County Roads actions versus BOS actions and votes regarding expressways To enlarge this page, go to: ModernTransit.org/BOSvotes.pdf and enlarge on your computer.
Year Event County Roads action BOS (County Board of Supervisors) action BOS vote
1960 Cities prohibit bicyclists and pedestrians from many pre-existing roads, without authority to do so from the State. 1960s,
1970s
County Roads takes over these roads with bicyclists and pedestrians, and posts illegal signs to prohibit them.
Traffic lanes and bike lanes (“shoulders”) are added. Bike lanes are 8 to 10 feet wide. (A standard bike lane is 5 feet.) 1988 Requested BOS to seek legislation in
Sacramento to re-impose bicycle
prohibitions by over-ruling cities that
repealed prohibitions.
Rejected request. Voted to “support” bicycles on
expressways.
4-1
1989 Opposed bike lanes at the (then)
County Transportation Commission.
Required bike lanes along all expressways. (Bike lanes
already exist. This was to prevent destroying them.)
5-0
1991 T2010 Plan Eliminated bicyclists and pedestrians
from all expressways in the draft Plan.
Retained bicyclists’ and pedestrians’ use of
expressways in the final Plan.
5-0
1991 1991 Policy Ignored my requests to remove shrubs
at intersection corners to create a
path to prevent right-turning vehicles
from killing pedestrians.
Required, and fully funded, the creation of pedestrian
paths along the “entire expressway system.” Required
pedestrian use of expressway bridges crossing rivers,
freeways and train tracks. Required paths at corners.
5-0
2003 2003
County
Expressway
Plan
Tried to eliminate pedestrians from
(estimated) 70% of expressway miles
by claiming that unless there is a
sidewalk, expressways are unsafe.
Recognized that “shoulder or path facilities can serve
for … occasional pedestrian use.” Recognized that
expressways are, in fact, arterial roads. Approved
detailed speci fications for bike lanes on expressways.
5-0
2003
to
2004
Refused to remove “Pedestrians
Prohibited” signs in Sunnyvale after
the City repealed the prohibition.
Gave a direct order to County Roads to remove these
signs in Sunnyvale and to comply with the law.
5-0
2004
and
2006
SB 1233* of
2004
Without informing the County, added
legal text to an unrelated State bill that
eliminated the right to ride a bicycle or
to walk on public roads in California.
Directed sta ff to seek repeal of this law (on
1/19/2006). Sta ff never complied. Sta ff wrote one
letter and then dropped the matter because sta ff
wanted the law kept. (They wrote the legal text.)
5-0
2008 2008
County
Expressway
Plan
Went to every city BPAC to oppose
sidewalks and pedestrians on
expressways by faking accident
statistics, but lost all the votes.**
Required sidewalks along all expressways, on both
sides of the road, as per Sidewalk Maps for each
expressway, that are part of the 2008 County
Expressway Plan.
5-0
2024
in May
2003, 2008
County
Expressway
Plans
Censored the 2003 and 2008 County
Expressway Plans by eliminating them
from the County website, after I asked
the BOS that County Roads comply.
I (Akos Szoboszlay) informed the BOS under “Public
Comment” of the censoring. Then, County Roads was
forced to restore these documents. These Plans are
valid today. MTC recognizes them to be Master Plans.
None
2024,
Nov.
to
2025,
June.
Active
Transport-
ation Plan
(ATP)
Eliminated all bike lanes and half the
sidewalks from all expressways (in the
draft Plan). Totally ignored the 2003,
2008 Expressway Plans because
County Roads lost the (above) votes.
County Roads had prevented VTA BPAC from voting
by placing “information item” on the agenda, but the
HLUET (two Supervisors) sent it back for a vote. BPAC
then voted to keep bike lanes and sidewalks on both
sides of expressways, and the BOS approved.
4-0
*See: ModernTransit.org/restore for the short article. The long article is at: ModernTransit.org/restore/restore-long.htm **See the letter from County Roads Director to the City of Santa Clara at this link: ModernTransit.org/2024/SCrepeal.pdf For details and links for the above items, see the Timeline at: ModernTransit.org/expy/#timeline 1 Pedestrians along expressways :
County Board of Supervisors (BOS) policies and orders
Compiled by Akos Szoboszlay, Modern Transit Society
4/12/07, Updated 05/14/2024
This page is an abridged version of a web page that contains links to sources (document scans, or County’s pdf files) for the quotes on this page. The web page also describes (with photos) violations by County staff of these policies and orders of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors:
moderntransit.org/quote
1. 1991 Board Action: Ordered staff to create pedestrian paths on all expressways.
“Approve the proposed new program to provide pedestrian pathway facilities along the expressway system at the annual level of $75,000.” [1991]
2. Staff report for that Board Action: “The [predecessor] Transportation Agency’s position is that it will take several years [from 1991 ] to remove all obstacles [basically, “cut back brush”] in the buffer area [between curb and property-line] from the entire expressway system .” [1991]
3. [Superseded by #4, next]
4. The 2003 County Expressway Plan (formally titled Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study Implementation Plan , states:
“shoulder or path facilities can serve ... for occasional pedestrian use.” [2003]
5. "Wide shoulder or path" is listed in the map legend on all expressway-pedestrian maps in the 2003 County Expressway Plan, showing exact locations of these wide shoulders and/or paths. [2003]
6. The BOS ordered staff (on 1/10/06) to seek repeal of SB 1233, legal text that County Roads inserted into an unrelated bill, to hide it from the County. It eliminated the right of both bicyclists and pedestrians to use public roads in California. [See ModernTransit.org/restore/contents.htm]
7. "Landscaping needs to be kept trimmed back at intersection areas and along the travel way so pedestrians do not have to enter the travel lane." [2003] Paths are most needed at:
(a) intersection areas, where shoulders are reduced or non-existent, and (b) where people are forced to walk in the traffic lane — all caused by destruction of bike lanes.
8. “Expressway crossings of barriers (freeways, rivers, and railroads): A sidewalk/path on at least one side of the expressway will be provided to the adjacent public street intersection in both directions from the barrier.” [1991]
9. “It is the policy … to not eliminate existing sidewalks/pathways/informal paths .” [1991]
10. The BOS approved sidewalks along all expressways , shown block by block, on pedestrian maps of the 2008 County Expressway Plan. [ See: ModernTransit.org/expy/ped-element.html ] To see original document scans of quoted paragraphs, go to ModernTransit.org/quote and click the quote number.
Java Drive in Sunnyvale has
no bike lane nor sidewalk for
pedestrians, Light Rail patrons,
and bicyclists. Speed limit is same
as on San Tomas (next photo).
[Photo: Google Maps Street View]
The widest bike lanes in the City,
8 feet wide, are on San Tomas
Expressway (shown). The BOS
required bike lanes (1989) with 6
feet minimum width (2003) and bike
lane use by pedestrians (2003). Yet,
I was repeatedly ticketed for using
bike lanes (and, not polluting)!
[Photo: Akos Szoboszlay, 408 221 0694]