Mountain View North Bayshore Transportation Plan to have better bike, shuttle, and transportation demand management

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Adina Levin

On February 5, the Mountain View City Council is expected to consider an updated version of the draft Transportation Plan for the North Bayshore Area, the site of Google’s headquarters. The new version is expected to include stronger provisions for bike access, shuttles based on feedback at an October study session

Following the guidance of Mountain View’s new General Plan, the proposal presented in October included strong goals to reduce drive alone mode share, already near 40% thanks to Google’s solid transportation demand management program.   Below are the goals that Mountain View will need to achieve in basic, mid-growth, and high growth scenarios.

The proposal calls for a Transportation Management Association to provide shuttles and bike programs to all the employers in the area, with a trip cap or parking cap to limit vehicle traffic.

 

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Mountain View provides new incentives to use transit, shift mode share

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Adina Levin

In recent weeks, in individual new developments and plans for districts, Mountain View is moving forward with a variety of ways to incent transit use and shift mode share away from driving alone.

Nonprofit Transportation Management Association

In a new development on Clyde Avenue, close to Caltrain and light rail in the Whisman area, the developer agreed to provide a transit shuttle and set up a nonprofit Transportation Management Association to run it.  The shuttle route will be designed for employees at the office building being built for Samsung, and will also be open to the public, along the lines of Stanford’s highly successful Marguerite shuttles.  The TMA will also ofter programs such as bicycle parking, car sharing vehicles, and transit pass subsidies.

The developer, TMG, has experience with this approach, starting about 15 years ago in Emeryville.  A shuttle to BART was set up for their first client.  Over time, the shuttle program grew to carry 1.4 million passengers to BART and other local destinations.

The TMA will start with a single client, Samsung, but plans to reach out to other developments in the area. At the City Council meeting on March 19, a TMG representatives said that they were eyeing the opportunities in North Bayshore across the freeway, where a Transportation Management Association is being considered as part of the transportation plan to achieve agressive new mode share Goals.

Update: on Tuesday April 2, at an Environmental Planning Commission study session, developer Merlone Geier announced that they were working with TMG to bring the new Transportation Management Association to the San Antonio area as well, where city council has prioritized TDM as one of the top public benefits (see below).

Mode Share goals in North Bay Shore Precise Plan

In the North Bayshore area, where Google is headquartered, the City Council moved on March 26 toward setting a goal to slash the drivealone rate from 62% to 45% by 2030, in a study session last Tuesday.

To achieve the goal, the City Council wants to see a Transportation Management Association to coordinate programs and incentives, improved ride share programs, and greater capacity on the Highway 101 Shoreline Boulevard Offramp.

With this goal, the area would still see an increase in vehicle traffic from 13,800 vehicles in the peak morning commute to 16,400, if an expected 3.4 million new square feet of development takes place.

Transit passes for residential developments

In two new 4-story apartment complexes on El Camino Real, Mountain View is requiring transit passes as part of approving the developments on March 26.  A 162-unit development by Prometheus at the site of the former Tropicana Lodge hotel at 1720 El Camino Real will be required to provide a transit subsidy via Clipper Card or receipt reimbursement for 15 years.  Another 150 unit development at 865/881 El Camino Real will provide residents with VTA Eco Passes without a Caltrain option.  The city will collect data to evaluate the success of the different approaches.

Mountain View is also considering transit pass subsidies for a new development at 100 Moffett Boulevard, at the intersection of Moffett and Central, across the street from the downtown Mountain View transit center with Caltrain, light rail, and buses.   The final program hasn’t yet been set, but the Environmental Planning Commission has recommended a 3-year cash value subsidy for all new residents.

Standards for transit incentives are expected to be included in a precise plan being developed for El Camino in Mountain View, according to planning director Randal Tsuda as reported by the Mountain View Voice.

Bike and Pedestrian improvements and TDM for San Antonio area

Along related lines, on April 19, the City Council identified bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and Transportation Demand Management programs, as key areas for public benefit in the San Antonio area, where developments are moving forward, getting Council approval on a one-off basis, while the City works on a precise plan for the area.

