Welcome to Walking Palo Alto

Last year, I went looking for what was happening to the Cinemark by the bay in Redwood City. I couldn't find anything. Then I found the answer on a blog called Walking Redwood City, where its author, Greg Wilson, had simply walked over to look.

I've been hooked ever since.

The blog that made me curious

I like exploring cities, and I almost always do it on foot. When I see something odd while walking, like a new fence, a boarded-up storefront, or a sign for a project I've never heard of, I get curious. The answer usually doesn't exist online.

Greg's blog answers those questions. He doesn't just report on how Redwood City is changing. He notes the history too: the old stores, the businesses that used to be there, and the small tributes to them that most people walk right past.

So when I got the chance to walk with him, I took it. He really does walk everywhere.

One moment stuck with me. We stopped at a dog park under construction in Elco Yards, and Greg pointed to a pole. It was an homage to a historic business on the other side of the tracks. I would never have noticed it on my own.

Later, I returned the favor. I invited Greg to East Palo Alto, where I lived at the time, and this time I was the guide. We walked around and looked at how things were changing.

Why Palo Alto, and why now

My wife and I recently moved to Palo Alto. The main reason was walkability: downtown and the Palo Alto Caltrain station. East Palo Alto is mostly residential, so there weren't as many places to walk to. Here, there are.

Once we settled in, I kept thinking about those Redwood City walks. It seemed like Palo Alto should have something similar. So I reached out to Greg and asked if I could borrow the "Walking ___" name. He gave me his blessing, and that's how Walking Palo Alto started.

I hope it's not the last one. Every city could use a Greg, or a few people walking it and writing down what they see. If you start one for your own city, let me know.

Why Palo Alto is good for walking

A big part of Palo Alto's charm is that it's walkable, and a lot of that comes from when it was built. Many of its streets were laid out before World War II and the car boom. Plenty of the homes date back to the early 1900s.

You can feel it. The blocks are smaller, the streets are narrower, and there are fewer big expressways cutting through. That's different from other parts of Santa Clara County, and from Orange County, where I grew up.

I get around by lots of means: walking, biking, driving, transit, train, bus, rollerblading, and even tandem biking. But walking is the common denominator. It's how most people see a place, and it's how I think people can best experience Palo Alto.

Not new to Palo Alto, but new to living here

I'm not new to Palo Alto. For the last six years, I've been here several times a month, in different parts of town: Downtown Palo Alto, California Ave, the Palo Alto side of San Antonio station, Ventura, , different parks, and various neighborhoods where friends were hosting events.

But I've now been a resident for about a month, and I've walked nearly every day. I've walked downtown, to Stanford, to the Stanford Shopping Center, and into Menlo Park.

I'm also walking at different times of day: mornings, midday, after work, and sometimes after 9pm. That has changed how I see the city. Before as a visitor, I'd usually try to head home by 8pm.

Last Friday I did my first night walk down El Camino toward Downtown Menlo Park and back, and I loved it. I bumped into a friend from East Palo Alto at El Palo Alto Park who was out walking with his wife after dropping off their son at martial arts class nearby. I also stopped to talk with the crossing guards again, to check in after the two accidents earlier this week.

That's the kind of thing I want to capture here. I'm in my thirties and thinking about starting a family in Palo Alto, and I'd like to share what that looks like from the sidewalk.

What I'll write about

This blog won't mainly be about new development. That's Greg's lane, and he does it well. I'll write about what I notice as someone who just moved here and still sees things with fresh eyes.

Downtown keeps changing. I see new restaurants all the time. I count at least five new Pilates and workout studios in the last year or two. Companies come and go, and General Motors, where I work, is moving to Palo Alto soon.

The people I meet. When I walk, I talk to people. I've run into friends at Johnson Park and at cafes. I hear startup chatter at coffee shops all over downtown. I make a point of talking with the people who work for the city, like the crossing guards and security staff at the Palo Alto Avenue and Churchill crossings. I've also chatted with the crews working on the San Francisquito Creek rehabilitation project to learn what they're up to. I'll share what I hear, as conversations rather than official sources.

311 requests. Palo Alto's 311 system, PaloAltoConnect, is mostly used by people on foot, because few people take photos of potholes or broken sidewalks while driving or biking. I've filed a few requests myself, and I'll share some of them and what I learn.

What to expect

I plan to post a few times per month. Expect short, casual posts about the walks themselves. If you have a route to recommend, a bit of local history, or a question you want answered, send it my way. You're also welcome to join a walk, and even write a post on this blog about what you saw.

My next walk will be to downtown Menlo Park at night. But the one I'll do most is the everyday walk to the Palo Alto Caltrain station. It's where this started, and I'll keep coming back to it.

See you on the sidewalk.