Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee

City of Mountain View Minutes Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Wednesday, April 26, 2023 6:00 PM Plaza Conference Room and Video Conference, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041 SPECIAL JOINT MEETING WITH LOS ALTOS COMPLETE STREETS COMMISSION To view the meeting video corresponding to the provided timestamps, please go to: https://mountainview.granicus.com/player/clip/4534. 1. CALL TO ORDER 1.1 Mountain View Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MV BPAC) Chair Kuszmaul called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. 1.2 Los Altos Complete Streets Commission (LA CSC) Chair Benerjee called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL 2.1 MV BPAC Staff Members Present: Assistant Public Works Director Ed Arango, Senior Traffic Engineer Darwin Galang, Assistant Public Works Director Damian Skinner, Transportation Manager Ria Hutabarat Lo, Active Transportation Planner Brandon Whyte, and Transportation Demand Management Coordinator Ben Pacho. Consultants Present: Kristin Hakoum, Alta Planning and Design and Teferi Abere, Mott MacDonald. Present 5 - Committee Member Lada Adamic, Committee Member Terry Barton, Committee Member Valerie Fenwick, Vice Chair John Stone, and Chair James Kuszmaul 2.2 LA CSC Staff Members Present: Transportation Manager Marisa Lee, Civil Engineer Nafiseh Shahbazi Commissioners Present: Chair Stacy Benerjee, Vice Chair Suresh Venkatraman, Commissioner Suzanne Ambiel, Commissioner Cynthia O’Yang, Commissioner Nadim Maluf, Commissioner Tom Gschneidner, and Commissioner Steve Katz. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Twenty-four members of the public were present. No public comment. 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.1 El Monte Avenue Corridor Study, Project 19-61 City of Mountain View Page 1 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes April 26, 2023 Committee Barton recused himself from this item due to a real property conflict of interest. Galang provided a presentation on El Monte Avenue Corridor Study (1:38:08). Public comments (2:24:23): Terry Bush stated that backups occur at stop signs, indicated his support for a road diet, and requested a sign to indicate El Monte and Springer. He was concerned that Hollingsworth median islands will cause delays to traffic exiting from the neighborhood. He also suggested speed feedback signs along El Monte. He indicated his appreciation for the public engagement process that Galang provided. Finally, he noted that the traffic calming on North Clark and Los Altos does not work. Jerry Maloney thanked Galang for public engagement and supported Alternative 3 to prioritize bicycle and pedestrian safety. Matt Styden, who lives on Hollingsworth, stated he fully supports the project, however he felt staff overestimated the capacity impact. He supported the road diet concept and anticipated a traffic-calming effect. He also requested durable curbs. Tim Cougan, who lives on Todd, supported the plan. He expected some traffic diversion to Todd, where there are traffic humps. He requested attention to potential consequences on Todd, Arroyo, and Vista Grande. Charles Mathis, who lives on Hollingsworth, supported Alternative 3. He stated his opposition to the diversions. Serge Bonte, who lives on Lloyd, supported the plan. He requested that the El Camino Real and Escuela intersection eliminate the driveway to the Walgreens. Bruce England supported reimagining the corridor as a green, complete street and supported eliminating the Walgreens driveway on El Camino Real. Silja Paymer supported Alternative 3 to encourage walking and biking. She encouraged the City to prioritize the life and safety of students over the speed of vehicle flow and suggested changes on side streets. Finally, she requested a raised element be brought to the crossings. Mary Dateo stated her support for Alternative 3 and requested plantings. She noted that the El Monte and Springer intersection allows for fast right turns which makes it very hard for cyclists to merge. She requested speed mitigation at this corner. At Escuela and El Camino Real, she suggested a separation of phases or no right turns on red at the Escuela and Walgreens intersection. Chris Parry spoke in support of Alternative 3. He wanted more detail on buffered versus protected bike lanes on El Monte. He supported use of rubber bumpers and objective metrics. April Webster expressed thanks for this work and supported Alternative 3. She requested protected bikeways and asked about AB 43. She also requested green street elements such as grasses in medians. She also requested no right turns on red at El Camino. Sharon Tan asked for an evaluation of effects on side streets like Mountain View Ave and Lloyd. She also mentioned a senior facility planned on El Monte. Committee Comments (2:50:52): Katz stated the devil is in the details. He requested consideration and addressing of diversion impacts. City of Mountain View Page 2 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes April 26, 2023 Committee Ambiel stated her support for the road diet. She noted that Clarke is a school route and requested baseline data collection for that street. She also noted speeding concerns on Springer. Finally, she reiterated concerns about diversion to Clarke at San Antonio and appreciated the opportunity to collaborate. Venkatraman commented that the implications will be felt upstream toward Foothill Expressway and reiterated the request for a traffic study on Clarke. Banerjee reiterated support for the project. Fenwick stated her appreciation for this work and reflected on the fatality at El Monte and Marich that precipitated this study and the quick build improvements in the area. She requested improvements at Escuela and El Monte at El Camino Real. She indicated that