City of Sunnyvale
Excerpt Meeting Minutes - Draft
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory
Commission
6:30 PM Telepresence Meeting: City Web StreamThursday, February 16, 2023
CALL TO ORDER
Pursuant to Government Code Subdivision 54953(e), the meeting was conducted telephonically; pursuant to state law, the City Council made the necessary findings by adopting Resolution No. 1089-21, reaffirmed on February 7, 2023.
Chair Mehlman called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. via teleconference.
ROLL CALL
Chair Leia Mehlman
Commissioner Alex Bonne
Commissioner Dan Hafeman
Commissioner Timothy Oey
Present 4 -
Vice Chair Bryce Beagle
Commissioner Arwen Davé
Absent 2 -
PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS
2 23-0028 Recommend to City Council to Confirm the Preferred Alignment of the Stevens Creek Trail from Remington Drive to Fremont Avenue Segment Consisting of an Off-street Trail Along the Creek with Two Connections at Fremont Avenue on Both Sides of SR85 with the Adjustments Due to Changes in Creek Conditions
Alternative 1. Recommend to City Council to Confirm of the Preferred Alignment of the Stevens Creek Trail for the Remington Drive to Fremont Avenue Segment Consisting of an Off-street Trail Along the Creek with Two Connections at Fremont Avenue on Both Sides of SR85 with the Adjustments Due to Changes in Creek Conditions.
Angela Obeso, Principal Transportation Engineer and Shawn O'Keefe, Consultant Project Manager, gave a presentation on the Stevens Creek Trail Extension Project, Remington Drive to Fremont Avenue. Highlighting the following:
- Purpose of Outreach
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- Currently proposed changes from the alignment that was approved by City Council in 2016
- Project history
- Phase I (Current), Phase II (Future) and Phase III (Future) - Current project funding
- Construction funding
- Alignment Evaluation
- 2016 Council Approved Alignment
- Currently Proposed Alignment
- Alignment Comparison
- Alignment Evaluation - Goals
- Segments 1-3
- Community Meeting - January 18, 2023
- Community feedback
- Next steps - Community Meeting, BPAC Meeting, City Council Meeting, Environmental and Final Design
- Staff Recommendation - Recommend to City Council to Confirm of the Preferred Alignment of the Stevens Creek Trail for the Remington Drive to Fremont Avenue Segment Consisting of an Off-street Trail Along the Creek with Two Connections at Fremont Avenue on Both Sides of SR85 with the Adjustments Due to Changes in Creek Conditions.
Chair Mehlman commented and asked about the following:
- Would like to see the route alignment overlay on an actual aerial map - Concerned with the south side of Fremont Avenue connection (slide 9) about erosion of the creek side with higher water flows affecting the accessibility of the Creek Trail
- Would the project have some sort of method to mitigate the erosive effects of continued high water flows in the basin without having too much environmental impact?
- Purpose of red segment - Segment 2?
- In Segment 2(SR 85 Underpass) where it separates, is there any street access along that side until it gets to Fremont Avenue?
Ms. Obeso, Mr. O'Keefe and Mr. Ng addressed the questions.
Commissioner Oey asked about the following:
- What is the approximate cost of the yellow segments versus segment 3? - Would you have to reconstruct the red portion for the bridge to span over Fremont
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Avenue?
- Yellow segment 2 landing next to the off-ramp from SR 85 southbound - Can it use up some road space and implement a two-way trail so people can get to and from Belleville Way right along Fremont Avenue?
- Red Segment 3 - How safe is it for cyclist to get to the yellow segment coming from the west?
Ms. Obeso and Mr. O'Keefe addressed the questions.
Commissioner Bonne asked about the following:
- Are bicycle only lights being considered at the end of Fremont Avenue? - In regards to the west side where the Stanford parking lot is, are there other options to utilize the area in or on the parking lot to avoid the yellow segment running along the SR 85 off-ramp?
- In a typical year, how many days would you expect the SR 85 underpass to be unusable due to high water in the creek? Will you include such an analysis in your environmental study?
- Are you keeping in mind what options would be more suitable for the future connection south of Fremont Avenue?
Ms. Obeso and Mr. O'Keefe addressed the questions.
Commissioner Hafeman asked about the following:
- Has Stanford been contacted?
- Turn the parking into parallel parking
- On segment 3 coming out to Fremont Avenue can there be a bike extension or a path extension for bikes going both ways plus pedestrians to get you over to Bernardo Avenue?
