Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, July 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 6:35 p.m. in the West Conference Room. ROLL CALL Present 7 - Chair David Jones Commissioner Kevin Jackson Vice Chair John Cordes Commissioner Richard Kolber Commissioner Margaret Okuzumi Commissioner Angela Rausch Commissioner Kyle Welch Council Liaison Glenn Hendricks (present) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Jones reminded all of the Silicon Valley Bike Summit scheduled for August 26 at which the Vision Zero plan will be focused on. Commissioner Welch announced that cyclists are still needed for the Wipeout Cancer Sports Day for Charity event on July 25. Welch also stated that the event will have a free Bike Rodeo for kids and that Bay Area BikeMobile will be there. Vice Chair Jackson reported that the Library Bike Repair Station is now open, the Caltrain board voted on a bike capacity of 12.5% on electric trains, and that he’s gotten positive feedback on the utility bill stuffer. Jackson also shared that a recent real estate newsletter had a walking, biking, and transit score on it. CONSENT CALENDAR Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Kolber seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes July 16, 2015 Commission Yes 7 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch No 0 1. A 15-0712 Draft Minutes of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting of June 18, 2015 1. B 15-0713 2015 Master Plan PUBLIC COMMENTS Dr. Erika Torres, citizen of Sunnyvale, shared safety concerns for bicyclists on Wolfe Road between Reed Avenue and Maria Lane and asked about the process for making improvements. Commissioners informed Dr. Torres that bike lanes are considered when streets are resurfaced, potential capital projects are considered annually when the Department of Public Safety reports on bicycle and pedestrian collisions, and community input is received by the Council when there is a new development such as Butcher’s Corner. A resident of the City of Santa Clara expressed concern that there are few connecting bike lanes between Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Planning Commissioner Dave Simons, Sunnyvale’s representative for the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) BPAC, informed the Santa Clara resident that the VTA is currently collecting input on the Countywide Bicycle Plan. Mr. Simons discussed the last VTA workshop. One item discussed was the Crossroads software used to report collisions; the other item was the interim plan for the Page Mill/I-280 Interchange. Simons also shared the concept of unbundled parking, paying for parking separately from housing or office space. PRESENTATION 15-0711 Commissioner Led Presentation - Bollards/Chicanes on Off-Street Paths Vice Chair Jackson reviewed the Caltrans Highway Design Manual (HDM) on Bike Paths and shared how many posts and gates on off-street paths do not follow the guidelines; they are safety hazards for bicyclists and pedestrians. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes July 16, 2015 Commission PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2. 15-0246 Approval of the Mathilda Avenue Plan Line Alternative 1: Recommend that Council Approve the Mathilda Plan Line, direct staff to update Municipal Code Section 19.06.050 to reflect this plan line and file the plan line map with the County Recorder's Office. Jennifer Ng, Assistant City Engineer, presented the Mathilda Avenue Plan Line. The grant funded plan aims to identify both the limits of the right of way needed to build the roadway and how bike lanes can fit in the roadway. The goals of the plan include providing safety, comfort, and convenience for all types of users and modes of transport as well as increasing livability and quality of life. Marcelo Cosentino, Technical Consultant, provided technical details. Commissioners expressed concern regarding lane widths for both vehicles and bicycles. Assistant City Engineer Ng informed Commissioners that the typical sections presented are conceptual alignments and that Council will be approving the east and west right of way limits of Mathilda. Dave Simons, representative for the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) BPAC, expressed concern regarding the planter widths in relation to the speed limit and stated that the plan should meet the VTA’s Pedestrian Technical Guidelines. Mr. Simons also recommended that planter boxes have large trees and engineered fill to ensure that the trees have a long life and that their roots do not uplift the sidewalk. Vice Chair Jackson expressed concern that the existing policy section of the plan does not include the Street Space Allocation policies. Mr. Jackson recommended looking at Land Use Transportation Element (LUTE) policies LT-5.9 through 5.21 and picking out appropriate policies to be included in the plan. Jackson also voiced his disagreement with the wording of the plan as it states it completes the bicycle network on Mathilda. Commissioner Cordes suggested extending the northern limit of the plan from Washington Ave to Evelyn Ave for connectivity to the train station. Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Okuzumi seconded the motion to accept the staff recommendation with the additional points of clarification that were raised. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes July 16, 2015 Commission Yes 7 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch No 0 3. 15-0714 Election of Officers For the office of Chair, Vice Chair Jackson nominated Chair Jones for re-election. No further nominations were made. For the office of Vice Chair, Commissioner Rausch nominated Commissioner Cordes; Commissioner Okuzumi nominated herself. Commissioners elected Commissioner Cordes. 4. 15-0715 Proposed Study Issues Vote Principal Transportation Engineer Carol Shariat informed Commissioners that a majority vote must be taken to propose Study Issues. Commissioner Welch moved and Vice Chair Jackson seconded the motion to propose a Study Issue on adopting a Vision Zero Plan within the City of Sunnyvale. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 7 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch No 0 Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Okuzumi seconded the motion to propose a Study Issue on investigating what it will take for City-owned off-street paths to comply with the Caltrans HDM and the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) guidelines. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes July 16, 2015 Commission Yes 7 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch No 0 Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Okuzumi seconded the motion to propose a Study Issue on creating a centralized database for bicycle and pedestrian projects that the public can access. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 7 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Welch No 0 Vice Chair Jackson moved and Commissioner Welch seconded the motion to propose a Study Issue on developing procedures to ensure off-street parking capacity is included in parking surveys. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Jones Commissioner Jackson Vice Chair Cordes Commissioner Kolber Commissioner Okuzumi Commissioner Welch No 1 - Commissioner Rausch NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes July 16, 2015 Commission Commissioner Comments Commissioner Okuzumi reported on the 12-year-old boy who passed away after being hit while bicycling on El Camino Real near Henderson Ave. Okuzumi stressed the importance of the Vision Zero Plan. Vice Chair Jackson recommended including BPAC meeting information as part of every response to the public for any emails that come in through the BPAC Answerpoint to let them know they are welcome to attend and discuss their concerns. Jackson also requested reevaluating the language that comes to BPAC Commissioners stating that they cannot contact the public. Principal Transportation Engineer Shariat stated that the template is provided by the Office of the City Manager but she will look into it. Staff Comments Principal Transportation Engineer Shariat announced the following agenda items changes: • Peery Park Specific Plan scheduled for August will be moved to a later date • Wolfe Road Corridor Study will be moved to August Vice Chair Jackson agreed to move his Buffered Bike Lane Standards presentation to September. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 15-0716 Active Items List ADJOURNMENT Chair Jones adjourned the meeting at 9:43 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 6