Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee

City of Mountain View Minutes Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Wednesday, March 27, 2024 6:30 PM Plaza Conference Room and Video Conference, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041 1. CALL TO ORDER Stone called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Staff members present: Transportation Manager Ria Hutabarat Lo, Active Transportation Planner Brandon Whyte, Transportation Planner Priyoti Ahmed. Twelve members of the public were present, all were online. Present 5 - Committee Member Lada Adamic, Committee Member Valerie Fenwick, Committee Member James Kuszmaul, Vice Chair Terry Barton, and Chair John Stone 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC No public comment. 4. CONSENT (00:02:04) (00:02:44) Adamic requested that the meeting minutes be removed from the consent calendar. MOTION (00:03:42) Approve the remainder of the consent calendar. Kuszmaul/Fenwick – 5/0/0 passed Yes: 5 - Committee Member Adamic, Committee Member Fenwick, Committee Member Kuszmaul, Vice Chair Barton, and Chair Stone 4.1 Meeting Minutes January 31, 2024 (00:04:24) Adamic indicated that the minutes did not capture her concern that the pilot will negatively impact the use of pedestrian and bicycle facilities and this impact should be studied. MOTION: (00:07:39) Approve the minutes from the BPAC meeting on January 31, 2024 with the following edits: Change “how it affects their enjoyment of sidewalks” to “how it affects their enjoyment and the useability of sidewalks”. Add “but became negative after the pilot due to difficulties navigating the sidewalk” after “She indicated that she had been neutral before the pilot”. City of Mountain View Page 1 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes March 27, 2024 Committee Adamic/Kuszmaul – 5-0-0 passed. Yes: 5 - Committee Member Adamic, Committee Member Fenwick, Committee Member Kuszmaul, Vice Chair Barton, and Chair Stone 4.2 Safe Routes to School Final Report 2019-2023 Approved via consent calendar. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Vision Zero Action Plan and Local Road Safety Plan (00:09:08) Ahmed provided a presentation on the VZAP/LRSP Final Report. Public comment: (00:35:45) Bruce England noted that near misses are not shown and explained that community members would like to elevate Dana Street (S-19). He suggested Office of Traffic Safety funding for non-infrastructure recommendations and requested that reflective straps and lights be added to giveaways. In addition, he requested staff to continue providing legislative updates to BPAC and asked when the VZAP update would start. He also asked how the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program could be strengthened and suggested that bike repair include bikes in the custody of the Public Works or Police Department. Finally, he requested consistency in collision reporting and near-miss data. Nicholas Hargis thanked staff for the plan and upcoming work on Rengstorff. He suggested that staff explore right-on-red turn restrictions during school hours, such as in Menlo Park. He also supported high visibility crossings, especially on routes to school, and advanced stop bars before crosswalks. Silja Paymer suggested motorist education on window tinting restrictions, which affect children’s ability to make eye contact. She also requested crosswalk enforcement along Cuesta Drive and converting traffic circles into roundabouts to slow motorists. Holger Isenberg noted the high number of collisions involving drivers going parallel to bikes and asked about collisions caused by distraction with drivers on the phone. He suggested that the first step toward no-right-turn-on-red (NRTOR) would be enforcing stopping on red as required. Emil Abraham appreciated the data and the work with Caltrans. He also supported NRTOR restrictions and more roundabouts. Mary Dateo appreciated the work on this report and requested a strategy to adopt narrow lanes where possible to reduce speeds. Committee comment: (00:47:30) Barton appreciated the data-driven approach. He noted that a bicyclist who was knocked over by a motorist was informed that the Police do not take collision reports if there are no apparent injuries and requested that the Police always file a report if someone is knocked off their bike since they may not notice injuries immediately. Adamic appreciated the report. She noted that she regularly encounters vehicles parked in the bike lanes City of Mountain View Page 2 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes March 27, 2024 Committee and was informed that the City had issued 113 red curb and 13 bike lane citations. For a project tracker, she would like information on the project stage so the public can find out what is being worked on. She has heard many requests for NRTOR and requested an opportunity for the committee and public to discuss strategies to restrict turning-on-red. Finally, she appreciated that the SRTS Report addressed all schools and asked if there could be similar efficiencies in delivering design treatments everywhere. Fenwick expressed shock that bike collisions do not routinely generate police reports since insurance would request that report when injuries become apparent. She asked how autonomous vehicles appear in this plan and expressed concern about new vehicles with sharp, pointy corners. She also noted that the City has NRTOR in a few locations, such as Montecito and Rengstorff, and suggested NRTOR along the High Injury Network (HIN), Leading Pedestrian Intervals at signalized intersections and narrower lanes in residential neighborhoods and along the HIN. She also noted that trees will help to reduce speeds and suggested additional enforcement, including at stop signs. Additionally, she supported detached sidewalks to improve pedestrian daylighting and suggested an action to complete the sidewalk network, such as on Wright Avenue. She feels that the excuse about not completing sidewalks due to lack of redevelopment is outdated