1 From: Serge Bonte
Sent: Sunday, September 8, 2024 6:30 PM
To: City Council
Cc: Arango, Ed; McCarthy, Kimbra; Whyte, Brandon
Subject: re: Agenda Item 4.4 and 4.6 Rengstorff Complete Streets and Vision Zero Action Plan and Local Road Safety Plan-Final Plan
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Honorable Mayor and Council Members
I probably won't be able to attend your meeting but wanted to provide a few comments on these two consent calendar agenda items.
I fully support applying for that grant to (at long last) start studying a complete street treatment for Rengstorff Avenue.
As stated in your report, Rengstorff is the top corridor identified by the Local Road Safety Plan that would adopt tonight (agenda item 4.6). It's also a key route to school , in particular all high school students along the corridor attend Los Altos High School and it's time we make their route to school safer on foot or on bicycle.
However, that initial funding if granted will only be the start of a long journey. Realistically, it's unlikely Rengstorff will become a safer complete street by MV's Vision Zero target date of 2030.
I would like to urge you (once more) to also fast track implementation of relatively low cost but high impact policies identied in the Vision Zerion Action Plan you are about to adopt.
1. Leverage AB43 to the full extent possible.
AB43 was passed in 2021. It allows Cities to lower speed limits by right in certain circumstances.The Vision Zero Action Plan identifies
AB43 as an important tool for safer speeds in Mountain View SP-4 Implement speed limit reductions in accordance with AB 43 2025 PW Planning But it's only in the Planning phase with a target date of 2025 (and since it doesn't mention a quarter, probably safe to say in the latter part of 2025?). Meanwhile Menlo Park has started to implement AB 43 and many of their streets/roads have safer speeds since this Spring.
https://www.almanacnews.com/menlo-park/2024/05/10/lower-speed-limits-set-on-several-menlo-park-streets/ Since Rengstorff has been established as the "top" safety corridor, what is there to study or plan? Why do our kids have to wait possibly one year for getting safer speeds their Menlo Park neighbors will get?
2. No turn on Reds
The Vision Zero Action Plan rightfully identify No Turn on Red as an important policy for achieving Vision Zero. However, the City is only in "exploration" phase with a target "TBD" (sic) SR-14 Explore processes for implementing No Turn on Red (NTOR) and develop a policy for NTOR consideration TBD First, I don't understand why the City needs an implementation process when it has already implemented No Turn on Red at various lights throughout the City. Many cities are years ahead of Mountain View in implementing life saving No Turn on Reds policies. Even more frustratingly, Palo Alo pushed Caltrans to implement No Turn on Red at about a dozen intersections along El Camino Real (primarly on routes to school.); all on Caltrans dime. In the meantime, despite the 2 City being aware of Palo Alto and Caltrans actions, I have yet to hear of a single No Turn on Red along El Camino in Mountain View or Los Altos.
Unless I'm wrong , it means Palo Alto kids will be safer by 2025 (when repaving is done) and Mountain View kids might need to wait for the next repaving project? (2 , 3 decades later?)/ If not too late, please show the same leadership Palo Alto has demonstrated with Caltrans on ECR. And change the target date for No Turn on Reds from TBD to 2025 (although ASAP would seem even more appropriate.
Sincerely,
Serge Bonte
Mountain View