Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Thursday, March 17, 2022 6:30 PM Telepresence Meeting: City Web Stream CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to Government Code Subdivision 54953(e), the meeting was conducted telephonically; pursuant to state law, the City Council made the necessary findings by adopting Resolution No. 1089-21, reaffirmed on February 22, 2022. Chair Mehlinger called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present 6 - Chair Richard Mehlinger Vice Chair Leia Mehlman Commissioner Alex Bonne Commissioner Arwen Davé Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Timothy Oey Dennis Ng, Transportation and Traffic Manager, Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer and Thinh Le, Transportation Engineer attended via teleconference. Council Liaison Spitaleri (absent) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Public Comment opened at 6:35 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 6:35 p.m. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.A 22-0371 Approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission Meeting Minutes of February 17, 2022. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Approve the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission Meeting Minutes of February 17, 2022 as submitted. Commissioner Hafeman moved and Commissioner Oey seconded to approve item 1.A. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Bonne Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS Public Comment opened at 6:38 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 6:38 p.m. 2 22-0390 Discussion on Design Concepts for 2022 Utility Bill Insert Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer, discussed the 2022 Utility Bill Inserts. Ms. Tsang stated at the February 17, 2022 BPAC Meeting, the commission expressed interest of the following concepts: 1. Walk and Bike instead of driving (Front side of last year's insert) 2. Turn signals 3. Crosswalk safety 4. Parking rules 5. QR code to the proposed Bicycle Improvement Map or QR code to an online survey The commission shall choose two concepts (one per side) for the 2022 utility bill insert. Ms. Tsang stated they are working with the City's webmaster communication team to come up with a feasible solution regarding the QR code. Parking rules should include various parking rules instead of parking rules just for single family residential City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission areas. Public Comment opened at 6:41 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 6:41 p.m. Vice Chair Mehlman asked about the laws for vehicles in crosswalks. Ms. Tsang stated per the California Vehicle Code that if a pedestrian is in a crosswalk that is in the path of the vehicle then you have to stop. Once the pedestrian is no longer in the path of the vehicle, then you can proceed. Vice Chair Mehlman requested having the exact language stated on the insert. Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following: - Change the wording on the Crosswalk Safety to be clearer Ms. Tsang stated the inserts are a conceptual design and staff still needs to work with the communication team to finalize the graphics, message and wording. Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - Likes Walk or Bike Instead of Driving because of the picture on the insert - Likes the Use Hand Signals insert - Recommends to not choose the Crosswalk Safety insert until if it is determined if a new law passes Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Agrees with Commissioner Oey and should pick Walk or Bike Instead of Driving - Likes Use Hand Signals insert - Use Google forms for survey Dennis Ng, Transportation and Traffic Manager stated that the City has to follow the communications protocol and Google forms is not the surveying platform the City uses. Chair Mehlinger suggested postponing the survey until next year. Commissioner Davé commented on the following: - Recommends having a picture showing a pedestrian in the crosswalk with a vehicle coming towards them rather then just words Commissioner Bonne commented on the following: - Strongly agrees with Commissioner Davé about having a picture on the Crosswalk City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Safety Tips insert Chair Mehlinger suggested how the picture on the Crosswalk Safety Tips insert could look. MOTION: Chair Mehlinger moved and Commissioner Oey seconded to have "Walk or Bike Instead of Driving" on the front side of the insert. Chair Mehlinger stated that all the Commissioners like the "Walk or Bike Instead of Driving" insert and it is a very simple and attractive design. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Bonne Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 MOTION: Commissioner Oey moved and Chair Mehlinger seconded to have "Use Hand Signals or Your Blinkers" on the back side of the insert. Commissioner Oey stated he likes the design and it is very straightforward. Chair Mehlinger agrees with Commissioner Oey. Commissioner Davé suggested adding a line of text as to why you should use hand signals or blinkers. Commissioner Oey suggested highlighting the text "Ensure safety of all road users" by putting it in bold letters so it stands out for the readers. Commissioner Hafeman asked do you signal with your arm when you stop or about to stop? Commissioner Oey stated you signal what your about to do. Commissioner Bonne suggested removing the top text "Use Hand Signals or your City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Blinkers" and replace it with "Ensure safety of all road users" and get rid of the white bar of text. Don't need "For Drivers and For Bicyclists". The Sunnyvale logo could be removed as well. This will make more room for the cars blinking, bicyclists hand signaling and show cars going through the crosswalk and stopping for pedestrians. It is very important to remind drivers that it is imperative to stop at a crosswalk. Vice Chair Mehlman suggested adding text "Show your intentions, use hand signals and blinkers" and "Ensure safety of all road users". Chair Mehlinger suggested adding text "It's the law that drivers need to signal". FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Commissioner Oey likes to reduce the text and change text to "Use your signals and yield to pedestrians" for the headline and keep the