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Moffett Boulevard is currently one of the most dicey routes to ride a bike in Mountain View, but that could change soon. City officials are planning to add protected bike lanes spanning most of the roadway, with a goal of kicking off construction next year.
The scope of the project extends from the Middlefield Road intersection all the way up to RT Jones Road and Clark Road, where Moffett terminates past U.S. Highway 101. The plan is to resurface the road and install protected “Class IV” bike lanes along most of the length of Moffett. In other words, bicyclists will have dedicated lanes with a protective buffer, either vertical posts or rubber curbs.
Under current conditions, it can be pretty precarious to bike along Moffett. According to the city’s analysis, the street ranks alongside El Camino Real and Central Expressway in terms of stressful conditions for bicyclists, lacking a dedicated bike lane on a busy roadway. With a “Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress” ranking of 4, riding along Moffett is only comfortable for “highly confident cyclists.”
In 2023, the city was awarded a $3.5 million federal grant to move forward with the Moffett Boulevard Complete Streets project, which includes the resurfacing, the newly constructed bike lanes and closing a gap in the sidewalk near Leong Drive. It does not include closing the sidewalk gap on the southbound side of the road near the Highway 85 onramp, which was left out of the project to slim down the grant request.
The city’s Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee reviewed the plans on Wednesday, Feb. 26, supporting the need for more bike safety, but questioning the decision to retain all lanes of traffic. Though no traffic studies or counts had been done in connection to the complete streets project, committee members said that anecdotally traffic is light on Moffett, suggesting that a road diet would be a viable option.
“I do think we should be finding out if a road diet is reasonable,” said committee member James Kuszmaul.
Public speakers echoed the sentiment. Resident Silja Paymer said the city should conduct a traffic study, and that the project as currently proposed is still focused on the needs of vehicle lanes.
“This doesn’t look complete at all, it looks very car-centric, focused on the needs of drivers, not on the needs of bicyclists or pedestrians,” Paymer said.
Assistant Public Works Director Ed Arango said the city may not have the flexibility to consider a road diet at this point in the process. The federal grant has already been awarded, with a significant matching grant from the city, and trying to renegotiate the scope of the work with the federal government could be a risky move.
“We’re very hesitant to reopen the door with the federal government to re-evaluate any changes we have on this corridor,” he said.
Committee members also encouraged city staff to consider a host of other smaller modifications, including “no right-turn on red” at certain intersections and crosswalk improvements. Committee member Serge Bonte highlighted the need to improve the State Route 85 underpass, which he said has poor lighting and feels like a sketchy location to walk and bike.
In order to accommodate bike lanes, some street parking will be eliminated north of Middlefield Road, near the Willow Park housing complex. A city staff report found it would lead to a loss of about 18 spaces, and that a six-day study found a very low usage rate of that on-street parking, the “peak usage” being a single vehicle.
In the case of the Highway 101 overpass bridge, there is not enough room for protected bike lanes, however the planned “Class II” bike lanes will have green striping that will extend through the highway ramp turn pockets.
Because the intersection with RT Jones and Clark includes federally owned property, the city’s paving and striping work will require a permit from the federal government.
Other similar projects include the California Street Complete Streets Pilot Program, which is slated to begin construction in March of this year, and would introduce a road diet, bike lane improvements, protected intersections and high-visibility crosswalks. The city is also working on the Middlefield Road Complete Streets Project, which spans from Moffett to Bernardo Avenue.
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I am for all efforts like this to give people more transport options that are safer and don’t involve burning fossil fuels!
This is a long time coming!
“It does not include closing the sidewalk gap on the southbound side of the road near the Highway 85 onramp, which was left out of the project to slim down the grant request.”
Please reconsider the idea of closing the sidewalk gap. I walk this stretch several times per week. It’s quite unpleasant and often feels significantly less safe than nearly anywhere else, but it’s the best way to reach Stevens Creek Trail if you’re coming from the nearby neighborhoods. If not a full sidewalk, perhaps some partial mitigation could be employed (e.g. brighter lights, flexible delineators).
MV Voice: can you please add contact information to this article so that it’s easier for concerns to be sent directly to decision makers? Thank you!