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BPC Final Minutes 05-18-2022Page 1 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 FINAL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION May 18, 2022 Final Minutes The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Jack Carter (VC), Gerhard Eschelbeck, Ilango Ganga (C), Grace John, Erik Lindskog Absent: Staff: David Stillman, Staff Liaison Others Present: Birgit Werner, Community Coordinator APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. April 20, 2022 Minutes MOTION: Vice Chair Carter moved, seconded by Commissioner Eschelbeck to approve the minutes as presented. MOTION PASSED: 4-0, John Absent POSTPONEMENTS No Postponements ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Byron Rovegno, public speaker discussed Carmen Road Bridge and the valuation placed on that project in the budget. Regarding the Regnart Creek Trail Project, there was no completion date listed, that he was able to see. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS David Stillman, Transportation Manager said there was one from Byron Rovegno, but he addressed it in Oral Communications. Page 2 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 Chair Ganga saw one from Liana Crabtree. Commissioner Eschelbeck confirmed but said the Written Communication from Liana Crabtree was related to Agenda Item five. OLD BUSINESS 2. Future Agenda Items (Ganga) Carmen Road Bridge Public Places for Bike Racks (include e-bike parking) Education on How to Use Two-Stage Left Turn Boxes Path between Lincoln Elementary and Monta Vista High School The Impact of Semi-Rural Designation on Bike and Ped Projects/Priorities Adaptive Traffic Signal Pilot Update Multi-Modal Traffic Count Pilot Update Reassess the Intersection at Bubb Road/McClellan Road Stevens Creek Boulevard, Phases 1-3 Legally Allowed Behavior at Stop Signs for Bicyclists Vision Zero Lead Pedestrian Walk Interval Diagonal Crosswalks Lawson Middle School Bike Path Input from Seniors on the Bicycle Pedestrian Improvements Bollinger Road Safety Corridor Project AB 43 – Summary and how Commission can support implementation Bicycle Licensing (to prevent bike theft) Rodriguez/Lozano Pedestrian Pathway to Regnart Creek Trail, including crossing Improvement of existing Class IV Bike Lanes, including maintenance Commissioner John joined the meeting at 7:24 p.m. Byron Rovegno, public speaker suggested putting the Future Items in several buckets, or lists, to help the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission stay organized. NEW BUSINESS 3. School Walk Audit Update and Prioritization (Stillman) David Stillman, Transportation Manager gave a presentation on the School Walk Audit Project Status List, Draft School Walk Audit Project List for the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission (Commission) Consideration, and the Draft Criteria for Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Project Engagement. Vice Chair Carter asked why sidewalks and crosswalks were not part of the purview of the Commission. Chair Ganga wanted to know the criteria for bringing in the Pedestrian Improvement Projects. Mr. Stillman said, historically, Pedestrian Improvement Projects were a Page 3 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 common practice, such as converting crosswalks to high visibility crosswalks, upgrading the striping, or the installation of America with Disability Act (ADA) ramps. Vice Chair Carter thought of someone falling off a raised platform; he wanted to have things like these discussed by the Commission. Commissioner Eschelbeck thought it was good to acknowledge all the improvements made. He said the list of projects was manageable, and all the projects mentioned were good for the Commission to review. It was good to cast the Rules of Engagement, so they were inclusive. Chair Ganga said, related to the Rules of Engagement, that there were vertical elements, temporary versus permanent. Due to cost, there were some vertical elements that looked temporary, but were permanent. Mr. Stillman relayed that the installation of posts and flexible bollards (plastic delineators,) fell under item one of the Rules of Engagement. Permanent change to the vertical elements was proposed to be brought before the Commission. Chair Ganga pointed out that item one of the Rules of Engagement did not catch some of the pedestrian projects. There might be cases where improvements were needed, such as at Bollinger Road or Stelling Road, where there was a pedestrian fatality. Improvements at those intersections needed to be reviewed by the Commission. Mr. Stillman suggested that, instead of identifying the projects to be be reviewed, have the Rules of Engagement say, “all pedestrian projects, excluding marked crosswalks at intersections.” Anything else was something the Commission wanted to be involved in. Chair Ganga pointed out there was a Pedestrian Master Plan, which the City was implementing. Items related to the Pedestrian Master Plan came to the Commission for review. Minor improvements did not need to come before the Commission, which could include crosswalks, etcetera; there needed to be something that captured that. Mr. Stillman clarified that a crosswalk was not a major improvement, it was a local safety enhancement. Vice Chair Carter interjected that was not true