The Street Design Prototypes illustrate street improvements consistent with this document’s Street Design Guidelines and local community and Grand Boulevard Initiative objectives. The Prototypes focus on the features of a general corridor-wide vision with common pedestrian-, transit-, and bicycle-oriented design elements, and are intended to be consistent with Caltrans, SamTrans, VTA, and C/CAG standards and policies.

The Prototypes show a range of options for roadway improvements. Like the Guidelines, the Prototypes are specifically intended to encourage locally-initiated street improvement projects. The trees, lights, paving, and other materials shown in the prototype images are not intended to establish a single design treatment for the corridor. Rather, individual communities and/or agencies are encouraged to establish materials and design treatments as they consider appropriate.

Special attention will need to be paid to unique frontage conditions along the corridor, such as the Stanford University frontage in Santa Clara County, which according to the 2000 Stanford Community Plan and General Use Permit must retain an informal, park-like character. In areas such as these, local agency or institution plans or design guidelines (such as the Stanford University Plan for El Camino Frontage and the City of Palo Alto El Camino Real Master Schematic Design Plan) will form the basis for future improvements. However, a possible outcome of the GBI Multimodal Corridor Plan effort would be for local agencies/institutions to align their future plans to the GBI vision to the greatest extent possible.