BPC 12-17-08MINUTES OF TH[E REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BICYCLE P>F;DESTRIAN COMMISSION
December 17, 2008
CUPERTINO
The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Paulsen, Walton, Koski
Absent: Armstrong, Wiant
Staff: David Stillman, Senior Civil Engineer, absent, does not attend alternate month meetings
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Therese Diede, a Cupertino resident who is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Urban Planning
in New York visited the meeting. Her thesis is on urban Bicycle Sharing programs, and she is about
to do research in Paris, France. Ms. Diede gave a brief overview of her thesis project. She is very
excited about Cupertino's Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge project.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Commissioner Koski mentioned an email from Cupertino Director of Community Development
Steve Piasecki in early November, 2008 (the l~ ovember BPC meeting was cancelled due to lack of a
quorum). The email invited commission members to a community forum in Redwood City held on
November 6th regarding AB 1358, the "Complete Streets Act". As described by Mr. Piasecki, AB
1358 requires cities, beginning in 2010, to incorporate and plan for "complete streets" that are safe
for all users and accommodate all modes of transportation (i.e. bikes, pedestrians, transit riders,
children, elderly and the handicapped). The b i11 makes the point that safe complete streets are good
for green because they reduce sole reliance on the automobile, as well as good for pedestrian and
bicycle safety. We've asked David Stillman tc- give us a summary of the bill at a future meeting.
• Chairperson Paulsen noted that he has just completed attending a series of meetings held from July
through October concerning potential updates to the Housing Element of the Cupertino General
Plan. Attendees at the meetings included commission chairs, Apple Computers representatives, and
representatives from the local school districts. The goal was respond to growth estimates provided
by the state. Chairperson Paulsen recommended that plan updates accommodate pedestrian and
bicycle travel. In the future, a series of public hearings will be held.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. The Commission approved the October 15, 2008 minutes by a 3-0 vote.
OLD BUSINESS
2. Bicycle Transportation Plan Update
Chapter 1 -Land Use, Bicycle Usage ar~d Conformance with Other Plans was emailed to
commission members in October by Corrunissioner Koski. Comments were received from
Commissioner Wiant and Chairperson Paulsen and will be incorporated into the final version of
the document, available in January 2009.
Chapter 4 -Bicycle Education and Safety will be emailed by Commissioner Koski to David
Stillman then forwarded to commission members for review before the January commission
meeting. Getting current information about who provides bicycle education and safety programs
for the schools and the city has been an issue;. Chairperson Paulsen suggested including a goal of
providing comprehensive safety training four students and residents in the chapter update. The
Netherlands has lots of bicycle riders and a better safety record than the United States. He also
suggested utilizing the Santa Clara Count; group Traffic Safe Communities Network in the
future, and including this organization in Chapter 4. Additional discussion included adding the
League of American Cyclists as a source of training programs and safety information, links to
safety video games (if any), and enriching the content of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
portion of the Cupertino website.
Chapter 3 -Bicycle Parking is mostly done and should be available by the January 2009
meeting. Chairperson Paulson discussed some of Apple's ideas for its new campus. Ms. Diede
inquired as to whether employers in Cupertino are required to provide shower facilities for
employees. It was noted that Apple and Hevrlett Packard provide shower facilities.
Chairperson Paulsen mentioned that public hearings are needed before the plan update is
submitted to the city council. At the January meeting the commission will discuss scheduling the
hearing(s).
NEW BUSINESS
3. Endorsement of VTA Bicycle Technical Guidelines
Commissioner Walton asked Michelle DeRobertis to mail 12 or more hard copies of the updated
VTA Bicycle Technical Guidelines, v~~hich is also available online at the URL
http://www.vta.or~/schedules/bikewa s pro€ ram.html to members of the Cupertino Bicycle
Pedestrian Commission and City Council. T:he guidelines updates were adopted by VTA in 2008
and the county feels that adoption by a number of cities in Santa Clara County will be helpful.
The technical guidelines should be a useful appendix to Cupertino's Bicycle Transportation Plan.
Chairperson Paulsen suggested that he particularly would like to see the "Best Practices" adopted
for future projects in Cupertino.
The commissioners voted to perform a time;ly review of the VTA Bicycle Technical Guidelines,
hopefully in January. The review will be followed by a vote on whether to endorse the document
and forward it on to the city council for revif;w and endorsement. The vote was 3-0 in favor of the
motion.
4. Discussion of Impacts of Group Cyclists Riding Two or More Abreast -Discussion
The county recommended that groups of over fifty cyclists moving in one direction need to
obtain a parade permit. At the last County I3oard of Supervisors meeting, the item was removed
from the agenda due to public outcry. The VTA also dropped this item from its agenda. The
original concern was based on feelings that larger groups of cyclists would not follow traffic
laws. Woodside seems to have a particular ~;oncern about large groups of cyclists riding through
town.
5. Bike Commuters Act -Discussion
In October 2008, Congress passes the Bike Commuters Act, which gives companies a tax credit
of up to $20 per month per cycling employee beginning in January 2009. Attached to the
December meeting agenda is an article with more information on the act. Commissioner Walton
suggested that we publicize this tax credit in the Cupertino Scene and on the city website,
particularly during Bike to Work week. Commissioner Walton will write a short article
explaining the tax credit for use by the city.
6. AB 1358 Overview
This agenda item was postponed until Janu~uy 2009, as we plan to hear more from staff liaison
David Stillman.
7. Appointment of Joe Walton as Ex-Officio member of Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
Commissioner Joe Walton's term on the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission ends on January 30,
2009. Joe has been appointed to a two-year term as an Ex-Officio member of the Bicycle
Pedestrian Commission beginning Januaay 31, 2009. Commissioner Walton has been
concurrently serving as Cupertino's representative to the VTA Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory
Committee, and will become the chair of the VTA BPAC in 2009. He needs to be connected to
the city commission in order to remain Cupertino's representative on the VTA BPAC.
Congratulations to Joe for his service!
8. Bicycle Safety Program Liability Insurance --Discussion
The Parks and Recreation Department has expressed concerns about liability issues for League
of American Bicyclists courses that have been proposed to be offered via Cupertino's Parks and
Recreation department. The League of Arr~erican Bicyclists carries its own liability insurance.
The commission decided to postpone this agenda item to the January meeting and to invite the
head of the Parks and Recreation Department to the meeting.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
1. Election of 2009 Commission Chairperson and Vice Chairperson
2. Bicycle Safety Program Liability Insurance -include Director of Parks and Recreation if
possible
3. Bicycle Transportation Plan Update
4. Low Cost Traffic Circles at Rainbow Drive rind Bubb Road
5. AB 1358 Overview
6. Traffic signal timing at McClellan Road and De Anza Blvd. and elsewhere in Cupertino
7. Goals for 2009
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. by a unanimous vote.
SUBMITTED BY:
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May Kos ~' mmissioner