From:
To: City Council
Cc: BPAC Communication
Subject: 6/28/22 meeting agenda item 4.9 (Stierlin Road bike & ped improvements) Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022 4:30:02 PM
Attachments: Jack in the Box Square.pdf
Addenda.pdf
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To: Mountain View City Council
From: Joel Dean, MV
Re: Stierlin Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements
When bicycle and pedestrian improvements are lumped together, bicycles usually get the lion's share of the improvements and pedestrians get whatever is left over. Project 17-41 is no exception.
For one thing, neither the 8/25/21 staff memo to B/PAC nor the 6/28/22 memo to City Council ever uses the word "sidewalk." Sidewalks are an essential part of truly complete active transportation networks. On a sidewalk, every driveway acts as a de facto crosswalk, and some of them -- e.g., at Bailey Park Plaza or the 790 Shoreline Arco station -- are as dangerous as crossing a busy street. In places, they are only five feet wide, not set back from the curbs, in disrepair, overgrown with adjacent property landscaping, or full of physical and visual obstructions. Project 17-41 does not address these issues.
For another thing, the benefits of the mid-block crossing at the Bailey Park Safeway have been greatly exaggerated.
The staff report states that the distance from Middlefield to Montecito is over 1/4 mile and that "pedestrians are reluctant to walk 10 minutes out of their way". The new crossing is not going to save anybody 1/4 mile or 10 minutes. Pedestrians standing on the east side of Shoreline at Middlefield will cross right there to get to Safeway rather than hiking to Montecito or jaywalking. Those who would benefit most would be the future residents of Fortbay's "The Sevens" development. What would their savings be? The distance from the new crossing to the existing crosswalk at Stierlin/Montecito is 500 feet, walkable in less than two minutes -- a lot less than 1/4 mile and ten minutes.
One redeeming feature of Project 17-41 would be upgrading the signals facing Stierlin and Montecito to allow for a protected left turn phase. Left turns now are made concurrently with walk lights being on to cross Shoreline, with the results shown in the attached "Jack in the Box Square" file. An inquiry to AskMV about signal improvement got an encouraging but non-specific answer. There is a complication with the signal standard on the carwash corner: it is in the SF Water Department ROW. If that precludes implementing protected lefts, then Project 17-41 could turn out to be a dead loss for pedestrians -- literally.
Side issues: Prohibition of right on red, either total or pedestrian-actuated, would enhance the walking experience.
Something to stop drivers from turning left out of Safeway onto Shoreline and going north in a soutbound lane till they get past the curbed median might prevent an occasional head-on collision. Having two ramps aligned with crosswalks at all corners is a definite improvement over one ramp aligned with nothing. It is unfortunate that tactile plates have to be installed -- they injure more people than they assist. Landscaping and political signs in the gore point between Shoreline and the Stierlin slip lane should not exceed two feet in height.
Despite my lukewarm enthusiasm, I encourage Council to approve Project 17-41 because it supersedes the outlandish and disruptive proposals made in the Shoreline Boulevard Corridor Study and in public comments to the B/PAC.
Thank you for your attention.
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Glaring omissions
Distance saved by mid-block crossing
Original Request
The intersection of Shoreline Boulevard with Montecito Avenue and Stierlin Road has a history of accidents involving pedestrians. One possible reason is that there is a single green signal phase for Montecito and Stierlin, during which all movements are permitted. As a result, pedestrians crossing Shoreline are always in the path of vehicles wanting to turn left. A few photos showing this situation are attached.
Many of the pedestrians at this location, including myself, are elderly and can't move out of the way as fast as oncoming drivers would like. Neither can people walking dogs or accompanying small children. Some drivers have no scruples about expressing thier resentment at being delayed by these individuals.
I ask the City to consider dividing the green time for Stierlin and Montecito into two phases, one for left turns only and one for through movements and right turns, with the walk lights on during the latter. The pavement markings are already configured for this phasing. Left-turning drivers might have to give up some green time, but would benefit from not having to contend with opposing traffic or pedestrians. And pedestrians would benefit from not getting squashed.
Thank you.