and cited the example of the intersection between McClellan and De Anza, where crosswalks were part of the presentation. He added that the Bollinger Road project included crosswalks as part of the presentation. Mr. Stillman replied that it was part of a larger plan. Those projects cited were part of a larger plan, and the crosswalks were a component of that. Liana Crabtree, public speaker commented that transit stops were not well situated to consider pedestrian needs. She cited the example of a transit stop in front of Trader Joes. She wanted the area around them ADA compliant. Chair Ganga suggested splitting item one into two items, one being bicycle and the other pedestrian, so there were the right attributes for the pedestrian projects that would fall within the right criteria. He wanted to add “major improvements” to pedestrian projects and proximity to transit stops. Mr. Stillman suggested adding “at-grade improvements to existing legal crossings” as an exemption to pedestrian projects. This excluded simple crosswalks and ADA Page 4 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 ramps at corners. There was also the possibility of mentioning bus stops, to capture the public comment. Vice Chair Carter noted that it was not just bus stops, there was a need to be more specific, such as large areas where people congregate at a church. Chair Ganga responded that what Mr. Stillman suggested would include bus stops. Mr. Stillman said his suggestion would include that because it did not have anything to do with a street crossing. MOTION: Vice Chair Carter moved, seconded by Commissioner Eschelbeck to adopt the following Rules of Engagement for the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission project review: 1. Bicycle projects which involve a permanent change to vertical elements within the street between existing curbs 2. Pedestrian projects other than at-grade improvements to existing legal crossings 3. Projects with community outreach 4. Bicycle or pedestrian projects which are heard as a Council discussion item, except items requested by Council to be heard directly 5. Staff recommendations for active traffic control devices (such as stop signs, traffic signals, crossing guards) 6. Council requests for Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission recommendations 7. Major development projects, on-site and off-site (if more detailed, or if it differs from the Bike Plan) 8. All items falling within the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission’s Mission Statement, per the Municipal Code MOTION PASSED: 5-0 4. Bubb Road and Kennedy Middle School Separated Bike Lane (Stillman) Birgit Werner, Community Coordinator gave a presentation on the Bubb Road and Kennedy Middle School Separated Bike Lane proposal. Vice Chair Carter said this was his neighborhood and he wanted to emphasize the bollards, they were safer and made things more visible. Commissioner Lindskog asked if there was any risk that a car door would open into the separated bike lane; there needed to be enough of a separation. Another question was where the cars turned into the school and crossed the bike lane. He wondered if it was possible to make it clearer for vehicles crossing a bike lane. Ms. Werner said there was already a separation installed between the cars and the bike lane. Parents, for the most part, did not let their children out on the street. Commissioner Lindskog clarified that cars were turning right into the school and could cut off a cyclist. He suggested having the bike lane raised, so vehicles went over a bump, indicating they need to slow down. Mr. Stillman replied that usually there would be additional striping installed across the driveway, to highlight to cars that there was a driveway. They could consider signage, such as “yield to bike,” to make cars more aware. Page 5 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 Chair Ganga wondered if there was signage directing motorists to go around a loop. Ms. Werner showed a picture of a sign that was used in the pilot, asking people to use the Pumpkin Loop if the lot was full. Parents were notified of this by flyer and e-bulletins, so they had advance notice. Additionally, the Police patrolled, and by the end of the two weeks, the parents followed the direction on the sign. Chair Ganga reiterated that permanent signage was needed. Ms. Werner suggested addressing this inquiry through the school as well, as there were pick-up and drop-off maps that were provided to the parents. She added that the problem was at the beginning when people had to learn the behavior, but as soon as it was learned, there were no problems. Chair Ganga understood that there was an expectation for parents to learn the behavior, but signage was still needed because the parent might not read the flyer. Chair Ganga pointed out that this was not a Class 4 bike lane, it was more of a separated bike lane that was getting improvements. Mr. Stillman responded that it was possible to have a Class 2 on one side of the street and a Class 4 on the other side of the street. The suggestion met the definition of a Class 4 if permanent posts were installed. Liz, public speaker commented that many of her peers do not bike to school because many cars drove in the bike lane. She supported the Bubb Road separated bike lane because it was a safe