Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, February 18, 2021 6:30 PM Telepresence Meeting: City Web Stream CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order N-29-20, issued by Governor Newsom on March 17, 2020, the meeting was conducted telephonically. Chair Mehlinger called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present 6 - Chair Richard Mehlinger Vice Chair Leia Mehlman Commissioner John Cordes Commissioner Arwen Davé Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Timothy Oey Absent 1 - Commissioner Scott Swail Dennis Ng, Transportation and Traffic Manager, Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer and Ralph Garcia, Senior Transportation Engineer attended via teleconference. Commissioner Swail's absence is excused. Council Liaison Melton was absent. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chair Mehlinger opened for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger closed for Public Comment. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.A 21-0328 Approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2021. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission Approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2021 as submitted. Commissioner Hafeman moved and Commissioner Oey seconded to approve item 1.A. The motion carried the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Cordes Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 Absent 1 - Commissioner Swail PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 21-0329 Discussion on Design Concepts for 2021 Utility Bill Insert Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer, discussed the 2021 Utility Bill Inserts. Ms.Tsang explained that the insert will be attached to the July/August Utility bill. Chair Mehlinger opened for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger closed for Public Comment. Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - How to trigger traffic lights Commissioner Cordes commented on the following: - Attachment 1 liked the best - proper driving - Attachment 4 - discussion of the Hawk Beacon Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Happy get out and ride message - Traffic safety message - Outreach on the advantages of Electric bicycles & cargo bikes City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following: - One side: bicycle/auto safety - One side: things that drivers should not do Chair Mehlinger asked when the insert needs to be finalized by the BPAC. Ms. Tsang stated the final insert needs to go to the print shop by June. Commissioner Hafeman asked if the insert is two sided. Ms. Tsang stated the insert is two sided. Commissioner Davé commented on the following: - Alerting public where new bike lanes are located - Traffic speeds and affect on casualties Commissioner Cordes commented on the following: - Modes of travel by carbon footprints: e-bikes/bikes, walk, transit, etc - Most trips are done within 3 miles and easily done with a bike - Safety messages Vice Chair Mehlman commented on the following: - One side with a message, i.e. impacts of vehicle travel speed - Other side with an encouraging message Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - Supports the why bike and walk message - Vision Zero speed issue - What not to do on one side and what to do on the other Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Tell residents to look at the Active Transportation Plan, Vision Zero Plan etc. - QR code to the City's Transportation and Traffic Safety Webpage BPAC directed staff on what to include for the inserts: - Advantages of cycling/e-bikes - Speed kills/Slow Down - HAWK Beacon (previous insert as draft) - Advertise New Bike Lanes - Link to City Transportation webpage City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission - How to properly deal with an intersection - Bike Loop/Camera Triggering 3 21-0330 Discussion on Projects for Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Application Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer, discussed the Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Grant Application. Ms. Tsang stated there was an updated attachment for this item that is uploaded on the website. In past years amounts attained have ranged from $120,000 - $185,000. Commissioner Oey asked if there is an ongoing list of ideas that have been talked about in the past. Ms. Tsang stated there is no ongoing list. Ms. Tsang listed the following requirements to obtain the grant: - The project needs to be included in a locally approved bicycle and pedestrian, transit, multimodal, complete streets or other relevant plans - Maintenance, Class I shared use path and Class IV separated bike ways - Bicycle and Pedestrian safety education programs - Develop a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian facility plan Commissioner Cordes asked if staff has TDA funding ideas or is it just from the suggestion of the BPAC. Ms. Tsang stated staff does have a few ideas to suggest to the BPAC. Ms. Tsang listed the following ideas: - Installing Bike Repair Stations at City Facilities - Install Curb Extensions at Helena and Kennewick, near Cupertino Middle School and Homestead High School - Bank funds for future use to install a HAWK at Fremont and Sydney (cost close to 500k) Chair Mehlinger opened for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger closed for Public Comment. Commissioner Cordes recommended the following: - El Camino Real should be at top of priority list - 8 high priority bicycle spot projects on El Camino Real, from Bernardo to Henderson City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission - Prefers not to spend on bike repair stations Commissioner Oey recommended and commented on the following: - Likes Commissioner Cordes' suggestion for El Camino Real - Las Palmas Park gate widening/removal at Crawford Drive at Spinosa/Las Palmas Park - Fix the safety issue on the Bay Trail at the corner of the Moffett Park Golf Course. The wooden bridge has metal grates on it which causes accidents - Bank for improvements on El Camino Real Commissioner Hafeman recommended the following: - Supports El Camino Real improvements - Improve Low-Stress Bike Routes from Class II bike lanes to Class II buffered where possible Chair Mehlinger recommended the following: - Adding a few sites for crosswalks on Borregas Avenue - Remove minor ADA access barriers - Reserve 2/3 of the funding for improvements on El Camino Real and the remaining 1/3 for E-bike, Las Palmas Park and the Bay Trail improvements Commissioner Cordes suggested not to spend funding on installing bike repair stations at City facilities. Vice Chair Mehlman suggested the following: - Prefers not to bank. Feels like it's another delay; more important to get things done quickly. Perhaps quick build Commissioner Davé suggested the following: - Safety as top priority - Would like more rigor in how we make decisions, not based on anecdote - Does like bike repair stations Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Does not feel repair facilities are a good investment - Should not be banking for the most