Palo Alto committee recommends dropping El Dorado bike tunnel

Palo Alto’s Rail Committee has recommended dropping the proposed El Dorado Avenue bicycle and pedestrian tunnel and reconsidering other crossing locations.

The committee voted 3-0 on Nov. 10 to pursue Loma Verde alternatives and explore El Carmelo Avenue, Palo Alto Online reported. The recommendation follows opposition from Midtown residents concerned about traffic and neighborhood safety.

The full City Council is scheduled to consider the project Dec. 7, according to the city’s project page.

The committee vote does not amount to final council rejection of El Dorado or approval to construct an alternative.

A change in planning direction

In December 2025, the council directed staff to continue evaluating two El Dorado concepts, according to the city’s project history. One would tunnel beneath the Caltrain tracks and add a traffic signal for crossing Alma Street. The other would pass beneath both the tracks and Alma.

The city describes these as early planning concepts and says it has not approved construction of an El Dorado undercrossing.

Residents proposed a different configuration combining a signal at Loma Verde Avenue and Alma Street with a separate bicycle and pedestrian route alongside the tracks. That route would connect to a rail underpass leading toward Park Boulevard.

The Planning and Transportation Commission recommended in September that work advancing the El Dorado concepts pause while other options received equivalent study, according to the city. Those options included Loma Verde alternatives, the residents’ hybrid proposal and an overcrossing.

What the project would provide

The South Palo Alto Bike/Ped Connectivity Project is intended to identify additional routes for people walking and cycling across the Caltrain corridor south of Oregon Expressway.

It is separate from the city’s rail grade-separation project for vehicle crossings.

Selecting a preferred concept would not complete the project. The city says later steps include developing a funding strategy and securing money for final design and construction.