Posted in Mountain View | 5 Comments

Revised San Antonio development turns parking lots into street grid; Council prioritizes investments in bike, pedestrian, and car trip reduction

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Adina Levin

The Mountain View City Council last week agreed to let the next phase of a major development to move forward, guided largely by the visioning process held in the second half of 2012.

At least at the sketch level, it seems that the developer has been listening to the preferences of the community. The latest sketches shared by developer Merlone Geier show a connected, bike and pedestrian friendly grid and streetscapes in an area that currently has islands of retail stores surrounded by oceans of parking lots. The visioning process had showed a clear consensus in favor of a better environment for people walking and biking, retail facing the street, and open space.

The most attention-getting element of the revised proposal is a multi-screen movie theater; several residents mentioned a theater as a desirable feature for the development.

Because Merlone Geier is pursuing its proposal before the City completes a specific plan, the developer needs to go through a “Gatekeeper” process needing review and approval by the City Council, including negotiation for specific public benefits.  At the study session last Tuesday, the City Council prioritized bicycle, pedestrian, circulation, and transportation demand management investments for the public benefits associated with this development and the plan area.

Because Merlone Geier (and other developers in the next 18-24 months) will get to “jump the queue” and pursue its proposal before the specific plan is created, however, it may be more of a challenge to ensure that the city gets the connectivity and traffic reduction results that residents want, along with open spaces and environmental sustainability standards.  During the visioning process, some residents talked about wanting to preserve views of the mountains.   It is possible for an area to be designed with “view corridors” to frame views of landmarks – but will Mountain View be able to do this without a Specific Plan to guide the developments?

Since the City of Mountain View will be conducting a sequence of “one-off” reviews and negotiations, it will be especially important to pay close attention to the project as it is reviewed.   The new proposal for the Merlone Geier development is expected to be reviewed by Mountain View’s Environmental Planning Commission next week Wednesday.  Watch this page for time and agenda.   And sign up here if you want to stay up to date on this issue and more on sustainable development in Mountain View.

 

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Palo Alto moves forward on parking crunch, both supply and demand

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Adina Levin

On March 18, Palo Alto City Council advanced a set of short-term and long term measures to address a parking crunch, addressing supply, management, and demand.

While the topic that got the most public comment was the residential parking permit program, there were also multiple comments from city staff and council members of the economics of parking, and therefore the value of managing scarce supply and reducing demand. In Palo Alto, a new parking spot costs more than $60,000 to build. Presenting the City’s efforts to create a transportation demand management program for City Hall employees, City Manager Jim Keene commented that if the City administration succeeds in reducing its permit use by 100 permits, that saves the city $6,000,000. Compared to the cost of building new parking structures, reducing demand and managing supply look financially attractive.

To reduce parking demand, the city is developing a transportation demand management program that it expects will save 50-100 parking permits from City Hall employees. The program could be used as a role model for the rest of downtown.

To manage its existing supply more effectively, the city is piloting attended parking, which could get an extra 20% efficiency in garages by having attendants find the last spaces and pack in cars.

On parking supply, Palo Alto is exploring a public/private partnership for a parking garage to be provided by developer Chop Keenan which would provide parking for a new development as well as additional public parking. Palo Alto is also looking at potentially removing some developer exemptions from parking requirements.

With all of these measures, except attended parking, will entail staff doing more work and coming back to Council with a plan to approve.

Meanwhile, the City is studying longer term approaches including locations and costs for additional parking garages, technologies that could better manage existing parking supply, and Transportation Demand Management programs for the whole downtown area. Palo Alto is also asking Caltrain about the possibility for a Go Pass type deep discount program that could be used for a downtown area. Caltrain’s current deep discount program applies only to individual companies.

With progress on these fronts, the City Council felt comfortable moving on a Residential Parking Permit program for the neighborhoods near downtown. Residents are having a harder time finding parking near their homes because the spaces are used by downtown area workers who can avoid paying for parking in the garages. In 2012, the City Council put progress toward an RPP program on hold while the city worked on a more systematic approach to parking problems.

