Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, July 20, 2017 6:30 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Cordes called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. ROLL CALL Present 7 - Chair John Cordes Commissioner Timothy Oey Commissioner Catherine Barry Commissioner Susan Bremond Commissioner Angela Rausch Commissioner Scott Swail Commissioner Kyle Welch Council Liaison attendance: Council Liaison Russ Melton (present) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS City Council Member, Russ Melton, introduced himself and stated that the Council has approved the twelve month budget which includes $350k to update the Bicycle Master Plan. Member of the public, Kevin Jackson, spoke on several items. The Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) project will transition to the City and will be coordinated through the Department of Public Safety. He suggested that BPAC be involved as well. He inquired about the ADA Transition Plan Report and would like to know where it is in the process. Since communication to the BPAC is of public record, he would like to know how the public can access the information. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission In January, BPAC was given a link to access the status of City projects, but he said it has not been updated since December. He would like to know if that will be kept up to date and how the public can access the data. One of his concerns is the reduced parking requirements being proposed for the Auxillary Dwelling Units (Granny Houses) which would lead to more street parking and less space for bicycle use. He suggested that the Commissioners take a look at the deferred study issues soon and not wait until September to see if any changes are needed. Specifically, DPW 16-03, DPW 17-06 and DPW 17-10. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.a 17-0657 Approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of June 15, 2017 Commissioner Oey moved to approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of June 15, 2017. Commissioner Welch seconded the motion. The vote carried by the following vote: Yes 7 - Chair Cordes Commissioner Oey Commissioner Barry Commissioner Bremond Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Swail Commissioner Welch No 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2. 17-0731 Mary Avenue Overcrossing Update Ria Hutabarat-Lo, Transportation and Traffic Manager, gave an update on the Mary Avenue Overcrossing and presented the five project options along with a visual presentation. The options include a bicycle and pedestrian crossing with and without vehicles, a bicycle and pedestrian crossing with transit only and a "no build" option. She stated they are currently working on a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and hope to have it ready for public review by October. It will go to the Planning Commission and then to City Council. Chair Cordes asked if BPAC would be able to see the report and give their input before it goes to Council. Manuel Pineda, Director of Public Works, will look at the City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission schedule and let him know. Mr. Jackson expressed his opinion on the Mary Avenue Overcrossing. His first choice would be option 4, pedestrian and bicycle only and his second choice would be option 3, two lanes for busses and shuttles only. He also stressed the difference between designing bike lanes for recreation riders versus commuters. Dave Simons, VTA BPAC Commissioner, expressed his concerns with integrating the Mary Avenue Overcrossing with the current infrastructure. He suggested adding a link to the John W. Christian Trail and if that is not doable, adding a belvedere to the project. Matthew Asuncion, a student at Saint Francis High School, said he was in favor of the new overpass. He commented that the surface on parts of the John W. Christian Trail are less than desirable. Many have loose gravel and are not easy to ride on. He suggested that any connections to that trail, have a better surface. Commissioner Cordes agreed that adding a connection to the John W. Christian Trail would be a good idea and would like to see cycle tracks on Mary Avenue to Central Expressway be included in the Bike Plan. He also noted that If there is no safe way to get to the bridge, it will not be utilized. 3. 17-0722 Election of Officers Chair Cordes called for nominations for the position of Chair and Vice Chair. Commissioner Rausch nominated John Cordes for position of Chair. Commissioner Cordes accepted. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 6 - Commissioner Oey Commissioner Barry Commissioner Bremond Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Swail Commissioner Welch No 0 Abstain 1 - Chair Cordes Commissioner Welch nominated Commissioner Oey for position of Vice Chair. Commissioner Oey accepted. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission Yes 7 - Chair Cordes Commissioner Oey Commissioner Barry Commissioner Bremond Commissioner Rausch Commissioner Swail Commissioner Welch No 0 Ralph Garcia, Senior Transportation Engineer, announced that Chair and Vice Chair training will take place on Monday, July 31, at 6:00 p.m. 4. 