Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee

City of Mountain View Minutes - Final Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Wednesday, September 30, 2020 6:30 PM Video Conference with No Physical Meeting Location This meeting was conducted in accordance with State of California Executive Order N-29-20, dated March 17, 2020. All members of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee participated in the meeting by video conference, with no physical meeting location. 1. CALL TO ORDER Greg Unangst called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Staff members present: Ria Hutabarat Lo, Transportation Manager; Aruna Bodduna, Transportation Planner; Damian Skinner, Assistant Public Works Director; Dawn Cameron, Public Works Director Two members of the public were present. Theron Tock arrived at 6:35 p.m. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Bruce England shared about problems he has had with loop detectors for bicycles at various intersections. 4. MINUTES APPROVAL Bruce England commended the way that PDDs were covered in the minutes from the B/PAC meeting on August 26, 2020. 4.1 Minutes Approval Approve the minutes from the B/PAC meeting on August 26, 2020 with the following edit: Indicate that “some” members felt that bike priority was a higher priority than the 8-phase signal, while others suggested that reconfiguring the intersection could support an even more pedestrian friendly intersection such as a scramble signal. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Public Works Department Update Public Works (PW) Director, Dawn Cameron, provided an update on the Department: City of Mountain View Page 1 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes - Final September 30, 2020 Committee After Shelter in Place in March, the Department focused on essential services, and professional staff were abruptly sent to work from home without proper resources. A majority of PW professional staff are parents of young children juggling multiple roles. During this time, staff continued to respond to community members and advance City projects. They also launched new COVID-related initiatives such as Castro Summer StrEATS and pedestrian recall phasing, both of which were very staffing-intensive. Since March, the City has had high vacancy rates, with Public Works reaching 25% vacancy at the peak and the Transportation team at 50% since March. High vacancy rates are partially due to COVID-related activity and staff shortages in the HR Department, as well as a large number of recent retirements, and difficulties recruiting key positions. In some cases, vacancies will remain due to budget impacts of COVID-19. Due to staff shortages or changed conditions, there has been a need to pause or slow several projects such as Castro Pedestrian Plaza Feasibility Study, the scooter share pilot, and the Automated Guideway Transit Phase 2 Study. Staff has restarted many of the Transportation related projects and are working on new initiatives to undertake equitable and effective community engagement under current conditions. In presenting the Work Plan to Council, staff has indicated that there may be a need to cancel some B/PAC meetings or delay other projects such as Vision Zero under current staffing levels. Vacancies are beginning to be filled, however, the Department has needed to prioritize essential positions such as fleet mechanics working on fire engines sent out as part of mutual aid firefighting efforts. Public comment: Bruce England requested status updates on projects like Shoreline path, California-Escuela-Shoreline project, and loop sensors Committee comments: Several B/PAC members expressed appreciation for the update and insight into the issues that the City has been facing. Valerie Fenwick also suggested that this kind of information could make an informative blog post or letter to the editor. 6.2 Comprehensive Modal Plan: Prioritization Criteria Sam Corbett from Alta Planning and Design provided a presentation on the project. Public comments Bruce England commented that it was difficult to translate the maps into projects. He also commented on challenging conditions on Fairchild Drive, Middlefield Road and Grant Road. April Webster requested that the prioritization process include information on usage, perceived comfort, inclusion in VTA or Caltrans plans, and funding. She also requested information on sample scores for more corridors. Committee comments In general, B/PAC members supported the use of a principled and objective process to prioritize projects and noted that the weightings seemed adequate. Valerie Fenwick provided corrections via email and requested more granular information on sidewalk quality (such as obstructions) in addition to missing sidewalks. Shankari requested inclusion of utilization data. She also requested confirmation that the direction of each metric and confirmation of the number of overlaps for El Camino Real. City of Mountain View Page 2 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes - Final September 30, 2020 Committee Additionally, she asked if alternatives to CalEnvirioScreen were available. Lada Adamic requested additional weight for Sustainability factors and a citywide approach to segments. Theron Tock requested that breaking apart islands (such as getting across train tracks) be prioritized. He also requested prioritization of certain destinations such as middle and high schools, the senior center and the transit center. Greg Unangst expressed appreciation for the work, and noted that biking distance is further than walking. 6.3 Appointment to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Retroactively reappoint Greg to serve as the VTA BPAC and return to Mountain View B/PAC in January 2021 to consider a new VTA BPAC member with new B/PAC 6.4 B/PAC Fiscal Year 2020-21 Work Plan B/PAC members reviewed the FY 2020-21 Work Plan and inquired about the timing of the Pedestrian Master Plan (PMP) Update. The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the PMP Update will commence after a new Transportation Planner has been hired. 6.5 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Update VTA BPAC received a presentation by Joshuah Mello from Google on the Manila Bikeway between Ellis Street in Mountain View and Moffett Park in Sunnyvale. This facility crosses four jurisdictions including the Cities as well as VTA and Santa Clara County. Theron Tock noted that there is currently no bike access between Manila and the Light Rail station at Moffett Field. 7. COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1. Staff Comments On September 8, 2020, Council approved expansion of the Castro StrEATS program to activities beyond outdoor dining and extension of the program until two weeks after the end of the local emergency declaration, which is expected to occur sometime in 2021. Council also adopted Outdoor Mountain View (OMV!), a citywide outdoor dining program such as in parking lots. Additionally, Villa/Shoreline project is out to bid, and an upcoming Miramonte repaving project will include a segment of sidewalk gap closure. Grant/Sleeper Intersection improvements and the Comprehensive Modal Plan will have virtual community meetings on October 22, 2020 at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. respectively. B/PAC members noted that some fitness activities have been occurring in the City parks. 7.2. Committee Comments Valerie Fenwick appreciated the work on Shoreline Park trails and the detailed minutes. Shankari highlighted an MTC initiative to make Work From Home (WFH) permanent and mandatory. Greg Unangst noted that traffic on the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge were already approaching pre-COVID levels due to lower transit use. City of Mountain View Page 3 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes - Final September 30, 2020 Committee 8. SET DATE AND TIME FOR NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. 9. CALENDAR 10. ADJOURNMENT Greg Unangst adjourned the meeting at 8:41 p.m. City of Mountain View Page 4