Class Project Gains Legs

"Amrita Mahale, a masters student in engineering at Stanford, explained that their assignment in class was to create a social movement that would reduce gas consumption, and after looking at traffic mitigation around campus, she and her fellow students thought that University Avenue would be more visible and significant. They started a Facebook page, which she was proud to note had over 1300 members in less than two weeks, canvassed businesses along the street to build support among a key constituency, conducted informal surveys of street users to measure their response ("all positive" she said), and enlisted Palo Alto's former mayor and current councilmember, Yoriko Kishimoto, who has become a champion for the proposal.

"Now I think we have enough momentum for the city to take us seriously," said Mahale."