Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee

City of Mountain View Minutes Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Wednesday, September 27, 2023 6:30 PM Plaza Conference Room and Video Conference, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Kuszmaul called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Staff members present: Transportation Manager Ria Hutabarat Lo, Associate Civil Engineer Kathryn Robertson, Principal Civil Engineer Robert Gonzales, Senior Traffic Engineer Darwin Galang, Active Transportation Planner Brandon Whyte Twenty-one (21) members of the public were present, including 10 in person and 11 online. Present 3 - Committee Member Terry Barton, Vice Chair John Stone, and Chair James Kuszmaul Absent 2 - Committee Member Lada Adamic, and Committee Member Valerie Fenwick 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC (00:01:30) Bruce England noted that the agenda file included an ID number, which can make it more difficult for calling in. He also commented on A Day Without Driving on October 4. April Webster noted that Caltrans Draft Design Information Bulletin (DIB) 94 on Complete Streets was distributed earlier this year. Recently, there has been discussion about omitting interchanges from the Final DIB 94, which she suggested would mean that the Highway Design Manual (HDM) would prevail for pedestrian and bicycle facilities at overpasses such as at Shoreline. She also noted that there is a new Safe Routes to School assistance program and neighborhood grants program. 4. MINUTES APPROVAL 4.1 Approve Meeting Minutes April 26, 2023 Motions: (00:08:02) MOTION: Approve the BPAC meeting minutes of April 26, 2023. Stone/Barton – 3/0/0 - passed. Absent Adamic and Fenwick. Yes: 3 - Committee Member Barton, Vice Chair Stone, and Chair Kuszmaul 4.2 Approve Meeting Minutes April 27, 2023 Motions: (00:08:25) MOTION: Approve the BPAC meeting minutes from April 27, 2023 City of Mountain View Page 1 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes September 27, 2023 Committee Stone/Barton – 3-0-0 - passed. Absent Adamic and Fenwick. Yes: 3 - Committee Member Barton, Vice Chair Stone, and Chair Kuszmaul 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Grant Road and Sleeper Avenue Intersection Improvements, Project 21-39 Gonzales and Robertson provided a presentation on updates to the design for the Grant/Sleeper project. (00:09:15) Public Comment (00:22:11): Jack and Sharon Siegel, former MV mayor and community advocate, thanked members for their work and supported the project. He noted that this project was funded in 2011 and will take another year and a half to build. He appreciated the addition of the northern crosswalk. If traffic backs up through Cuesta and El Camino Real intersections, there should be ‘Keep Clear’ markings so that cars are not caught in the intersection when the light changes. The pedestrian crossing signal should be long enough for all pedestrians to cross safely. He highlighted the importance of the project for safety. Dale Kursten, retired MV firefighter from Waverly Park, noted that children use the crosswalk as a route from the trail and motor vehicle speeds have increased over time. Ken and Cindy Newman (aka Cynthia Palacio), resident from Villa Nueva, noted that when she walks and bikes to Cuesta Park or formerly to work she would use the intersection of Eunice-North and Grant. This intersection may receive increased traffic with this project. She was not in favor of the use of posts and medians due to her experience of being trapped in a protected bikeway from a passing truck. She supported a restricted left-turn only during peak hours, not 24-7. She felt the project was over-designed and was concerned about cut-through traffic increasing on Eunice, which will block Villa Nueva exiting traffic Chris Sotobahn, a resident from Villa Nueva, was concerned that the turning restriction may cause confusion with the posts and that there may be backups on Carol Ave. Ann Bradford, resident from Wood Leaf Way, was confused about what movements would still be permitted and how they affect school traffic on Eunice. Silja Paymer supported this project and appreciated the improved protection for when she crosses with children. She also appreciated the northern crosswalk, which aligns with the crosswalk. April Webster was excited about the intersection design and improved safety. She supported the use of vertical delineators. She expressed concerns about the effects of long project times and encouraged staff to undertake a project post-mortem to identify ways to improve efficiencies, implement incremental measures. Marcy Marcus expressed concern about congestion on Eunice from left turn restrictions. She suggested a partial left turn restriction. She noted that many students and parents drive, which could contribute to backups. As a parent she indicated that she walks to street lights at the next intersection. David Unjerik, resident of Sleeper, supported a crossing solution at Sleeper/Grant because there is a lot of bicycle traffic on Sleeper. He would prefer to add turn restrictions without the posts initially. He asked why a second crosswalk was needed and how that would affect traffic and supported the first option. City of Mountain View Page 2 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes September 27, 2023 Committee Ling Lang from near Sleeper noted that she used the existing crossing with young children and noticed that drivers on the opposing side do not see her. She felt the design was overkill and requested a beacon. She questioned the benefit of the second crosswalk and wondered about effects on traffic. Committee Comment (00:58:56): BPAC members acknowledged the varied input that they have received and generally supported the proposed design. Kuszmaul clarified the following items: Robertson’s email was on the mailer. Saint Francis has an access from the medical center, and access to Sleeper from southbound Grant will remain open. Barton expressed excitement about addressing safety concerns and hoped projects could be ranked based on Vision Zero and objective criteria. He noted community comments on overdoing or underdoing the design. He asked to move the project forward as designed, with the opportunity to consider a full signal later based on performance. Stone echoed public support for safety improvements and appreciated the design including the right turn blackout. He hopes that the City can move projects like this forward faster in the future. Kuszmaul expressed appreciation for the project, particularly including second crosswalk and the no right on red feature. He wondered if more substantial posts should be included in the design. He also supported any efforts to move projects faster. 6.2 Update on National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Designing for All Ages and Abilities Guide Whyte provided a presentation on the NACTO Designing for All Ages and Abilities Guide. (01:09:54) Public Comment (01:31:07): April Webster, Caltrans D4 BAC, noted that Middlefield over SR 85 is a gap with DIB 94 and would require a Caltrans exemption. Committee Comment (01:33:01): Kuszmaul expressed hope to see this guidance applied within the City. 6.3 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Update Adamic provided written comments on the VTA BPAC Updates. (01:33:31) No Public Comments. Committee Comment (01:35:02): Kuszmaul and Stone appreciated the written comments. 6.4 BPAC Fiscal Year 2023-24 Work Plan Whyte provided updates on the BPAC work plan and tentative agenda list. (01:35:20) No public comments. City of Mountain View Page 3 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes September 27, 2023 Committee No committee comments. 7. COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1. Staff Comments Whyte provided staff updates on Bike Month activities including: Bike to Wherever Days; progress on the TDM ordinance work; PROWAG publication to the federal register; outreach to Springer Meadow Neighborhood Association; hosting and participation in Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit; presentation of Castro pedestrian plaza at the California APA Conference; surveys and various outreach events for the Active Transportation Plan; recent infrastructure upgrades on Calderon and Leong-Fairchild; A Day Without Driving; and Monster Bash. He also provided an update on AskMV reports from March through April including trail closures, bike lane blocking, and powerwashing of sidewalks on Castro. Lo also noted that Whyte was nominated for Professional of the Year. (01:45:07) No public comments. Committee Comment (02:07:02): Kuszmaul appreciated the efforts to make more nimble pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the City. Barton asked about emergency repairs on El Camino in advance of the repaving. 7.2. Committee Comments No committee comments. 8. SET DATE AND TIME FOR NEXT MEETING: Wednesday October 25, 2023 9. CALENDAR 10. ADJOURNMENT Kuszmaul adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. Submitted for approval by Ashley Winsor. Approved on October 25, 2023. City of Mountain View Page 4