Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, April 16, 2015 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 6:36 p.m. in the West Conference Room. ROLL CALL Present 5 - Chair David Jones Commissioner Kevin Jackson Vice Chair John Cordes Commissioner Richard Kolber Commissioner Margaret Okuzumi Absent 2 - Commissioner Angela Rausch Commissioner Kyle Welch Commissioner Welch's absense was excused. Commissioner Rausch's absence was excused. Council Liaison: Mayor Griffith (present) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Greg Unangst, Mountain View BPAC, invited the Commissioners to BPACs Meetup at the Silicon Valley Bikes! Festival on May 3. Vice Chair Jackson reported on the Council Study Session on the status of Sidewalk Maintenance and Repairs. He also requested help with Juniper Networks’ Earth Day Fair and the Fit & Fun Earth Day Fair. Mr. Jackson shared details on proposed legislation in Sacramento and stated that Bay Area Bike Share is expanding. Commissioner Kolber announced panel on Housing Affordability on April 18. CONSENT CALENDAR City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes April 16, 2015 Commission 1 A. 15-0450 Draft Minutes of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting of March 19, 2015 1 B. 15-0451 2015 Work Plan Commissioner Kolber moved and Commissioner Cordes seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 5 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi No 0 Absent 2 - Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch PUBLIC COMMENTS David Simons, Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) BPAC, reported on the planning conference he attended. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2. 15-0452 Bike to Work Day Planning Transportation and Traffic Manager, Shahid Abbas, discussed staffing at the energizer stations and the food and drinks to be bought or donated. Commissioner Cordes asked if the budget could be donated to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition for their grab bags. Mr. Abbas stated that the money is generally used for refreshments. Commissioner Cordes also asked about the number of people who visited the stations last year. Mr. Abbas approximated a couple hundred people. Chair Jones shared information about what worked for his energizer station in the past. Commissioner Okuzumi asked if staff followed up with the inquiry from Walmart. Mr. Abbas stated that staff did not but can look into it. Commissioner Cordes asked about City staff calling for donations and Mr. Abbas stated he would look into the policy. Vice Chair Jackson discussed reporting counts following the event and cautioned Commissioners about servicing bicycles. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes April 16, 2015 Commission 3. 15-0453 City of Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Policies Vice Chair Jackson reviewed policies, encouraged Commissioners to be familiar with them, and discussed the importance of policy consideration in Reports to Council for Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) compliance. Commissioner Okuzumi asked about the process for updating the bicycle map. Commissioner Cordes concerned about updating the Bicycle Master Plan. Mr. Abbas stated that the map is scheduled for update next year and that the plan is scheduled for update in 2017. Mr. Abbas stated that Commissioners may request a Study Issue for the next fiscal year budget for Bike Plan updates and that he will also keep Commissioners informed of funding opportunities, if available, to expedite the Bike Plan updates. Vice Chair Jackson requested the MTC Routine Accommodation check list to be included in projects for BPAC review. Mr. Abbas stated that he is not aware of the checklist, nor does VTA or MTC require the City to complete one for projects requiring VTA approval, but that he will follow up on it. Mr. Simons discussed VTA project prioritization and stated that projects that are on the County’s Bike Plan can have access to outside funding. He recommended getting future projects with regional significance, such as connectivity from east to west, on the County list. Chair Jones commented that Section 1 of the Bike Plan has information on these types of projects. Commissioner Cordes and Commissioner Okuzumi stated that they would like the bicycle and pedestrian policies to be added to the BPAC webpage. Mr. Abbas stated that staff would do this. Mr. Simons suggested including the VTA Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guidelines to the collection. Mr. Abbas stated that the City follows the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Commissioner Okuzumi asked Mr. Simons if VTA staff could present the differences between VTA Design Guidelines and the CA MUTCD. Mr. Simons stated he would look into it. Mr. Abbas stated that staff will provide a link to the VTA Bicycle Technical Guidelines on the BPAC website. Robynn MacNeal, member of the public, stated the importance and need of sidewalks being widened in the vicinity of schools. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes April 16, 2015 Commission -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Cordes asked about the union contact information to discuss City policies that could promote alternative modes of transportation among employees. Mr. Abbas stated that he would email the information. Commissioner Cordes and Commissioner Okuzumi requested an updated list of OneBayArea Grant (OBAG) projects along with projects as presented in the City Bicycle Plan and the Pedestrian and Safety Opportunities Study for providing effective oversight of the projects. Mr. Abbas stated that it would require a lot of resources and coordination with other departments; however, he will provide regular updates on OBAG projects. Commissioner Cordes and Commissioner Okuzumi also requested that the Active Items List be updated and organized. Vice Chair Jackson shared his experience of grant program reviews in previous years and asked if that collaboration and open process could continue. He also suggested a comprehensive project review every couple years and to have on the BPAC webpage links to the Pedestrian Safety and Opportunity Study and the Comprehensive School Traffic Study. Mr. Abbas stated that he would look into getting project overviews for the Commissioners. -Staff Comments Mr. Abbas mentioned that the Principal Transportation Engineer, Carol Shariat, sent an email to Commissioners regarding the May 6 presentation on creating healthy, safe streets that help neighborhoods thrive. He also stated that the Commissioners will receive OBAG project updates. Vice Chair Jackson concerned that the project descriptions on the updated OBAG list don’t match the descriptions from the March 2014 meeting minutes. Commissioner Okuzumi concerned about the status of the Fair Oaks/Tasman East Channel Trail project that was on last year’s list but is missing from the current list. Vice Chair Jackson requested a reconciliation of projects from both lists. Mr. Abbas stated that he would look into it. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 15-0454 Active Items List ADJOURNMENT Chair Jones adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4