|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The city of Mountain View plans to implement traffic-calming measures along a 1.2-mile stretch of California Street. The first segment, in orange, stretches from Showers Drive to Mariposa Avenue. The second segment, in blue, stretches from Mariposa to Shoreline Boulevard. Map by Jamey Padojino.
Long anticipated traffic-calming measures are coming to California Street, with major changes to the throughway that will make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers in Mountain View.
The California Street project is one of many infrastructural developments that the city is planning to build in the next five years, as part of its Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Initially designed to cover just one block on California Street, the project expanded its scope to encompass a 1.2-mile stretch of the transit corridor, from Showers Drive to Shoreline Boulevard.
The project is a temporary installation that can be modified as the city evaluates the effectiveness of its road safety measures. Its anticipated cost, as a permanent build out, is $30 million, although the funding has yet to be appropriated or approved by City Council.
“I believe it’s going to be more than a year because we actually don’t have that kind of money readily available. To save up for it, maybe we just do a block at a time, in smaller chunks,” said Public Works Director Dawn Cameron, who spoke at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting Monday evening, Oct. 3.
The design of the project is split into two segments, said Trent McGowan, a civil engineer with BKF Engineers. The first segment, from Showers Drive to Mariposa Avenue, will implement a “road-safety diet” that reduces the four-lane street to three lanes and includes a new, two-way center left-turn lane.
The project will feature parking-protected bike lanes in each direction, with striped buffers and different types of vertical elements – or dividers – to deter motor vehicles from blocking the bicycle lanes, McGowan said.
This portion of California Street, known for its multifamily housing, also will have three new midblock crossings for pedestrians. The design elements include flashing beacons and high-visibility crosswalk striping, corner curb extensions or “bulb-outs,” median refuge islands and curb ramps to improve accessibility to shopping areas, according to the council report.
The second segment of the project, from Mariposa Avenue to Shoreline Avenue, will reduce California Street from four lanes to two lanes, with parking-protected bike lanes in each direction, and high-visibility striping at intersections. This stretch of California Street will not have a center turn lane, and the landscaped median buffer that already exists will remain in place, McGowan said, adding that the area primarily consists of single-family housing.
“These improvements aim to reduce speeds of vehicles on the road, provide a safe, separate space for bikes to use the corridor and provide pedestrians with more crossings that have more visibility,” McGowan said.
With the road safety measures, the city anticipates a reduction of on-street parking from 275 spaces to approximately 212 spaces to comply with national guidelines that encourage clear sight lines by driveways and intersections, the report said.
Community members commended the plan for its progressive elements and responsiveness to local concerns.
“I just want to express how absolutely over-the-moon enthusiastic I am with this design,” said Ken Kershner, a Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition advocate. “It’s going to completely change the character of that neighborhood and turn it into really an urban village,” he said.
Commentators also expressed support for the proposal to add planters as vertical elements, or buffers, to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from cars, which will add to the cost of maintenance but is feasible, according to the report.
The issue of community outreach was raised by Tracy Chu, a Mountain View resident who began advocating for safety measures along the corridor after three pedestrians were fatally struck by cars in 2011 and 2012. “This was a real watershed moment for our neighborhood,” she said, adding that she was pleased by the plans but also concerned about the public reaction to it.
“There’s going to be controversy. One person’s traffic-calming is another person’s extra minute on their commute,” she said.
Responding to Chu’s point, Mayor Alison Hicks and council members Lisa Matichak and Ellen Kamei encouraged city staff to engage in extensive outreach about the proposed changes with local residents, neighborhood associations and schools.
“I do think it’s going to be critical to its success. I’ve seen a road diet in another community go forward and then be reversed,” Kamei said.
Kamei also asked for clarification about how the California Street improvement project fits in with the city’s broader initiatives, such as its investments in multimodal transit options and its Vision Zero goals.
