|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Mountain View’s city leaders are looking for community feedback on three redesigns of a busy and hazardous stretch of Rengstorff Avenue, which include varying levels of pedestrian and bicyclist safety features.
The 1.7-mile stretch of Rengstorff Avenue under discussion runs from Leghorn Street, just south of Highway 101, to El Camino Real. It was the city’s highest priority corridor in the 2024 Vision Zero Action Plan, with high car crash rates at multiple intersections and a history of fatal and severe injury collisions.
The city is looking for input on the redesigns in a survey published August 11
The city began preparing for the renovation last year, and an initial survey from February gathered more than 1,000 responses from residents. They hope to begin the design development process in 2027.
As it exists now, this stretch of Rengstorff Avenue has a handful of pedestrian crosswalks, all of which are exclusively at signaled intersections. There is some street parking, and cyclists travel in inconsistently marked bike lanes between the driving lane and parked cars.
Alternative A
Alternative A does not include any changes to the configuration of the street’s driving and bike lane, nor the existing street parking.
It would add pedestrian safety features, including visibility enhancements and curb extensions, at most of the existing crosswalks. The intersection of Rengstorff Avenue and California Street is already considered a protected intersection with high visibility.
This option would also add three new high visibility mid-block crosswalks with “Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons”, or RRFBs. The mid-block crosswalks would intersect Rengstorff Avenue near Wyandotte Street, Junction Avenue and in front of Waldorf School of the Peninsula.
Alternative B
Alternative B would include all of the pedestrian safety measures included in Alternative A.
It would also eliminate some street parking, mostly north of Central Expressway. It would maintain two driving lanes traveling both directions, but the lanes would be moved closer together. According to the survey, Rengstorff Avenue’s current driving lanes fluctuate in width from 10 feet 6 inches to 13 feet; this alternative would make all lanes 11feet wide.
This alternative includes installing planter strips to create an intermittent physical barrier protecting the bike lanes. The bike lanes would also be made wider, going from a minimum of 4 feet 6 inches to a minimum of 5 feet.
Alternative C
Alternative C would include the high visibility and mid-block crosswalks listed in Alternative A, but it would create mid-road traffic islands for pedestrians rather than curb extensions. The sidewalks would also be made a uniform 6 feet wide all along the road, with additional landscaping separating pedestrians from the road.
It would eliminate some street parking, but less than Alternative B. Some bike lanes north of Central Expressway would gain a 2-foot buffer between passing cars marked on the street, but there would be no physical barrier. The driving and bike lane widths would not change compared to how Rengstorff Avenue exists today.
More details can be found in the city’s survey. The city is also holding a community meeting about the draft concepts on August 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Community Center’s Maple Room. Residents are also invited to attend the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee’s meeting on August 18 at 6:30 p.m. in Mountain View City Hall’s Plaza Conference Room.
Most Popular
4 candidates vie for 2 seats on the Mountain View Whisman School District boardAugust 13, 2026 12:37 pm