Ms. Obeso, Mr. O'Keefe and Mr. Ng addressed the questions.
Commissioner Davé asked about the following:
- Loves the Stevens Creek Trail
- When rivers tend to bow don't they become more extreme as they age in terms of the zigging and zagging?
Ms. Obeso and Mr. O'Keefe addressed the questions.
Commissioner Bonne asked about the following:
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- Regarding the first bridge on the north end of the red segment and the creeks continue meandering, what provisions do you have to prevent the undermining of that first bridge in the next 20 years?
- How can the Stanford parking lot be outside the scope of your mandate? Ms. Obeso and Mr. O'Keefe addressed the questions.
Chair Mehlman asked about the following:
- Will Valley Water also have to approve the design concepts for infrastructure? Ms. Obeso and Mr. O'Keefe addressed the question.
Public Comment opened at 8:44 p.m.
Betsy, member of the public, commented on the following:
- Recommends avoiding segments that are going to be narrow or dark or secluded - Avoid building sharp curves and avoid building in bad visibility - Provide wayfinding in advance of building both yellow and red segments - Trail flooding sometimes has to do with maintenance
Jim Meyerson, member of the public, commented on the following:
- Letter written by Friends of Stevens Creek and Bike Sunnyvale following the June 18 community outreach
- Mark Thomas team and the related people there should look at alternatives on all four corners essentially of the interchange of SR 85 and Fremont Avenue - Concerned where the red trail segment 3 terminates at Fremont Avenue, on the east side of highway 85. There is a lot of traffic there which makes it a public safety issue
- Staff should have conversations with Stanford regarding the Stanford parking lot Garth Williams, member of the public, commented on the following:
- Doesn't recall any discussion at the 2016 City Council meeting of the landings that Fremont Avenue had to be on the north side of Fremont Avenue - Better landing on south side of Fremont Avenue to relieve stress of that intersection
- Would like to see a low stress crossing on Fremont Avenue with the overcrossing in the current project then it will be able to accommodate either the trail going down Bernardo Avenue or the end of the trail
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Jonathan Blum, member of the public, commented on the following:
- Landing in the red segment 3 is a problem
- Short section between Bernardo and the on-ramp
- Go over Fremont Avenue to the other side would be more appropriate - Segment 2 (yellow section) would be up to Stanford if something could be done - Will there be some sort of structure that would enable the trail to climb up the bank rather than with the way it is depicted in the diagram? Public Comment closed at 8:53 p.m.
Commissioner Oey commented on the following:
- There are some challenges and environmental issues to work through but is in favor of the alignment piece all the way down to Fremont Avenue - Biggest concern is making sure that the connection on Fremont Avenue works for cyclists in all directions
- In favor of abandoning the northeast corner
- The end of the trail is fine where it ends and doesn't go further down Bernardo Avenue
- In favor of having a flyover onto the southeast side versus the northeast side - Connecting the Belleville Way crossover is better
- Would like to see Belleville Way for the yellow segments and flying over the problematic section on the northeast corner and landing on the southeast corner Commissioner Hafeman commented on the following:
- Red Segment 3 needs to have more work done
- Need to determine if the segment is feasible at all
- Segment 3 needs to have a stoplight where people can cross the street to be useful
MOTION: Commissioner Hafeman moved and Commissioner Oey seconded to Recommend to City Council to Confirm of the Preferred Alignment of the Stevens Creek Trail for the Remington Drive to Fremont Avenue Segment Consisting of an Off-street Trail Along the Creek with Two Connections at Fremont Avenue on Both Sides of SR85 with the Adjustments Due to Changes in Creek Conditions. Also, in order to qualify Segment 3 as a project there needs to be clear and safe access from the southbound side of Fremont Avenue as well as the northbound side to the proposed trail segments.
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February 16, 2023Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory
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Meeting Minutes - Draft
FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Commissioner Oey would like to state that Segment 3 must end at the southeast corner of Fremont Avenue. Commissioner Hafeman accepts the friendly amendment.
Commissioner Oey stated he likes this motion because it is the simplest long-term solution and fully supports it.
The motion carried with the following vote:
Yes Chair Mehlman
Commissioner Bonne
Commissioner Davé
Commissioner Hafeman
Commissioner Oey
5 -
No 0
Absent Vice Chair Beagle1 -
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