drivers and bicyclists pictures and show a car stopping before a crosswalk. Have very simple pictures with less text that show the big picture of what is to be accomplished. Commissioner Bonne and Chair Mehlinger accept the friendly amendment. MOTION: "Use Your Signals and Yield to Pedestrians" as the headliner and diagram for the drivers and bicyclists and diagram of the crosswalk. Also, include text that says "It's the law that drivers need to signal". The motion carried with the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Bonne Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 3 22-0391 Discussion on Projects for Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Application Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer, stated that VTA provided the amount of TDA Article 3 funding for Sunnyvale for fiscal year 2022/23, which is $210,629. Ms. Tsang stated last month, BPAC directed staff to prepare a cost estimate to design and implement improvements at the intersections of El Camino Real/Francis Avenue and El Camino Real/Murphy Avenue. The cost estimate is City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission approximately $60,000. Staff is recommending to bank this year's funding so that it can be combined with next year's funding or additional years of funding to implement bigger projects in the future for the following reasons: 1. Can only bank the entire amount or use the entire amount for a specific project 2. If used the funding to implement the improvements at ECR/Frances Ave. and ECR/Murphy Ave., then the City would not be able to fully utilize the available funding and would leave money on the table 3. For economy of scale reasons it is not the most efficient way to allocate resources to implement small projects 4. Difficult to hire consultants in the current economy to work on small projects Ms. Tsang stated if the BPAC chooses to bank the funding for future use, no action by City Council is required. Public Comment opened at 7:09 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 7:09 p.m. Vice Chair Mehlman asked about the following: - If the funding could be used for quick build projects. Ms.Tsang stated it could be used for multiple projects that would need to be put all together to submit as one packet to VTA and MTC. - If banked, can the BPAC change their minds. Ms. Tsang stated if banked, then it could be revisited at the next year's BPAC meeting to discuss TDA Article 3 funding. - Deadline for submitting a project if not banked. Ms. Tsang stated the deadline to provide VTA and MTC what project is being submitted would be April 15, and City Council would need to adopt a resolution before end of June. Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - Have a longer list next year to choose from - Ok with banking the funds Chair Mehlinger asked about the following: - Last year's items that were asked to be studied. Will they be completed for next year? Ms. Tsang stated they will be completed before next year's TDA application. - City staff look at other locations in the City that have a similar design like the ones on El Camino Real - In support of banking funds this year City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission MOTION: Vice Chair Mehlman moved and Commissioner Davé seconded to go with City staff's recommendation to bank the funds for 2022/2023 for use in next year or for further banking. Vice Chair Mehlman stated she supports this motion for reasons outlined above and no specific projects lined up for this year that will have an application completed in time. Next year there will be more time to find out what to do with the funding and have more smaller projects. Commissioner Davé agrees with Vice Chair Mehlman. Commissioner Oey asked if this funding could be applied to larger projects? Ms. Tsang stated as long as there is a bike and pedestrian component, then it can be applied and these funds could be used as a matching fund for grants as well. Commissioner Bonne asked if funds are banked this year would the same amount of funds be available for next year plus inflation adjustments? Ms. Tsang stated it would be the same dollar amount of funds available this year without inflation adjustments. Commissioner Hafeman asked for clarification on why staff chose not to implement the shaving off of the triangles on Frances Avenue/Murphy Avenue? Was it due to not finding a consultant or is there not enough funds to implement it? Ms. Tsang stated the project is way below the available funding. So, if the funding was used for the project then the leftover funds would be lost. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Bonne Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 4 22-0392 Report and Discussion of Recent Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting City of Sunnyvale Page 7 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Commissioner Oey, VTA BPAC Sunnyvale Representative, gave the meeting summary report regarding the following topics: - Consent Calendar item to quickly reprogram $3,239,000 in funds where two OBAG Cycle 2 projects were cancelled and the money would be lost if not used immediately. The VTA BPAC unanimously approved the staff recommendation to award $807,000 to Cupertino for their Stevens Creek Blvd Class IV Bikeway Project and $2,432,000 to Los Gatos for their Los Gatos Creek Trail to Highway 9 connection ramps & bridge Project. - The VTA and County Staff summarized their overall project loads and what they work on. See the 2nd meeting agenda packet for these details. - The BPAC chair reviewed a proposed set of Leadership Priorities for VTA BPAC that aligned with VTA Board Chair Jones #2 and #3 high level objectives for 2022: 1. The Recovery of VTA’s Workforce and Transit Service 2. Advance Transportation Solutions Through City/County Collaboration 3. Fight Climate Change Through Sustainable Mode Shift 4. Strengthen VTA Governance - The top level VTA BPAC Leadership priorities are straightforward: 1. Advance plan to support mode shift to bike/ped 2. Serve as active, vital and effective county BPAC 3. Focus on ample funding for bike/ped projects Public Comment opened at 7:26 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 7:26 p.m. Commissioner Bonne asked about the following: - Types of projects on agenda Commissioner Oey and Dennis Ng addressed the question. Chair Mehlinger called for a recess at 7:32 p.m. Chair Mehlinger reconvened the meeting at 7:37 p.m. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 5 22-0397 DPW 22-02 Simplify Sidewalk Riding Ordinance Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer stated that the BPAC has asked to bring back this deferred Study Issue back and discuss and add to the scope of the City of Sunnyvale Page 8 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission study. Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - Specify lawful behavior - When on sidewalk should move at pedestrian speed - Establish an ordinance for the speed limit for bicyclists while riding on a sidewalk - Rephrase the current Sunnyvale Municipal Code Commissioner Bonne commented on the following: - Agrees with Commissioner Oey to impose a bicycle speed limit on the sidewalk - Predicting of other mobility devices - In support of having an ordinance that states the bicycle speed limit while riding on a sidewalk Vice Chair Mehlman commented on the following: - Walking 5mph is a very brisk walking pace and 10mph is extremely fast - Should have bicycle speed limit as 5mph or less Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Current ordinance is ambiguous - Vague ordinances grant excessive leeway to police officers to determine what is/is not a safe situation - Safety of pedestrians which includes speed limit and yield to pedestrians - Recommends staff to rewrite scope of the study - Eliminate discussion on personal electric vehicles, motor scooters etc. - Focus on it is legal to operate a bicycle on a sidewalk as long as you yield for pedestrians Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - Staff's recommendation on how to rephrase the study issue and what should be the speed limit - Many reasons why bicyclists need to ride slowly on the sidewalk MOTION: Chair Mehlinger moved and Commissioner Bonne seconded to re-scope the study issue to include only the following points: - Legalizing riding a bicycle on the sidewalk regardless of age as long as the rider takes due care and yields to pedestrians and remains under a to-be-determined speed limit. City of Sunnyvale Page 9 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Chair Mehlinger asked Mr. Ng if that is feasible thing to do? Mr. Ng stated this will be difficult for staff to define a speed limit and a lot of outreach would need to happen to figure out what is the correct speed limit for all users. Mr. Ng stated staff could re-write it but he is not sure that a good outcome can happen regarding the speed limit. Commissioner Hafeman asked if an E-bike is considered a bicycle? Mr. Ng stated an E-bike is considered a motorized bicycle and there are vehicle codes that govern and prohibit it from being ridden on a sidewalk. Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following: - Riding in the wrong direction on a sidewalk is very dangerous as cars pulling out of the driveways don't usually look in the opposite direction - Walk your bike on the sidewalk if need be Commissioner Davé commented on the following: - Calculate speed based on impact to pedestrian if you hit them Chair Mehlinger clarified that his motion only includes legalizing acoustic bicycles on the sidewalk. Vice Chair Mehlman commented on the following: - Get rid of motorized if going to say bicycle - Ordinance should state anyone can ride on the sidewalk in direction of traffic Mr. Ng proposed an alternative where staff would work with Chair Mehlinger and Commissioner Oey to come up with iterations then re-agendize for the BPAC for reconsideration. Chair Mehlinger and Commissioner Oey approves of meeting with staff to discuss further. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Chair Mehlinger moved and Commissioner Bonne seconded to instruct Chair Mehlinger and Commissioner Oey to work with City staff to develop a study issue to legalize riding a bicycle on the sidewalk taking due care and yielding to pedestrians and remains under a to-be-determined speed limit. Commissioner Bonne accepts the friendly amendment. The Friendly Amendment carried with the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 10 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission Yes 6 - Chair Mehlinger Vice Chair Mehlman Commissioner Bonne Commissioner Davé Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Oey No 0 NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS Public Comment opened at 8:08 p.m. No speakers. Public Comment closed at 8:08 p.m. -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Oey commented on the following: - May is Bike Month, Bike To Wherever Day is on May 21 and energizer station - Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is looking for nominees for Bike Champion of the Year Ms. Tsang stated City staff will not be hosting any energizer stations this year. Commissioner Davé asked about the following: - Bike Champion of the Year Chair Mehlinger commented on the following: - Saturday, March 19 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m - Sunnyvale Crow Ride departing from 255 South Pastoria Avenue Vice Chair Mehlman commented on the following: - March 18 - San Jose Bike party -Staff Comments Lillian Tsang commented on the following: - Current provisions for teleconference only meetings to be held over zoom instead of in person are set to expire for City Council as well as Boards and Commissions on March 22. - City Clerk has sent out a online survey to the Boards and Commissions to obtain feedback in preparation of the transition to hybrid teleconference in person public City of Sunnyvale Page 11 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 17, 2022 Commission meetings. - Draft El Camino Real Specific Plan EIR and specific plan documents available for public to review. Public comments end on April 5. - VTA working on a Countywide Local Roads Safety Plan to improve safety on local streets and are currently obtaining input from the public. Input can be provided on the VTA Countywide Local Roads Safety Plan website at https://tjkmweb.wixsite.com/vtalrsp by Friday, April 22, 2022 INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 22-0393 BPAC 2022 Annual Work Plan 22-0394 Active Items List March 2022 22-0395 2022 Deferred Study Issues 22-0396 2022 Council Ranking of Study Issues ADJOURNMENT Chair Mehlinger adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 12