Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, September 18, 2014 6:30 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Jones called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the West Conference Room. ROLL CALL Present 5 - Vice Chair Kevin Jackson Commissioner John Cordes Chair David Jones Commissioner Richard Kolber Commissioner Angela Rausch Absent 1 - Commissioner Kyle Welch Commissioner Welch's absence was excused. Council Liaison Dave Whittum (present) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Chair Jackson announced that Margaret Okuzumi was appointed to the BPAC, the Utility Bill insert came out, and Dave Simons was away on business. He then spoke about VTA BPAC items which included the Valley Transportation Plan 2040, Senate Bill 743, and noted that the County is updating the Bicycle Expressway Guidelines. He added that Safe Routes to School is back with the new school year and announced three events coming up at various schools. Vice Chair Jackson referenced AB 47 which will help reduce hit and run collissions and AB 1532 raises the penalty for hit and run crimes to the same level as drunk and driving. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. A 14-0913 Draft Minutes of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission Commission Meeting of August 21, 2014 Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Kolber seconded the motion to approve the draft minutes of August 21, 2014 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 5 - Vice Chair Jackson Commissioner Cordes Chair Jones Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Rausch No 0 Absent 1 - Commissioner Welch PUBLIC COMMENTS Ralph Durham, Private Citizen, stated that in the future he would like to see the BPAC propose a Study Issue to maintain any bicycle lanes that are on the road during periods of construction. He noted several issues and gave examples of cities that have done this. Chair Jones stated that VTA had bicycle accommodations for construction zones and guidelines. He asked staff to follow-up with VTA to see if the accommodations were still available. Mr. Pineda stated that staff would contact VTA and ask for a copy of the guidelines. Vice Chair Jackson asked if the Temporary Control Guidelines were available on the City’s Website. Mr. Pineda responded that staff would double check to make sure the guidelines were on the City’s Website. Mr. Durham referred to the Homestead project and traffic control was discussed. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2. 14-0702 Implementation of a Bike Share Program (Study Issue) Chair Jones asked for a staff report. Carla Ochoa, Traffic Engineer, presented the staff report. Commissioner Kolber asked if the bike share study considered where optimal places within Sunnyvale would be to place stations. Ms. Ochoa responded that typically you would see them in the downtown area and as the system grows next to the Caltrain corridor and El Camino Real. She noted that it would become City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission challenging to get the half mile space between the stations between El Camino and the Caltrain station. Mr. Pineda spoke about various opportunities throughout the City where you could place stations. Some areas included Peery Park, Moffett Park, Downtown, and the El Camino corridor. He added that as Peery Park and Moffett Park develop, density will be added and it could make the program more successful. Vice Chair Jackson commended staff for writing a very thorough report. He then noted that the only item he disagreed with was the placement of on-street stations and removal of on-street parking. He suggested changing the language in the report to make it clear that parking is being added but not car parking. He then added that in addition to monitoring Bay Area Bike Share staff should also monitor other programs around the country because some of them operate differently. He asked that staff make sure the Bay Area Bike Share coordinators know we are monitoring them but also actively engaged with them and very interested in joining them when conditions warrant that. Chair Jones shared that he reviewed the July VTA BPAC meeting agenda which included an update on the Bike Share Program. He commented on the report and stated that he felt staff was right on point with the recommendation and is looking forward to having destinations at Peery Park once that plan is developed better. Chair Jones then stated that the VTA presentation made mention of carbon offsets and asked staff if the City will get to capitalize on that if the City is paying a fraction of the infrastructure cost. He added that the City should try to get the carbon credits back. Commissioner Cordes stated that it could be very beneficial to Sunnyvale to start exposing residents to the idea that the Bike Share Program is coming. He noted that a lot of cities start with two stations and suggested placing a station at the Caltrain station and another station at the library. He noted that having a demo station would trigger people to start using the bicycles to get from one place to the other. He asked the BPAC what they thought about having a starter program with a couple of stations. Vice Chair Jackson stated that he did see the attraction in that suggestion however, he noted that administrative costs tend to go up per station when you have fewer of them. Ms. Ochoa gave an estimate of the cost per station per year. Vice Chair Jackson stated it might be a good idea to do a survey for the residents and ask them if they would consider using them for any trips if bicycles were available. He added it would be an easy way to get feedback without having to spend any money. City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission Mr. Durham, commented that with the size of Peery Park and future density with houses and townhomes positioning of the stations will be key. Commissioner Kolber agreed with Vice Chair Jackson’s comments about looking at other operations outside of the bike share program in the Bay Area and also added that it would be a good idea to start looking at where the best places would be to place the bike share stations as part of a study. Mr. Pineda stated that at the moment staff is not proposing to do a study but to monitor the existing program and when there is an opportunity to expand a determination will be made. Mr. Pineda then stated that staff did take a look at possible locations where the bike stations could be located. He mentioned that six locations were looked at which included Caltrain, Downtown, Peery Park, Civic Center, Moffett Light Rail Area, El Camino Real and possibly the Community Center. Chair Jones asked for a motion. Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Cordes seconded the motion to approve Alternative 2: Monitor the Bay Area Bike Share Pilot Program for resolution of ongoing funding issues at a regional level before re-evaluating the future of a bike share program in Sunnyvale. Vice Chair Jackson added to take all reasonable steps to keep the BPAC informed as conditions change and let the BPAC know how that affects the suitability and if we are moving towards a condition where implementation would be reasonable. He noted that the program is very desirable and that even though it seems we are not ready now for the program that we try to move to that point as rapidly as possible. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 5 - Vice Chair Jackson Commissioner Cordes Chair Jones Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Rausch No 0 Absent 1 - Commissioner Welch 3. 14-0918 Study and Budget Issues Finalization City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission Mr. Pineda gave a brief overview of the Study Issue process. Vice Chair Jackson stated that BPAC would like to see a draft version of their proposed Study Issues before they go to the City Manager's office. He gave examples of previous proposed Study Issues that the BPAC had not reviewed. Mr. Pineda asked for clarification on the following proposed Study Issues: • Convert Part-Time Bicycle Lanes on Homestead Road to Full-time Bicycle lanes • Determine steps to move forward to becoming a Silver Level in the League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly Community • Safe Routes to Walk and Bike to Nearby Schools Map • Parking Survey for Provision of Bicycle Space Commissioner Kolber proposed the following Study Issue: • Connecting Sunnyvale Bike Lanes and Bike Routes to other City Bike Lanes and Bike Routes The Study Issue received a second by Commissioner Cordes. Commissioner Cordes proposed the following Study Issue: • Sunnyvale to look at the development of labeled signed routes with Wayfinding Signs to connect people The Study Issue received a second by Vice Chair Jackson. 4. 14-0919 Discuss Potential Impacts of not having a Reliable Bicycle Path for Levi Stadium Chair Jones reminded BPAC that the issue regarding a bicycle path to Levi stadium came up in last month’s meeting. The item was discussed and Chair Jones stated that Councilmember Whittum represents Sunnyvale in the VTA’s Board of Directors and perhaps could bring the issue up to VTA. Commissioner Kolber asked if the issue had been discussed with the City of Santa Clara. Chair Jones responded that it was a topic at their BPAC meeting and they were working with the stadium. He noted that the real issue is the security plan that the stadium develops with Homeland Security and any changes to stadium security changes need to be addressed with stadium administration. Councilmember Whittum stated that he brought up the issue during an informal meeting which included a staff member from VTA. He added that he felt he needed City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission additional facts to work with and asked for a sketch indicating what is being asked for and information on Homeland Security requirements. Chair Jones stated that he would respond to his email regarding the issue. Mr. Durham shared his experience with the trail to Levi stadium and stated that the final environmental impact report stated that the creek trail would be used to allow pedestrians and other cyclists to get to the stadium. He discussed additional information with the BPAC about the creek trail noting that it would be closed 1-3 days before games which would impact a lot of people. Vice Chair Jackson discussed the item with BPAC and stated that the impact goes far beyond the actual closures to discouraging people from even thinking they can use the trail because they will not know when it will be available. Mr. Durham noted that signage was supposed to be posted stating stadium events for the next 3 to 4 months but did not notice any signs on either end. Vice Chair Jackson stated that he did not feel the bike path was being closed because it posed a security threat but because the people making the decisions do not feel a bike path is important at all. He further discussed the item with the BPAC members and stated that he felt someone should be in charge of this matter and be approached with the message that this is a problem. Chair Jones explained that there are a lot of all various issues that that the City of Santa Clara is trying to prioritize and resolve. He noted that stadium authority has the direct connection to the security plan and even though you cannot hear about the place feedback is accepted. The Commission stated that they would be interested in hearing any updates on the item. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Vice Chair Jackson requested that the Work Plan and the Active Items list be included in all of the agendas. He then spoke about the Bernardo Caltrain undercrossing and asked staff to email a copy of the Feasibility Study to the BPAC. Commissioner Cordes announced that he attended the Mountain View BPAC meeting. He noted tht the major issues discussed at the meeting were: making Castro Avenue a complete street, a bike path on the street side and where the bike City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 18, 2014 Commission paths should be located, and what is being proposed for the Permanente Creek to do an underpass. -Staff Comments None. ADJOURNMENT Chair Jones adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 7