From: Bike PHE <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2024 11:12 AM
To: Ryan McClain <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Bike/Ped Master Plan Posted
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Hi Ryan,
I send out the link to our contacts in and around Pleasant Hill who know about biking and bicycle infrastructure as well as planning. Robert Prinz from Bike East Bay came back with a number of specific suggestions that I am passing along to you. He does a lot of this.... ---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Robert Prinz <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: Bike/Ped Master Plan Posted
To: Bike PHE <[email protected]>
Cc: Danny Milks <[email protected]>, Kristin Tennessen <[email protected]>, Robert Arias <[email protected]>, Dani Lanis <[email protected]> That's great news, thanks for the update! I have also copied my colleague Dani Lanis here, who is coordinating on other advocacy work in central Contra Costa County.
The update looks much better, and I especially appreciate the inclusion of specific goals for protected bikeways and a separate bike boulevard category to help make up a low-stress network in conjunction with trails facilities.
Regarding bike boulevards the plan references NACTO guidelines for goals around maximum vehicle speeds and volumes, which is great, but the text (page 38) over-simplifies and waters down the recommendations. I think it would be better if they directly included the chart from NACTO’s Contextual Guidance for Selecting All Ages and Abilities Bikeways, March 2014 (link here), and provided a more complete description of the facility speed/volume goals like this:
Speeds less than or equal to 20 mph (95th percentile), less than or equal to 2,000 average vehicles per day, and less than 50 vehicles per hour per direction at peak hour; or Speeds less than or equal to 25 mph (95th percentile), less than or equal to 1,500 average vehicles per day, and less than 50 vehicles per hour per direction at peak hour.
The text also says that major street crossings, traffic calming, car diverters, and paving "should" be included with bike boulevards but doesn't commit to any of these treatments. Instead I would like to see the plan commit to the development of a citywide bike boulevard design guideline including minimum design standards that are implemented on all these corridors, providing a consistent design experience for users and saving staff time by not requiring them to justify every single traffic calming element and design everything ad hoc. This guideline can also identify the type of major roadway crossing treatments needed to enable fully low-stress facilities, so these can be prioritized in capital plans and grant applications. This type of design standard has helped immensely in Oakland (doc here).
I also recommend that they use a separate Class IIIB designation for neighborhood bicycle boulevards, to make this more clear as a distinct low-stress bikeway designation versus typical higher stress Class III facilities.
On page 39 I recommend that this section quoted below be removed and replaced with the same Contextual Guidance for Selecting All Ages and Abilities Bikeways chart linked above. I appreciate the city's intention to prioritize some types of facilities over others, but the level of comfort and stress has more to do with the street context and the design quality, and less so the technical bikeway classification. Different types of bikeways rise to the top in various contexts, and this order of priorities list in the plan could get in the way of identifying the best option:
"The city should seek to implement facilities in the following order from greatest comfort to the least comfort as listed below:
Class I (right-of-way available with minimal side conflicts) Class IV Separated Bikeways (“cycle tracks”)
Class II Buffered Bike Lanes
Class II Bike Lanes
Class III Neighborhood Bicycle Boulevards (on lower volume streets) Class III Bike Routes (on higher volume streets where bike lanes are not feasible)" On page 39 of Page 55 under "Study Corridors" I recommend that the plan specifically indicate that the purpose of these studies is to identify a preferred treatment in service of completing the city's low stress bikeway network, without gaps.
On page 41, a separate map should be provided showing only the "low stress bikeway network", which usually would include only Class 1 trails, Class IV protected bikeways, and Class IIIB Bicycle Boulevards, but could also include other facility types in accordance with NACTO's Contextual Guidance for Selecting All Ages and Abilities Bikeways chart.
The numbers for Bike East Bay class costs in "Table 8-1: Possible Programmatic Implementation" (page 48) are very out of date. I can provide an update on this to staff but it also leads me to believe that many of the other numbers or descriptions in that table probably need to be updated too.
Feel free to incorporate any or all of the above into your communications. If you think we should put together a formal letter with recommendations I can get a Google Doc started, just let me know.