With regard to building new garages, the City is taking a different approach on financing. The City’s current set of parking garages were paid for by a consortium of downtown businesses. Apparently, the business community no longer wants to pay for parking supply. This time around, Palo Alto is considering putting the creation of parking garages on the ballot as part of an infrastructure bond measure. Parking garages are on a list of potential bond projects that the city is including in a poll to assess voter opinion.

Posted in Palo Alto | 7 Comments

Proposed Willow/101 staff preferred design has separated bike lanes, squared intersections

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Adina Levin

Following clear feedback from public comments, and City Councils in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, Caltrans staff has returned with a proposed design for the rebuilt Willow/101 interchange that has sidewalks, bike lanes separated from traffic, additional continuous bike lanes next to vehicles for the brave, squared intersections to improve safety, and minimal impacts on neighboring properties.

The designs were presented at a public meeting on Wednesday March 6 at the Menlo Park Senior Center. There will be more chances to review the designs at the Menlo Park Bicycle Commission on Monday March 12, at the Transportation Commission on Wednesday March 14, and later at Menlo Park City Council. There will also be public meetings in East Palo Alto which have not yet been scheduled.

Caltrains’ goal for the long-planned replacement of the 50 year old interchange is to remove weaving movements that cause traffic backups. The “condensed partial cloverleaf” did the best job of reducing traffic backups without needing to demolish buildings, which East Palo Alto adamantly opposed.

An earlier set of designs, drawn up over 15 years ago, did not show provisions for pedestrian and bike crossing. But Willow Road is used by children walking to school, and bike commuters traveling to and from Facebook and other employees in East Menlo Park.

Given the community feedback, staff took a second look at the design. They realized that in order to keep traffic moving while rebuilding the busy interchange over a two year period, they would need a wider footprint. That space could be used to provide a sidewalk, bike lane protected from car traffic next to the sidewalk, and continuous bike lane next to the vehicle lanes, with a pocket lane keeping cyclists to the left of cars entering the freeway.

The design also squares off the intersections where vehicles exit the freeway. This has become a new “best practice” for Caltrans, since it improves safety without reducing vehicle capacity.

 

The Compact Diamond, which had been the favorite of some bike advocates prior to the most recent design review, did not make the staff’s recommendation. It performed much worse in traffic simulations in addressing traffic congestion at intersections of local streets with Willow, where local residents have trouble turning at rush hour.  And it does has the same amount of conflict with vehicle traffic – in both designs, cyclists need to merge with vehicle traffic at the on-ramps.

Caltrans staff considered the suggestion from Menlo Park’s Council Member Kirsten Keith to look at the center bike/pedestrian path at the intersection of 101 and 3rd in San Mateo. But the design and location are sufficiently different that the center bike lane would not work for this intersection. Because of the cloverleaf of the San Mateo intersection, pedestrians and cyclists in the center lane do not intersect with cars, but in the Menlo Park partial cloverleaf, there would be two crossing points, removing the benefit of keeping people away from cars. In San Mateo, there is a crosswalk that provides easy access for pedestrians and cyclists to the center lane. In Menlo Park, pedestrians and cyclists would need extra crossings of busy streets to access a center lane.

After additional review, a set of alternatives will be chosen for environmental analysis. Construction could begin in 2016, and the new interchange could be complete in 2018. More review is needed, but the new design looks like a big improvement.

Posted in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park | 1 Comment

Over 400 signatures so far on petition to reduce hazards on Ralston Ave in Belmont

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Adina Levin

So far over 400 people have signed a petition to Belmont City Council to modernize Ralston Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists, children, and the elderly.

Ralston Avenue, which connects 101 and 280, is designed to transport vehicles quickly, and average speeds reach 45 miles per hour in sections, according to the petition. Ralston also crosses downtown Belmont, and is used by residents walking and biking.