part. Instead get safety improvements done first Commissioner's considered but rejected the following: City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission - HAWK Beacon at Carson and Mary because the cost for this improvement is more than the anticipated grant funding amount for this fiscal year, and therefore, it would require banking until enough grant funding is saved up. Commissioners would like to see improvements to be implemented sooner. Commissioner's recommended to staff to consider the following: - Bicycle improvements on El Camino Real - Improve Low-Stress Bike Routes from Class II to Class IIB where possible per ATP - Remove minor ADA barriers at the following locations: - Columbia Park off Alturas - Las Palmas Park gate widening/removal (Crawford at Spinosa/Las Palmas Park) - Bay Trail at corner of Moffett Park golf course and Sunnyvale West circulation pond (remove metal grates) - Other sites identified on neighborhood pathways Chair Mehlinger called for a recess at 7:41 p.m. Chair Mehlinger reconvened the meeting at 7:49 p.m. 4 21-0331 Report and Discussion of Recent Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting Timothy Oey, VTA BPAC Sunnyvale Representative, gave the meeting summary report regarding the following topics: - VTA is allowing rear boarding and no fare required on buses - Complete Streets improvements are being done in Mountain View and in Santa Clara on El Camino Real - County considering doing an Electric Bike Pilot Program same as City of Gilroy in which four people are getting up to $2,000 per bike - Project initiation documents requests for modifying interchanges to improve bike/ped access - Changes to the bus routes as part of the Bus Stop Balancing project Commissioner Cordes thanked Commissioner Oey for the report and commented on the following: - Caltrans and helping other Cities to improve El Camino Real Vice Chair Mehlman asked if VTA could help with a Caribbean Drive project. Ms. City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission Tsang stated it is part of the SR 237/Lawrence Expressway Interchange project. Commissioner Hafeman asked what it would take to get the Fair Oaks/101 interchange on the PID list to make bicycling and pedestrians safer. Commissioner Oey stated all it takes is for the City to request VTA to look at it. Mr. Ng addressed the question. Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Rear door boarding on VTA - Contacting VTA on the Tasman Drive Complete Streets Corridor Study Chair Mehlinger opened for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger closed for Public Comment. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 5 21-0334 Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Bond Measure (Potential Study Issue) Ralph Garcia, Senior Transportation Engineer, discussed the Potential Study Issue proposed by Chair Mehlinger. Mr. Garcia explained if there is a vote from the BPAC tonight it would be placed on the proposed study issue list which will then be brought back at the September 16, 2021 meeting for Study Issue Sponsorship. Chair Mehlinger opened for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger closed for Public Comment. Chair Mehlinger discussed the merit and scope of the proposed study issue, highlighting the following: - Hard to get funding for building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure - State Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 - $100 million is starting point Vice Chair Mehlman asked if funding is through the Bond Measure would that be in addition to or in lieu of City allocated budget. Chair Mehlinger stated he hoped it would be in addition to. City of Sunnyvale Page 7 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission Commissioner Cordes asked if it has been considered to make part of the study issue to propose funding sources such as an employee headcount tax, parcel tax, business license tax or gross sales tax. How would this be paid off? Chair Mehlinger stated staff would review options to establish a funding source. Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following: - Strongly supports the study issue - Funding source needs to be part of the study - Having secure funding via the bond issue for implementing the infrastructure Vice Chair Mehlman supports the proposed Study Issue along with the proposed changes by Chair Mehlinger in terms of the date of 2024 instead of 2022. Chair Mehlinger moved and Commissioner Oey seconded the motion to adopt Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Bond Measure as a proposed Study Issue for the 2021 cycle with the modification that it is targeted for the 2024 election and not the 2022 election. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Cordes Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 Absent 1 - Commissioner Swail NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Oey suggested to Chair Mehlinger to not address the phone number and link at the beginning of future meetings to save time. Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following: - Mary Avenue Overpass meeting City of Sunnyvale Page 8 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final February 18, 2021 Commission Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Sending letter to City Council prior to Study Issue ranking session - Council Boards and Commission Sub-Committee Meeting Chair Mehlinger asked about the timeline of the proposed treatment for the Lawrence interchanges at 101/237 which is on the Roadway Safety Plan. Specifically, the diverging diamond interchange. Mr. Ng stated that it is part of the PID study and VTA and Caltrans are looking into it. Mr. Ng stated that Lawrence and 101 would be a separate project to review in the future. Commissioner Cordes commented on the following: - Thanked staff for updating the Active Items List - Study and Budget Issue Workshop on 2/25/21 - February 24, 2021 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm Basic Bicycle Advocacy Training. More information on the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition website. - City of Santa Clara - Pruneridge Complete Streets Study on February 25, 2021 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. More information on the City of Santa Clara's website -Staff Comments Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer commented on the following: - February 25, 2021 at 8:30 a.m - Study and Budget Issue Workshop for City Council - Updated Study Issue form will be emailed to all of the BPAC - Moffett Park Specific Plan team will be hosting a land use meeting on March 2, 2021 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. More information on the Moffett Park Specific Plan webpage INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 21-0332 BPAC 2021 Annual Work Plan Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer commented on the following: - City Council approved the Annual Work Plan on February 2, 2021 21-0333 Active Items List - February 2021 ADJOURNMENT Chair Mehlinger adjourned the meeting at 8:38 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 9