Thanks,
Robert Prinz | Advocacy Director
Pronouns: he/him
Mail: PO Box 1736 Oakland, CA 94604
Office: 466 Water Street Oakland, CA 94607
P: (510) 845-7433 x5 | E: [email protected]
Bike.PHE
March 13, 2024
RE: Support of BPMP
Dear Pleasant Hill City Council,
We are writing to express our support in adopting the City of Pleasant Hill’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP). Bike Pleasant Hill Elementary (BikePHE) is a group of parents, staff, and students working to increase the number of people walking and bicycling to school, mainly through our Walk ‘n Roll program. Participation has increased from ¼ of our student body (150/600) walking, scooting and cycling each Wednesday in the first year to ⅓ of our student body (248) participating in the second year. However, we need the city’s help in providing all ages and abilities bike infrastructure to PHE because many students live less than a half mile away from school but cannot access the school via bicycle due to the lack of safe infrastructure.
We support the BPMP’s intention to “institutionalize biking and walking as a means of everyday transport” which specifically means “a shift in the City’s transportation development strategy from an automobile-oriented focus to a ‘complete streets’ focus in order to balance the needs of multiple modes of travel.” The majority of children attending PHE live within an active transportation distance, meaning bicycling and walking could be their primary modes of transport. Objective 1.1.4 specifically calls out to “connect to schools, shopping, parks and libraries, recreational centers, trails, transit, and other neighborhood destinations”. We believe that by creating a network of safe routes to schools, Pleasant Hill will most easily reach its primary intention of connecting the city with low-stress bike routes.
We are especially enthused to see Oak Park Blvd identified in the BPMP as a study corridor.
Oak Park Blvd connects PHE to the CCC Trail, Pleasant Hill Middle School, library, EBMUD trail, and BART. Yet, this road contains only sharrows and unprotected bike lanes, which are often obstructed by parked vehicles. Last year 75 of our community members signed a letter to PH City Council specifically asking for better bike infrastructure along this route.
There is a large interest for safe bike and walk infrastructure to schools in our community. As we continue to encourage our youth to take an active commute to our elementary schools through Walk ‘n Roll programs (which now regularly occur at PHE, Valhalla and Strandwood Elementary Schools), we know that the approval of the BPMP is an important step by the city to ensure safe and convenient routes to schools for children of all ages and abilities.
Best regards,
The BikePHE Team
Cara DeJong
Danny Milks
Kristin Tennessen
Cat Hodgson
Poh Teng
Kristie and Jeffrey Hart
David and Amanda Walton
Morgan Segal and Makiko Kanzaki
Tara Walsh
Dear Pleasant Hill City Council and Staff,
We are a group of parents and community members that support Pleasant Hill's draft General Plan for 2040, and aligned with that vision want the city to create usable bike routes to Pleasant Hill Elementary School (PHE). Specifically, we want to see a protected bikeway (Class IV) built on Oak Park Blvd from Stevenson Drive all the way to PHE to benefit cyclists and motorists.
Many parents, kids, and staff arrive at PHE via bicycle or scooter. However, low-stress routes do not exist from all neighborhoods even though the footprint of PHE is less than 1.5 miles in all directions. Families that live south of the school may use low-stress bikeways connecting existing trails to low-traffic neighborhood streets, but families living north-east of PHE must bike on Oak Park Blvd. Even though Oak Park Blvd is shown as a shared lane bicycle route, it is not possible or safe for a small child going 6mph to share a lane with a 3,000 pound motor vehicle moving at 30mph. Families generally choose to bike on the narrow sidewalk amongst heavy pedestrian traffic, maneuvering around dangerously placed utility posts.
For many families wanting to access PHE via bicycle, there is no alternative to using Oak Park Blvd. There is no side street or back road or longer route- the only option is Oak Park Blvd.
Thus, the route should be made safe for bicyclists of all ages and abilities.
We want children in our community to safely get to school on foot or by bicycle to reduce traffic congestion, increase fitness, improve mental health, appreciate nature, and most of all to have fun with their families and peers!