Incorporating these comments, staff plan to submit the final project design in the spring with construction anticipated to begin next summer. Construction likely will take nine months to complete.
“It will really change the look and feel of the corridor,” Cameron said, referring to the project in its totality.
Very happy to see these planned improvements along California Street! Thank you City Council Transportation Committee and everyone who has worked on this project idea.
So people have to die before the city does anything. We are better than that!
.
Happy to hear about these improvements, but I can’t help wondering why it took MORE THAN 10 YEARS since the last pedestrian death to make this happen . . . wow.
“One person’s traffic-calming is another person’s extra minute on their commute”
It will be far more than an extra minute after its fully implemented, it will at least increase the commute by 5-10x that depending on the time of day.
Just remove the street parking all together, that really seems like a better solution.
If they really want to calm things, why not add some humps on California street like those on Villa street, make them so big that traffic needs to slow to 5 mile per hour as well. We all love the nails and other debris that fails out of the vehicles that go over them along with being blinded by oncoming traffic at night as the opposing car goes over humps. Also lets not notch them for emergency vehicles either so we force them to slow for emergency response calls too.
California Street runs straight through one of the densest residential neighborhoods of Santa Clara County. Residents need to bike and walk to schools, churches, parks, teen and senior centers, and local businesses as part of their daily lives. California Street as it exists today is wide and straight and encourages speeding well past the 35 mph speed limit creating a hostile and dangerous environment. The California Street project will help reduce automobile speeds and prevent fatal collisions in the future as well as encourage more biking, walking, and perhaps bus riding. Yes, this will mean drivers will need to slow down and it will take a little longer to drive down California Street. For those drivers who are frustrated by this, please keep in mind the positives for our community.
You can read more about the need for traffic calming on California Street here:
https://mvstreetsforall.org/projects/a-safer-california-street
Waste of taxpayer money.
Why does it take years to improve locations of fatal accidents?
The term “swift: is not in the City of Mountain View vocabulary.
Now imagine improving non fatality intersections like Grant Rd and Sleeper Ave.: almost a decade. In meetings regarding that one I learned that funding was never an issue. So why does everything take years?
Reducing California St. traffic to one lane in each direction will cause traffic bottlenecks. Too many people; not enough resources. That road will never be an “urban village” because it’s nothing but low-rent apartments.
Budget is $30 million. $30,000,000 / 6,336 feet ≈ $4,739.68 per foot
The cost per foot is approximately $4,739.68. (Thanks ChatGBT)
“To save up for it, maybe we just do a block at a time, in smaller chunks,” said Public Works Director Dawn Cameron”.
Revisiting a job site is much more expensive and will cost way more than $30 million.
There is already a clearly marked bike lane that bicyclists can use, single file. I ride single file.
What Tracy of Greater Streets organization (501c3) wants is not feasible. People need to commute by car to/from work at a pace faster than 15mph. There are already 6 stoplights between Showers and Shoreline. Speed is already tempered.
Chunk example? Observe California Ave at 5pm between Shoreline and Castro. Notice the stressed out bottleneck, it backs up into the intersection. Notice the revenue-raising officer hiding, monitoring rolling stops.
No, no to this expense. It is a waste of our tax payer money. Roses have thorns, not possible to live risk free.
California Street is a nightmare . Lights take to long no visibility coming out of our apartment since the cars are in the street. The cars need to park on the curb. I have almost been hit 14 times .since I can’t see to get out I honk and scream to get out everyday. I need to work groceries shopping and go to appointments .Light up the bike lane and put it back how it was. My son can not find parking. We can not share a car I work 2 cities away and different times.plus this plan who made this did not think about apartments at all we don’t have extra parking.This street is manly apartments .we need parking .The new parking is less and not safe getting in your car and out you could get hit that way also to close the new one lane .please put it back. This is stressful . Life is already hard with food prices and rent and a horrible president. So put the street back .The money you spent on this was wasted. We need rent help and a free parking garage and free food .not a street like this .