Hello Joel,
Thank you for your email. This location is part of a project under design now to install bike lanes on Stierlin. and to upgrade the signal at Stierlin/Montecito/Middlefield, to be able to improve the phasing for all users, particularly for pedestrians, so that their crossing does not conflict with impatient left turning vehicles. We expect the project to go into the construction phase next fiscal year or the following.
Thank you,
Nate Baird
Transportation Planner
Public Works Department
On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 8:41 PM Joel < wrote:
From: Joel <
To: nate.baird <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, Aug 26, 2019 8:40 pm
Subject: Re: City of Mountain View case number 47554
Hello Nate.
Eureka!
-- Joel
Re: City of Mountain View case number 47554
Mon, Aug 26, 2019 8:53 pm
<Name redacted> To:you Details
Great! Now we just have to wait for it to happen.
To: City of Mountain View Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee From: Joel Dean, MV
Subject: 8/25/21 Meeting, Agenda Item 6.1
(Stierlin Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements, Project 17-41) I encourage the B/PAC to give the subject project its strongest support. It is a vast improvement over the extravagant and possibly counterproductive proposals in the 2014 Shoreline Boulevard Corridor Study. It should not be jeopardized by tacking on unnecessary bells and whistles, especially any which would require ROW acquisition.
I live in the near vicinity of Project 17-41, have no car, bike, scooter, skateboard or roller-blades, and have to walk along this stretch of Shoreline to get anywhere. The most critical element for increasing pedestrian safety is a protected left turn signal phase to cross Shoreline at Montecito or Stierlin. I have corresponded with DPW via AskMV on this subject. The attached file includes an extract from that correspondence and several frames from videos recorded at the intersection showing how people crossing Shoreline are currently at risk from left-turning vehicles. DPW's language in both their AskMV response and in the staff memo for the 8/25 meeting is slightly murky and does not explicitly state that they will be implementing the protected-left phase. It would be most helpful if the B/PAC could clarify DPW's intent.
The benefits of Project 17-41's other proposal for Shoreline at Montecito -- turning it into a protected or 'Dutch' intersection -- are more dubious. This design originated in Europe, where right-on-red is generally not allowed.
The 'Dutch' configuration prevents motorists from making right turns out of bike lanes, which is where the CA Vehicle Code says they should be made from. If the first car queued up in the rightmost lane is planning to turn right on red, he or she (NOTE: women are just as aggressive as men in this respect) will be inclined to block the crosswalk and bike path while waiting for a break in the cross traffic. If the first car intends to go straight, it will block anyone behind it wanting to make a right turn. Some of those blocked will relieve their frustrations by cutting through the Safeway parking lot, or
through the car wash on the opposite corner. Others will be even less inclined than usual to look out for pedestrians trying to cross in front of their right turn. The same set of problems could occur at Shoreline and Middlefield, which is also getting the 'Dutch' treatment, for which it is ill- suited. The result is likely to be considerable diversion of eastbound Middlefield-to-downtown traffic onto San Pierre Way, Montecito, and Mountain Shadows Drive, thus complicating the lives of pedesrians and cyclists on these residential streets.
Speaking of Mountain Shadows Drive, it is a great relief to learn that DPW is not considering signalizing the intersection with Shoreline. It is only about 500 feet from there to Middlefield, and a red light there during the evening peak with pre-pandemic traffic would have caused backups into and beyond the Shoreline-Middlefield intersection. The recommended pedestrian crossing at Safeway is a far superior alternative. Mountain Shadows Drive could use parking prohibitions within 60 feet of its intersections with both Shoreline and Vaquero Drive. Anything parked closer -- even an ordinary passenger car -- can block drivers' vision of a pedestrian or cyclist crossing the street.
Stray observations: (1) The 100 Moffett parking garage could use warning devices to alert pedestrians and departing vehicles to each other's presence; (2) the "Bailey Park Safeway" sign obstructs departing drivers' view of pedestrians who may be approaching from their right, even if they bother to look right, which many don't; (3) most of the sidewalks in the neighborhood of Project 17-41 are cheesy -- two slabs wide, no setback from t
he curbs, full of signposts, hydrants, utility poles, vaults, dips at driveways and discarded face masks; (4) cyclists and pedestrians do not mix well and ought to respect each other's designated spaces. Lots of luck with that one.
Thank you for your attention.