The petition reports the hazards in the street design for walking and biking. “Crosswalks are poorly lit. Crosswalks are infrequent in areas where pedestrians want them (crossing between Walgreens and Starbucks; the City has removed crosswalks in this area). Bike lanes disappear mid-route. At certain points, bikes lanes are pushed onto sidewalks shared with pedestrians.” The results have included serious injuries and deaths for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.

Proposed safety improvement include lowering speed limits, continuous bike lanes, and additional crosswalks, as well as re-establishing a pedestrian/bicycle advisory committee.

The City of Belmont is conducting a study for improvements to the Ralston corridor. City Council appropriated $150,000 in February to pay for the study, after the San Mateo County Transportation Authority rejected a grant proposal for a Ralston corridor study in September.
Safety advocates are concerned that the City will prioritize vehicles and pay insufficient attention to the safety hazards for people walking and bicycling.

According to city staff, a public meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 4, a week later than the date in the earlier published schedule. People concerned about safety on Ralston should sign the petition and attend the meeting if possible.

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Sunnyvale moves Lawrence Station plan forward in a close vote

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Adina Levin

In a tight 4:3 vote on Tuesday, Sunnyvale City Council moved the Lawrence Station area plan forward.   The plan, as developed by a Citizens’ Advisory Group, calls for a compact, mixed-use development around Sunnyvale’s second Caltrain station at Lawrence Expressway.  The plan includes a flexible mix of housing, retail, commercial, and appropriate industrial throughout the Station Area, improved circulation for all modes of transportation, and open space at five locations.

The most controversial topic was whether the area should be zoned for mixed use, or whether some land would be kept for exclusive commercial and industrial uses.  Councilmember Moylan made a strong argument in favor of transit oriented development, including mixed use which will help reduce demand for driving and help meet climate change mandates.   Councilmember Whittum floated an amendment, which was not accepted, to study the plan without any housing north of the tracks, arguing that people could live in cities farther south where land is cheaper and commute to Sunnyvale.

There was broad support for improving connectivity, bike and pedestrian access in the station area.  Several Council members expressed concern that the Lawrence Station, which currently has  low ridership, was on the chopping block during a Caltrain financial crisis, could be closed.  This blogger, with a Friends of Caltrain affiliation, gave public comment that with its electrification plan expected to be in place by 2019, Caltrain is likely to increase service at smaller stations such as Lawrence – better station access and more compact development near the station would improve the likelihood that service stays and increases.

Over a dozen comments in support of the plan were offered by members of the public, with only one comment in opposition. Several local businesses wanted to make sure that a planned road did not encroach on their property. Letters to Council ran very heavily in support, including strong letters of support from the Sierra Club and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Turnout and comments were fostered by an alliance of local environmental groups, who favor transit-oriented development to reduce carbon emissions, pollution and sprawl, and business groups supporting more housing for local workers and transit use to reduce congestion.

The motion carried 4-3, with Griffith, Spitaleri, Moylan, and Martin-Milius voting in support, Meryering, Whittum and Davis opposing.  The approved policy direction will now go back to the Citizens’ Advisory Committee who will help work out the nuts and bolts of the plan.

The next community meeting will be held in the summer, and the first draft of the plan will be reviewed by the CAC this coming fall, and environmental review of the plan would occur in 2014.

If you live or work in or near the Lawrence Station area and would like to be involved in the next steps of the planning process, contact Barbara Fukumoto of Sunnyvale Cool.

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Redwood City City Council Affirms Support for Complete Streets

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Adina Levin

At Monday’s Redwood City Council meeting, Redwood City City Council members affirmed their support for improved safety and Redwood City’s long tradition of Complete Streets.  Council members said they were committed to improving safety, even if there are some strong objections to changes. Mayor Aguirre recalled strong community objections to changes on Jefferson in the downtown area.  ”At the time, some people called us idiots. I’m ok with being called an idiot if it creates safety in our community.”

Similarly, Council Member Ira said that “Safety is the main goal. And safety will piss off some drivers.”  Council members expressed pride in Redwood City’s tradition of Complete Streets improvements, and a bit of chagrin that community members would doubt the longstanding commitment.