since people will cross the street at these locations. She also noted that some projects, such as Shoreline Pathway, take many years to complete, and would like Public Works to focus on completing projects sequentially to shorten time. Kuszmaul asked about red light cameras and requested further information on how to implement them. He appreciated the crash and project maps and is concerned that the City will not achieve the Vision Zero goal by 2030. He also wonders which current projects are not on the HIN. He appreciated CC-5, including evaluation on crashes, and is glad that the police department is part of the VZWG. He hopes that enforcement will be conspicuous and focused on the greatest issues. Stone was concerned about BPAC receiving data on pedestrian- or bicycle-involved collisions and requested information on police officers being called to a location due to a collision with a bicyclist or pedestrian. He expressed concern about the speed of implementation and the likelihood of achieving goals by 2030 and felt that updated standards, such as adopting MassDoT guidance, could help. He also requested rapid implementation and periodic (quarterly or annual) progress reports on action items, as well as time and cost estimates. 6.2 BPAC Fiscal Year 2023-24 Work Plan (01:14:44) Whyte presented information on the current Work Plan and Tentative Agenda List. No public comments. No committee comments. 6.3 Draft Fiscal Year 2024-25 Work Plan (01:17:44) Whyte presented information on the draft 2024-25 Work Plan. No public comments. Committee comments: (01:27:44) Kuszmaul, Fenwick, and Barton suggested a joint meeting with the Parks and Recreation Committee to discuss trails. City of Mountain View Page 3 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes March 27, 2024 Committee Stone and Adamic asked for a discussion of NRTOR. Kuszmaul suggested that BPAC be consulted on precise plans. Fenwick noted that she has been on BPAC for nearly eight years and has not seen a private development project (item E) come to the committee. She appreciated that moving fast may make it difficult to squeeze topics onto multiple advisory committee agendas and would appreciate a way for the Council to refer items early in the process. For example, Pachetti in San Antonio could have benefited from review. Alternatively, if developments do not come to BPAC, she would appreciate notice that important projects are going to the Council. She also requested that projects be named in such a way as to make it easy for people to understand what they are. Adamic noted a recent parking lot development at 24 Hour Fitness that does not allow pedestrians or bicyclists to access the site. She would be interested in expressing interest to the Council in being consulted in relation to upcoming precise plans. Finally, Adamic requested transparency tools on City projects (item D) to help understand the state of projects and advocate for planned improvements. Stone hoped that larger private developments or City capital projects that affect a significant portion of the roadway could come to the BPAC. He also hoped that good standards could be implemented with the Active Transportation Plan. Barton noted that development conditions are negotiated with the City, and he observed that the San Antonio developer steered the discussion to bike racks, not pedestrian and bicycle circulation. Motions: (02:00:11) MOTION – Request a work item to discuss potential modifications to City ordinances related to NRTOR at specific locations such as on the high injury network. Fenwick/Adamic – 5-0-0 passed MOTION – BPAC requests a presentation from Parks and Recreation staff about how they are planning for and accommodating active transportation in their activities and facilities. Kuszmaul/Stone - 3-0-2 passed (Fenwick and Barton abstain) MOTION – BPAC requests that staff presents any precise plans that are in review include bicycle- and pedestrian-related elements. 5/0/0 pass Fenwick/Stone – 5-0-0 passed MOTION – BPAC requests that staff maintains a list of active transportation projects that indicate their current status and presents this information on the website with periodic updates at BPAC meetings. 5/0/0 passed Fenwick/Adamic – 5-0-0 passed Yes: 5 - Committee Member Adamic, Committee Member Fenwick, Committee Member Kuszmaul, Vice Chair Barton, and Chair Stone 6.4 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Update City of Mountain View Page 4 Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Minutes March 27, 2024 Committee (02:11:04) Adamic reported on the VTA BPAC in March 2024, including a discussion on Equitable VMT Mitigation efforts, 101/Zanker Road Highway Interchange project, Bascom Avenue Complete Streets Improvements, and grant funding opportunities. Additionally, the February 2024 meeting included a a discussion of Design Information Bulletin 94, Monterrey Corridor in San Jose, Highway 9 and Highway 17 improvements. She also noted that she will be traveling and would suggest that someone take her place who can make more meetings. No public comments. No committee comments. 7. COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1. Staff Comments Whyte provided updates on Evelyn Technical Assistance, a new 3-way stop at Del Medio/Milla, crossing improvements at Mountain View/Ernestine, and staffing updates. He also highlighted upcoming bike rides on March 30, April 20 and April 26, and he provided updates on AskMV to September 2023. No public comments. No committee comments. 7.2. Committee Comments Fenwick noted many small improvements on Castro, with many people using it on the weekend. She also noticed that the traffic signals for north-south movement have been removed and pedestrian signals trigger vehicles immediately. 8. SET DATE AND TIME FOR NEXT MEETING: April 24, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. 9. CALENDAR 10. ADJOURNMENT Stone adjourned the meeting at 8:59 p.m. Meeting minutes submitted for approval by Brandon Whyte. Approved as amended on April 24, 2024 City of Mountain View Page 5