TO: TRANSPORTATION AND
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: Regional Transportation
Activities Annual Report
FROM: Bicycle and Pedestrian
Advisory Committee
DATE: January 27, 2025
Your Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) would like to submit the following comments on the "Regional Transportation Activities Annual Report":
- We support the adoption of the Stevens Creek Vision Study Implementation Plan, and we encourage the City to use the Transit-First Policy and the 2025 Better Bike Plan to implement the plan to its maximum extent, including fully-protected bikeways and fully-protected intersections, safer pedestrian facilities including refuge islands, and bus-only lanes to increase the speed and reliability of VTA buses and make transit competitive with driving.
- We support the North San José Grid Reset, which was presented to us in December. Creating a grid network gives bicyclists and pedestrians more travel options, especially in the presence of detours.
Grids also reduce the pressure on arterials, allowing for slower speeds, lower volumes, and narrower roads.
- We support the best-in-class pedestrian and bicycle access to the new BART stations and the upgraded Diridon station. BPAC would like to be involved in reviewing and providing feedback on the bicycle and pedestrian circulation plans, both outside and – to the extent that the designs are still being iterated on – inside.
- We are opposed to projects that create any increases in roadway capacity, which leads to increased VMT and increased emissions. These kinds of projects include the widening of Highway 101 and Montague Expressway and the creation of two new interchanges that are larger than the interchanges that they are replacing. The increased width of Montague Expressway will also decrease comfort and safety for active transportation users moving along and across Montague Expressway. - While the Berryessa area certainly has access issues for bicyclists and pedestrians, creating a new highway interchange for cars is not going to make vulnerable users feel safer. It is just going to create worse barriers.
TO: The Transportation and Environmental Services Committee FROM: The City of San José Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee DATE: January 31, 2025
SUBJECT: BPAC Public Comment for February Transportation and Environment Committee (f)(5) New and Returning Business:
2. Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan Status Report.
Purpose: Provide a status report on the development of the City’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, including preliminary vulnerability assessment findings and proposed community and stakeholder engagement approach. (City Manager)
Good Afternoon, my name is Diane Solomon, I’m here on behalf of your Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
1] We respectfully request that you consult with your BPAC as you develop this plan. Please schedule time with us in the Spring and Winter. Pedestrians and cyclists will be adversely impacted by more severe and frequent storms, heatwaves, and wildfire smoke. 2] Our City’s creeks are not resilient. Storms flood them and fill them with dangerous mud conditions. We received a presentation and learned of a plan to develop a plan to improve storm safety on the Guadalupe River Trail. Such plans should be made and put in place for all of our trails.
3] Please don’t base our creeks’ Resilience Plans upon the “100-year Floodplain” Our City must plan now for unprecedented deeper and more frequent flooding. 4] Frequent heat waves will be deadly when they reach 100+ degrees. Fast, frequent public transit is both climate smart and climate resilient. Bus stops with shade will also add resilience and will be much needed in our underserved communities. More trees will cool off sidewalks and provide respite to pedestrians and cyclists.
7] E-bikes and E-scooters will help make it safer for people to choose active transportation during a dangerous heatwave. Please enable more public bike and scooter shares, as well as ebike subsidies for low-income individuals, especially in our City’s underserved areas.
Thank you.
3. Citywide Pavement Conditions, Funding, and Maintenance Program Delivery Strategy Status Report: Purpose: Provide a status report on Citywide pavement conditions, funding, and maintenance program delivery strategy. (Transportation)
My name is Diane Solomon, I’m here on behalf of your Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
Given Measure T will expire in 2.5 years, we have recommendations for priorities before our City’s pavement improvement funding significantly diminishes.
Please make sure that our Measure T money is being used for the greatest impact; not just to maintain a status quo—use it for improvements that will achieve both street safety and our City’s Climate Smart, Climate Action, and mode shift goals Our City’s annual Bikeway Review Program is restricted to adding bikeways. We thank you for that; however, we respectfully request that this Program reach out to your BPAC and to other stakeholders to receive input about potholes and other pavement hazards especially in the underserved areas of our City.
Yes, one can report dangerous potholes on the 311 app; however, we are unsure as to how such reporting is received and acted upon by this department.
We respectfully request that paving scheduling is not primarily based upon the “pavement condition index”. Please Instead base this schedule upon the need for pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Street repaving is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restripe our roads for maximum safety.
Please ensure that our City’s repaving standards employ the best practices: daylighting, narrowest-allowed-width, lane diets on major roads, crosswalk and crossbike markings.
Again, please align this department’s paving and repaving with our City’s climate action, Climate Smart, and mode shift goals.
Lastly, please consider Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP) as a strategy for safer streets. Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement can provide a visual and tactile signal to motorists to slow down in areas where we want drivers to slow down, like Japantown’s Jackson Street. There are cities that use this material to create what they call “Shared streets”.
Thank you.
4. Transportation Activities Annual Report.
Purpose: Provide an annual report on transportation funding, planning, programs, and projects of interest to the City of San José involving regional, state, and federal agencies such as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Caltrain, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), California High Speed Rail Authority, and the State Department of Transportation (Caltrans).(Transportation)
Please see our separate memorandum for our public comment on this matter.