The staff report for the meeting recapped 20 years of Complete Streets improvements in Redwood City since before the term was invented.  22 projects have been implemented in the last two decades, including Alameda de Las Pulgas, Broadway, Jefferson, Industrial Brewster, and Middlefield, with results showing dramatically reduced collisions on streets where changes were made.

There were 8 public comments supporting continued Complete Streets, including Pat Brown, with the Safe Routes to School program in Redwood City, and Corinne Goodrich, who talked about the Grand Boulevard Initiative’s efforts to change Caltrans standards, and several community members who asked for the Farm Hill lane reduction project to be revolved. The confusing decision process for that project, where plans for a lane reduction were silently overruled behind the scenes, was the impetus for yesterday’s meeting.

The goal of the meeting was to define the process by which Council would get involved in Complete Streets projects.  Council decided to use its General Plan Subcommittee, which hasn’t  met since the Plan was passed in 2010, to vet priorities and community engagement strategies.  Council members also encouraged outreach to neighborhood associations.   Despite several community recommendations for a Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee or Complete Streets Commission, the Council did not choose that approach.

Hopefully, Council members public willingness to take the heat when some residents oppose safety improvements will help prevent situations such as the Farm Hill project, where plans for a lane reduction were silently overruled behind the scenes.  Nobody knows yet what will happen next on the Farm Hill proposal.

 

 

Posted in Redwood City, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Monday night February 25, Redwood City to revisit Complete Streets program

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Adina Levin

On Monday night, the Redwood City City Council is set to revisit and refine its commitment to streets that are safe for walking and bicycling.

Recently, after hearing mixed feedback about making Farm Hill Blvd safer, the City Council wants to define more clearly the process and scope of the Complete Streets strategy that it adopted in its General Plan in 2010. On Monday night there is a study session for City Council to reconsider how to make improvements to make streets safer and better for walking, bicycling and transit.

Council will discuss how they will provide input on Complete Streets project development, and what public and decision-making process should be followed.

Complete streets support driving, transit, walking and bicycling for people of all ages and abilities.  Over the years, the city has implemented many safety improvements on streets including Alameda de las Pulgas, Middlefield, Veterans, and more.  The City Council continues to support more housing and jobs downtown, so Complete Streets will help  accommodate more people without more cars and gridlock.

Council needs to hear from the Community. If you can, come on Monday and let City Council members know how improving streets for walking and bicycling makes Redwood City better for you, your family, your friends and neighbors.  How do “complete streets” help you go shopping, get to work, and send your kids to school? How will improving the streets help kids and seniors? How will safer streets make your community more livable and neighborly. Council needs to hear that the demand for “complete streets” is not from a small special interest group – it is a mainstream need that provides benefits for a broad cross-section of the community.

Come if you can to the City Council meeting and speak to the importance of Complete Streets.

City Hall, Middlefield and Jefferson, Council Chambers

Complete Streets is #9 on the agenda and should come up around 7:30 or so.

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Tuesday Feb 26: A tight vote is expected in Sunnyvale on Lawrence Station Area Plan

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Adina Levin
This coming Tuesday, February 26,  Sunnyvale City Council will give direction on the Lawrence Station Area Plan.  The plan they will review, crafted with input from the Citizens Advisory Committee, proposes to transform the disjointed area into a mixed used neighborhood with much better pedestrian and bike connectivity, access to the station, and green space.   The issues that may draw debate at City Council are the level of density and whether to allow housing.   The Planning Commission passed the plan on a 7-0 vote, with a recommendation that affordable housing and sustainability measures be included.
Sunnyvale Cool recommends that community members who care about creating a compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood center at Lawrence with sufficient housing–including affordable housing–to improve Sunnyvale’s Jobs:Housing imbalance to e-mail City Council and speak in favor of the work of the Citizens’ Advisory Group on Tuesday.
To e-mail Council: council@sunnyvale.ca.gov
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