How safe is downtown Palo Alto? / Commute on 101S?

[staplegunsarefun]

SpotCrime.com has a pretty decent/detailed crime map for palo alto (and several other bay area suburbs). If you are considering a specific neighborhood in palo alto (or menlo park, or santa clara, or one of the other suburbs they have mapped), and you are concerned about safety, it is definately worth checking out.

http://www.spotcrime.com/ca/palo+alto

[cardinal2007]

Middlefield and University is pretty close to downtown, but it is generally safe. I wouldn't worry about crime in EPA, unless you actually go there often.

As for traveling Central Expressway isn't particularly fast until you pass San Antonio all the lights and the 25 mph limit in some areas, doesn't make it fast, it is somewhat quicker when you get to MV, and it is really quick passing Sunnyvale. But I've never tried the morning commute on it, just other times. But regardless of traffic it is not that fast in Palo Alto.

[LostinCalifornia]

Hi Mauler,

The downtown is very safe. Of course "safe" is a relative term. IMO it's much more sheltered and *feels* safer than neighboring Redwood City or Sunnyvale. You see nothing but well-to-do people walking up and down University, dining out at restaurants, shopping at high-end boutiques, frequenting an old movie theater that plays the classics, etc. It's the portrait of an upscale, insular, small town, picture perfect Americana community. Also in my opinion it's the nicest place to live on the Peninsula in terms of beauty, cultural offerings (which are few in the region, but PA's downtown is livelier and nicer than others), safety, and community. Plenty of people jog and walk dogs at 11 p.m. without worry. Brand new luxury cars line the streets.

If you visit the area you'll know immediately that it's very safe.

Good luck.

[thehomsar]

I used to wander around Downtown PA alone when I was 10... if you're worried about your safety here, well I don't know where you could handle. The bridge over the creek is considered the "border" of PA/EPA, it's like the DMZ.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

Honestly a mile is a long way when it comes to neighborhoods.

Evergreen in San Jose is less than a mile away from some of the gang riddled neighborhoods.

Yep, that mile makes a big difference. I've worked in Palo Alto for almost nine years now and I've never felt unsafe there. You should not have anything to worry about there.