17-0633 Recommendation to City Council on the Update of the Transportation Strategic Program and Adopting a Resolution Amending the City's Master Fee Schedule for Traffic Impact Fees Alternative 1: Recommend to City Council the Update of the Transportation Strategic Program and Adopt a Resolution Amending the City's Master Fee Schedule for Traffic Impact Fees. Mr. Pineda gave an overview of the City’s Traffic Impact Fees (TIF), which was last updated in 2013. He described how the City collects the fees and how the fees are used. Due to recent land use plans, transportation projects within the City and the inclusion of $6 billion dollars of Measure B funds for transportation infrastructure, an update to the City’s Master Fee Schedule for TIF is needed. He explained how the new fees are calculated using the transportation model and projects are identified using a nexus study. The fees are comparable to fees collected in neighboring cities. The following changes to the TIF were noted: - Caltrain grade separations added to the fee - Pedestrian improvements added - Bicycle improvements increased from $1.5 million to $10.0 million - Previous fee included $287 million in improvements with $136 million from TIF and updated fee includes $906 million in improvements with $126 million from TIF Chair Cordes asked why the model uses level of service as a measure instead of evaluating vehicle miles traveled, if the model assumes an increase in alternative transportation mode share and how the projects identified will improve level of service to acceptable levels. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission Mr. Pineda stated that Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has not provided standards for evaluating vehicle miles traveled at this time. The transportation model assumes travel mode share will change based on existing inputs and anticipated changes such as land use or transit improvements. The Land Use Transportation Element (LUTE) included a comprehensive traffic analysis that identified traffic mitigations to improve the transportation network. The LUTE traffic analysis was used to develop land development plans as well as the projects identified in the updated TIF. Mr. Simons noted that pedestrian funding traditionally leaves out landscaping which is needed for shading. He also stated that the level of service metric traditionally has only worked for automobiles and is not a good support for bicyclists and pedestrians. Commissioner Oey moved to approve staff recommendation with the addition that they ask council to increase fees further to account for more spending for bike and pedestrian improvements. Commissioner Swail seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following vote: Note: Commissioner Rausch left the meeting at 7:30 p.m. before the vote was taken. Yes 6 - Chair Cordes Commissioner Oey Commissioner Barry Commissioner Bremond Commissioner Swail Commissioner Welch No 0 Absent 1 - Commissioner Rausch STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES Commissioner Oey proposed a potential study issue to see the impact of requiring a designated bike facility for all streets having greater than 25 miles an hour and forbidding sharrows. Chair Cordes seconded the proposal. Commissioner Oey proposed adding a bicycle pedestrian bridge at the Bay Trail near Carl Road to be included in the Bike Plan update. Commissioner Bremond proposed a potential study issue to close Murphy Avenue City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission to vehicle traffic. Commissioner Oey seconded the proposal. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Oey would like to see a standing agenda item for allowing VTA BPAC to have a two way interaction. Chair Cordes requested Shahid Abbas, Transportation and Traffic Manager, to look into it. Commissioner Barry stated that she received a contribution of 25 water bottles from Sports Basement to hand out at the State of the City event. Commissioner Cordes asked members to give a brief introduction of themselves since there are three new Commissioners. Mr. Simons announced that on August 8 there will be a bike summit through the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition (SVBC). Information can be found on the website. At the recent VTA workshop, they discussed the county routes and what will and will not be included in the map. He said what is important to look at is the map of potential funding for the future. Los Altos presented a design to improve the route between San Antonio and El Monte. Mr. Simons will email the minutes of the meeting to the BPAC. Chair Cordes requested a speaker clock. Mr. Abbas will order one. Chair Cordes would like an update of the ADA Transition Plan. Mr. Abbas agreed to add it to the Active Items List. Chair Cordes requested to have a list of proposed study issues on the September agenda. -Staff Comments Mr. Abbas requested a list of projects to be included in the Bike Plan update. Mr. Garcia reminded the Commission to attend the State of the City on July 29. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 17-0723 BPAC 2017 Annual Work Plan 17-0724 Active Items List - July 2017 City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final July 20, 2017 Commission 17-0725 State of the City - VIP Meet and Greet ADJOURNMENT Chair Cordes adjourned the meeting at 8:54 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 7