours to help our colleagues in a variety of areas. Call an Alta professional today to find out more about this, or come into one of our offices and use our library of resources.
   
• Conference Support Program: Alta offers help to deserving individuals who wish to attend conferences in fields related to bicycles, pedestrians, and trails. This may include plane tickets, other travel costs, and conference costs. Contact Alta Principals Michael Jones or Mia Birk to find out more about this program.