Figure 1: This map shows PHE families living between Patterson Blvd and Pleasant Hill Rd (marked with yellow) that will benefit from a Class IV protected bikeway (marked with red) between Stevensen and PHE. Currently these families have no way of accessing the school via bicycle except for sharing a lane with cars, or bicycling amongst pedestrians and utility poles on a low-quality sidewalk. Thus, many choose not to bike.
Best Regards,
1 Kristin Tennessen 41 Supreme Ct Walnut Creek
2 Erica Schulz 2904 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
3 Lindsay Corso 96 Santa Barbara road Pleasant Hill
4 Kristin Valentine 1846 Pleasant Hill Rd Pleasant Hill 5 Scott Goldsmith 5 Hero Ct Pleasant Hill
6 Cara DeJong 2842 Melillo Dr Walnut Creek
7 Holly Burles 837 Boris Ct Walnut Creek
8 Maria Schopp 50 Cleveland Rd Pleasant Hill
9 Brenda Fritschi 3208 Hudson Ave Walnut Creek
10 Linda Yee 2344 Mallard Dr Walnut Creek
11 Kenji Yamda 2234 Lisa Lane Pleasant Hill
12 Nick Rey 2097 Oak Park Blvd Pleasant Hill
13 Kim Goldsmith 5 Hero Ct Pleasant Hill
14 Anna Morozovsky 170 Grove Cir Pleasant Hill
15 Lina Arbic 700 Charton Dr Pleasant Hill
16 Danielle Drier 19 Erin Ct Pleasant Hill
17 Tiffany Kavanaugh 1310 Hampshire Ct Concord
18 Jay Hart 15 Estella Ct Walnut Creek
19 Lile Troncoso-Ovalle 203 Virginia Cir Martinez
20 Tovah Toomasson 303 Roberta Pleasant Hill
21 Chelsea McClain 97 Monte Cresta Pleasant Hill
22 James Ketley 1010 Pleasant Valley Dr Pleasant Hill
23 Monica Black 514 Patterson Pleasant Hill
24 Christina Curtis-Crockett 194 Paso Nogal Rd Pleasant Hill 25 Becky Wyler 32 Molino Ct Pleasant Hill
26 Robert Arias 523 Mesa Verde Pl Pleasant Hill
27 James and Jessica Clark 8 Sheldon Ct Walnut Creek
28 Monica Denniston 1108 Maggie Ln Walnut Creek
29 Korey Pieper 770 Thomas Ln Walnut Creek
30 Jennifer Kaplan 2824 Eccleston Ave Walnut Creek
31 Danny Milks 41 Supreme Ct Walnut Creek
32 Robb Thomas 1601 Sunnyvale Walnut Creek
33 Liliana Duque 2976 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
34 Jan Davel 2976 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
35 Michael and Rochelle Dunning 9 Sheldon Ct Walnut Creek 36 Libby and James Reed 3272 Eccleston Ave Pleasant Hill 37 Nader Jazayeri 190 Vivian Dr. Pleasant Hill
38 Andy Lessen 2982 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
39 Jarrod Farmer 2995 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
40 Tabatha Billingslea 2995 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
41 MaryBeth Taylor 2982 Hillsdale Dr #8 Pleasant Hill
42 Monique Cavin 1902 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
43 Bella Merrill 2989 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
44 Andal Allison 2994 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
45 Neal Chaudhary 1922 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
46 Rashila Chaudary 1922 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
47 George Saunders 1931 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
48 MaryLou Saunders 1931 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
49 Sue Anderson 1941 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
50 Christy Riviere 1952 Vicki Lane Pleasant Hill
51 Keirstyn Halsebo 1657 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
52 Elizabeth Gruenstein 1645 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill 53 Richard Davi 1639 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
54 David Behrens 1640 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
55 Cynthia Griffins 1627 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
56 Kevin Quirk 1620 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
57 Juan Contreras 1609 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
58 Diane Lenzi 1602 Barnett Circle Pleasant Hill
59 Jane Russell 3079 Diablo View Rd Pleasant Hill
60 Jon Alexander 3079 Diablo View Rd Pleasant Hill
61 Susan Sullivan 41 Diablo View Rd Pleasant Hill
62 John Paradiso 2952 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
63 Esther C. Burke 2959 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
64 Gregory E Dolan 2471 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
65 Tracy Schneider 2988 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
66 John Constas 2958 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
67 Sam Constas 2958 Hillsdale Dr Pleasant Hill
68 Jessica Lescano 1631 Mendota Ct Walnut Creek
69 Pat Von Behren 16 Vita Ct Pleasant Hill
70 Patty Von Behren 16 Vita Ct Pleasant Hill
71 Julie Von Behren 10 Belle Ct Pleasant Hill
72 Steve Malton 10 Belle Ct Pleasant Hill
73 Alaina Kelly 150 Collins Ct Pleasant Hill
74 Peter Schmidt 305 Stevenson Dr Pleasant Hill
75 Julia Flanagan-Schmidt 305 Stevenson Dr Pleasant Hill From: Jen Dewar
To: City Council
Subject: bicycle and pedestrian master plan
Date: Monday, March 4, 2024 10:48:25 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Hi!
