u/christopherkao

Hey Palo Alto —

The blue recycling bin at El Camino Park is overflowing with plastic water/sports drink bottles if anyone wants them for CRV.

Where: North end of the soccer field, about the midway point. Blue “RECYCLE ONLY” bin next to a black trash can, on the concrete pad under the trees. GPS pin

When: As of Sunday evening (8/30). First come, first served — they may already be gone.

Please just take the bottles sitting on/around the recycle bin and leave the rest of the area as you found it. Figured this helps someone get a little recycling money and also keeps the bin from spilling over.

Decent week coming up for Coimbra:

- **TRACOS DO POEMA** at Largo do Romal, today 19:00 -- free, performing arts/workshop mix, sounds like a nice way to spend an evening outdoors

- **Em Casa d'Amalia** (fado) at Jardim da Sereia, today -- perfect setting for fado honestly, hard to beat a garden fado night

- **Argentina Nos Une** at Liquidambar, Wed 18:00-00:30 -- food, live music, and party all in one, seems like the pick if you want a full night out

- **Procissao Penitencial** in Baixa de Coimbra, Wed 19:30 -- more traditional/religious event if that's your thing

I'll probably do the fado tonight and save Argentina Nos Une for tomorrow's plans.

Full calendar at https://ma.to/events/coimbra?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mato_event_sync&utm_content=coimbra if you want to explore more

Thank you to the City of East Palo Alto Public Works team for repainting the southbound bike lanes on University Ave.

Previously, the bike lane markings faded out a few hundred feet before the pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing, creating a confusing and potentially dangerous situation for cyclists approaching the crossing.

According to SWITRS collision data, there were 39 collisions within one block of University Ave & Donohoe St between 1/1/24 and 6/30/25 — including 7 involving bicyclists and 2 involving pedestrians. All of these crashes occurred before the new University Ave pedestrian and bicycle overcrossing opened in July 2025.

The overcrossing is already bringing significantly more bike and pedestrian traffic to University Ave, and this week’s closure of the Newell Bridge for the next two years will likely increase southbound bicycle traffic even further.

Long term, the University Ave Grand Corridor Project is in the design phase and will bring more comprehensive safety improvements. In the meantime, Councilmember Dinan and I had multiple conversations with Public Works about the need for near-term safety improvements given the concerning collision history at this location.

Public works confirmed with us that there was ample road space to add a bike lane buffer since the lanes on university Ave are wider than most other streets. Narrowing the lanes slightly actually would decrease vehicle speeds and potentially discourage cut through traffic.

https://epasun.org/closing-the-gaps-to-the-university-avenue-overcrossing/

"The bridge will be closed to vehicles with access continuing for bikes and pedestrians on Monday, May 18 and closed completely on Friday, May 22."

https://www.paloalto.gov/Events-Directory/City-Manager/Newell-Road-Bridge-Replacement-Construction-Start-Celebration