solution. Commissioner Eschelbeck supported the recommendation. Commissioner Lindskog and Chair Ganga supported the recommendation to proceed with the separated bike lane. Chair Ganga reiterated the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission’s comments: make sure the entry way is clearly marked, clear signage, and to make sure this project should be prioritized like any other project. MOTION: Commissioner Eschelbeck moved, seconded by Commissioner Lindskog to: 1. Make the separation of the bike path from temporary to permanent with bollards on the west side of Bubb Road, between Hyannisport Drive and Rosario Avenue; and 2. Direct staff to evaluate measures to increase the awareness of bicyclists to drivers turning right into the Kennedy Middle School parking lot and implement measures as appropriate. MOTION PASSED: 5-0 5. Junipero Serra Trail/I-280 Trail Naming (Stillman) David Stillman, Transportation Manager did not have a presentation for this item but explained how some Council members and members of the public have requested that staff consider a different name for the Junipero Serra Trail/I-280 Trail. He wanted the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission (Commission) to discuss a new name for this trail. Page 6 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 Liana Crabtree, public speaker suggested the new name honor the native people, the tribe that inhabited the area before Junipero Serra came along. She wanted someone to reach out to that tribe and ask them if they had ideas for the new name of the trail. Chair Ganga wanted to know if there were opportunities for the public to provide their input. Mr. Stillman said that could be a recommendation. This was the first real opportunity for public input. The Commission was able to recommend that the naming be a larger public outreach effort, beyond the confines of the Commission. Vice Chair Carter commented that, before suggesting an indigenous name, someone contact the indigenous people to make sure they were okay with it. He did not want to unintentionally suggest a name that was crude or did not make sense; the name needed to be vetted. Commissioner Eschelbeck liked the idea of a naming scheme, like Northern Loop. That assumed there was a Southern Loop. He wondered if that recommendation should be adopted. Mr. Stillman thought that was a good idea and added that it was good to look at the network of trails, choosing something that worked for all the pieces, rather than looking at each trail in isolation. He suggested bringing bring back a naming scheme to the Commission. Chair Ganga thought a name needed to be vetted by the legal team. He said suggestions could be made by the public, or when the Commissioners come to the next meeting, they could come with a list of suggested names. He wanted Commissioners to come to the commission and have a list of names, that will make the process easier. There needed to be prescreened names and a criterion used. Mr. Stillman asked if he was referring to the names being prescreened by the City Attorney’s Office. Chair Ganga said yes. Mr. Stillman said there needed to be some kind of outreach process where there was wider input from the community. Commission Lindskog liked the idea of using local tribal names. Commissioner John thought checking with indigenous people first was a good idea. Chair Ganga wanted outreach and then have it come back to the Commission. Mr. Stillman asked for suggestions on the method of outreach. There was a suggestion of having a name suggestion contest during the Bike Fest and having something broadcast on social media. Chair Ganga wanted to follow the same method the Fine Arts Commission used when they renamed their Commission. Vice Chair Carter pointed out that Safe Routes to School reached a lot of interested people in the community; he liked the suggestion of having a contest during the Bike Fest. STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS 6. Staff Update and Commissioner Activity Report (All) David Stillman, Transportation Manager relayed that the new crosswalk at Stelling Road and Alves Drive was almost complete. Half of the pedestrian beacons were installed; the rest were to be installed in a week or two. Regarding Vision Zero, it was looking like the Council was going to approve it for next year’s Work Plan. This allowed staff to move forward with a Page 7 of 7 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting Regular Meeting May 18, 2022 consultant and to be able to do a proper Vision Zero Program, which was built upon the work of the Local Road Safety Plan. In other news, the Regnart Creek Trail won award by the American Public Works Association for best project of the year. There was a luncheon and staff accepted the award. Commissioner Lindskog updated the Commission on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting. Chair Ganga discussed the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) meeting and the Mayor’s meeting. Commissioner Lindskog was scheduled to attend the Mayor’s Meeting and the SR2S meeting in June. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:23 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: ____________________________ David Stillman, Staff Liaison Note: Any attachments can be found on the Cupertino Website https://www.cupertino.org/our-city/agendas-minutes