I'm writing to express my support for the bicycle and pedestrian master plan.
We love riding our bikes and walking around our beautiful city, but it doesn't always feel very safe on our narrow streets without sidewalks. We'd love to see these improvements implemented so we can be safer and more active.
Thanks!
Jennifer Dewar
From: Catherine Hodgson
To: City Council
Subject: Email in support of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Date: Monday, March 11, 2024 7:27:30 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Dear City Council members,
I am writing to you to register my support for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and to ask that you vote in favour of adopting it at your up coming meeting. My husband and I are parents to a 1st grader, Luke, who attends Pleasant Hill Elementary School. We cycle to school every day and he loves the freedom that comes with it, the positive impact it has on his health and the environment. We also enjoy joining up with other families to ride the canal trails and attend community events like Off the Grid, Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as cycling to most of his baseball games and swim meets.
Having safe roads and bikeways for our son to continue to cycle on, alone, as he grows is so important. He already talks about “when I cycle to middle school”, “when I cycle to high school”, cycling for him is not just about riding up and down a safe suburban street we live on , it is about active and independent transportation.
Next year I will be co-chairing the bike club, Bike PHE, at Pleasant Hill Elementary, as such I am aware of the great partnerships that have already been built between bike advocates and the city. I also understand how much the city has already listened to parents and members of our community when writing this plan.
On behalf of my 6 year old son, who wants nothing more than to be able to cycle safely to his school, baseball games, soccer games, the library and I’m sure eventually down town Pleasant Hill for snacks and drinks with his friends, I ask that you please vote in favour of adopting the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
Cat Hodgson
From: Robin Fullman Collins
To: City Council
Subject: Support of the bicycle and pedestrian master plan Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2024 8:05:35 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Hi,
My name is Robin Collins. My husband and I moved to Pleasant Hill in 2013. We now have 2 girls, aged 9 and 6, both who attend Pleasant Hill Elementary school. We are active bikers and walkers in the neighborhood and strongly support the Pleasant Hill Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
We love the location of our home, in poet’s corner off Oak Park Road. We use the canal trail on a regular basis for walks or bike rides. And our girls ride their bikes or walk down Oak Park everyday to get to PHE.
Oak Park can be a scary road. Cars speed by without regard to pedestrians and/or bikers. In the morning the sun can be blinding. We’ve seen a young bike rider get hit by a car crossing a side street at Oak Park and saw a dog’s leash get caught by a car and the dog dragged at the canal trail crossing on Oak Park. And we have personally had several close calls with cars not stopping or slowing down as we attempt to cross Oak Park at cross walks.
Any measures that make crossing or walking/riding down Oak Park would be a great improvement to the neighborhood and keep our kids and families safe. I strongly support the Pleasant Hill Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and encourage you to support the plan as well.
Thanks,
Robin Collins
Sent from my iPhone
From: JASON WILCOX
To: City Council
Subject: Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024 5:13:54 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Good day,
My name is Jason Wilcox, and I’ve lived in Pleasant Hill for over 15 years. Access to save bicycle and pedestrian routes is very important to me and my family.
I wanted to write to the city Council of Pleasant Hill to let them know that I support the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
Please approve this plan!
Thank you,
Jason Wilcox