it was problematic that pedestrians on the south side need to press a button to continue walking on the sidewalk. She supported Alternative 3. Stone thanked community members and staff for their work and input. He supported Alternative 3 but felt that removing the left turn at Ednamary would be worth including in this alternative. He also asked for consideration of a roundabout at Springer and El Monte. Adamic noted that Google Maps routes drivers away from this location after the speed reduction in Los Altos. She noted that Marich is an important bike corridor, and asked for consideration of movements from Marich to El Monte. She also requested that a roundabout be considered at Springer and El Monte. Kuszmaul expressed concern about right turns at El Monte and El Camino and suggested the use of a protected intersection and prohibition on right turns on red. He also stated his preference to not to have a double left turn lane from El Camino to El Monte. He support removal of the left turn to Ednamary, use of protected bikeway elements, a speed reduction study with consideration of AB43, and clean-up of the El Monte and Springer intersection. Finally, requested tighter turn radii at corners such as Marich and Ednamary, even with temporary facilities. Motions (3:10:46): MOTION 1 – Recommend moving forward with Alternative 3 for El Monte with the additional recommendations for using raised elements for protected bikeways where feasible, incorporating green elements, reducing posted speed limits sooner rather than later, and the consideration of bike access from Marich to northbound El Monte. Fenwick/Adamic – 4/0/0 - passed - Barton absent MOTION 2 – Amend Alternative 3 to adapt the Alternative 2 design elements, eliminating the left-turn access from Ednamary to northbound El Monte. Stone/Kuszmaul – 3/0/1 - passed - Adamic abstained and Barton absent Yes: 4 - Committee Member Adamic, Committee Member Fenwick, Vice Chair Stone, and Chair Kuszmaul Recused: 1 - Committee Member Barton 4.2 Safe Routes to School Program Update Lo and Lee provided an update on the Mountain View and Los Altos’ Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs (00:03:59). City of Mountain View Page 3 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes April 26, 2023 Committee Public Comment (1:01:15): Serge Bonte suggested holistic maps and obtaining data from schools on the distribution of students. Matt Styden noted parking in bike facilities on Jardin and high rates of driving to Los Altos High School. Terry Bush requested that staff reach out to Foothill College. Jerry Maloney commented on a need for street sweeping, especially after storms. Silja Paymer suggested postcards to all residents, stop signs at Springer and Marilyn, Jardin and East, and flex posts on Jardin. Jill Woodford asked about closing streets during pick-up and drop-off times and commented on a lack of enforcement. April Webster suggested a joint Kidical Mass and more green complete streets. Committee Comment (1:17:52): Members expressed appreciation for the programs and collaboration between cities. Maluf stated schools are captive audiences and requested that staff work with teachers and also consider what sticks can be used in addition to the fantastic job staff are doing with carrots. Gschneidner requested that staff consider routes to Foothill College from both cities since LAHS students also take courses from Foothill College. O’Yang requested that staff pay attention to students in the gap between cities e.g., Los Altos students attending MVHS, requested collaboration on surveys, and shared learning. Ambiel requested that surveys ask the same questions at the same time in both cities. She also requested that police departments be included in the program. Banerjee stated that she appreciated the Los Altos yard signs. She also referred to Los Gatos programs and suggested engaging members of the community to call school district executives if there are difficulties with teaching SRTS elements. Barton asked that staff consider moving drop-off zones further from the front of schools. Adamic requested coordination on Rengstorff access to Los Altos High School, increased bike parking and distribution across campuses, and consideration of preemptive messaging after enrolment and before the fall semester. Stone stated that bike trains make a difference. Fenwick requested targeted enforcement at the beginning of the school year. Kuszmaul requested a tracking system for crossing guards to escalate issues, more police enforcement that prioritizes protecting students from vehicles rather than penalizing students for minor errors, and consideration of school access after regular hours as students are riding home from on-campus activities in the dark. 5. COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS City of Mountain View Page 4 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes April 26, 2023 Committee 5.1 Staff Comments Staff Comments (3:24:44): Whyte shared about Mountain View Bike Month activities, including a Bike Month proclamation by City Council, an Active Transportation Plan bike ride, and Bike to Wherever Day energizer stations. Lee shared about Los Altos Bike Month activities, including a proclamation, bike to school day, bike light giveaways, recycled bike drive, family bike day, Bike to Wherever Days, pledge to ride, and the downtown Bike n' Dine event. She also shared an update on El Camino Real, which will be repaved with the addition of Class IV protected bikeways in both Mountain View and Los Altos. 5.2 Committee Comments Committee Comments (3:43:00): Banerjee noted that VTA is working on the Central Bikeway. 6. SET DATE AND TIME FOR NEXT MV BPAC MEETING: 7. MV BPAC CALENDAR 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Submitted for approval by Brandon Whyte. Approved on September 27, 2023 City of Mountain View Page 5