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BPC 03-17-10 \ 4-\• MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION March 17, 2010 9 CUPERTINO The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm ROLL CALL: Present: Wiant, Takahashi, Paulsen, Fantozzi. Chan Absent: None Staff: Stillman VISITORS: None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Paulsen reported on bicycle- and pedestrian items from the Mayor's Meeting with Commissioners. He informed the Mayor about the VTA complete streets. Also, he learned that the Public Safety Commission is tracking biking and walking to school (unknown school). Commissioner Takahashi inquired about the status of the joint commission between the Bicycle Pedestrian, Teen, and Public Safety Commissions for the purpose of coordinating efforts for Bike /Walk to School Day. Commissioner Takahashi inquired about obtaining bicycle and pedestrian accident data. Mr. Stillman indicates that the city does have access to all accident reports and will find out if it is easily extracted. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Wiant passed out an excerpt of the annual VTA report relating to bicycle and pedestrian traffic counts. He also updated the commissioners on relevant items from the monthly VTA BPAC meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Commission approved the February 17, 2010 minutes as written, with Commissioner Takahashi abstaining. NEW BUSINESS 1. Vote for New Chair and Vice -Chair Commissioner Takahashi was nominated for Chair. Commissioner Fantozzi was nominated for Vice - Chair. Both were confirmed by unanimous vote. Commissioner Takahashi assumed the duties of Chair immediately. 2. Bike to Work Day Commissioner Wiant stated that Thursday, May 13, 2010 is Bike to Work Day. There was discussion on having an energizer station at the bridge and a user count. It was determined that the Quinlan location will be the only station (6- 9am) and not to attempt counting at the bridge on BTWD since numbers will not be typical. Commission inquired about closing the Stelling Road driveway to Quinlan and obtaining tables from Public Works — Mr. Stillman will follow -up. Commissioner Wiant will look into publicizing via print and web (Scene, Courier, city website, flyers, SVBC). Commissioner Takahashi will look into publicizing to companies via the city's PR contacts. Commissioner Wiant will contact Joe Walton regarding past years' preparations. A preliminary volunteer availability list was created. Commissioner Wiant added that VTA is organizing an Over -Under ride on the Sunday after BTWD, May 16, and he has mentioned that the Mary Avenue Bridge should be included in the ride. 3. Mary Avenue Bridge Counts Mr. Stillman informed the Commission that there is interest to do the count from both in -house and the VTA. Hoses are unreliable (can't count peds) and subject to tampering. Video is a possibility. Discussion concluded that it would be best to do the count during the school year (De Anza) and during a period with warmer weather and longer daylight hours. September is the likely time. 4. De Anza Blvd. Bike Lanes Mr. Stillman informed the Commission that the City of San Jose and the City of Cupertino have agreed to complete the bike lanes from the Highway 85 overpass to Prospect Road during the Spring of 2010. Bollinger Road west of De Anza Blvd. will also have bike lanes added. OLD BUSINESS 5. Bicycle Transportation Plan Status Commissioner Paulsen mentioned that there is an indication from the Mayor's meeting that the public hearing on the Plan should be televised. Mr. Stillman stated that this may not be necessary for the Plan and proper public notification and invitation to a regular meeting should suffice. Commissioner Wiant noted that he has made updates to some routes that have already been partially completed. He has also re- measured some routes for accuracy. Mr. Stillman was given the updated pages for review. Commissioner Paulsen indicated that VTA would like to see a combined bicycle and pedestrian plan in the future. 6. Hot List Review Mr. Stillman indicated an item that was done and Commissioner Takahashi had already noticed and moved it to the closed list. This was an uneven area that San Jose Water Company is responsible for. Mr. Stillman asked for location clarification for an item listed as Stelling Road @ De Anza Blvd. Commissioner Takahashi stated that should be Stelling Road @ Stevens Creek Blvd. and will update the list. Commissioner Takahashi inquired about more "Share the Road" signs. Mr. Stillman stated it is being reviewed. Mr. Stillman stated that all left turn pocket detectors at Stelling Road @ McClellan Road are being checked. Mr. Stillman asked for item #20 be closed since it is not possible. Mariani Avenue on the west side of De Anza Blvd. is not wide enough to add bike lanes, and it is not possible to remove an automobile lane at this location. Mr. Stillman asked for items #19 and #21 to be closed since they are Plan items and not appropriate as Hot List items. Commissioner Wiant stated that the north exit from De Anza College at Mary Avenue will have functional bike detectors in both the left turn and straight lanes soon. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 1. VTA BPAC Update 2. Schedule Hearing for Bicycle Transportation Plan 3. VTA Over -Under Ride Update ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 8:38 pm SUBMITTED BY: William Chan , ti APPENDIX. Cupertino Bicycle /Pedestrian Commission Hot List (Action List) Revised: 4/20/10 Item Location B or Issue Priority P 1 Rodrigues B This street is an ideal route to the library from either Blaney of M DeAnza but there are no bike lanes. Given the parking problems at the library, this should be something to evaluate seriously. Action: Hannah Chow to evaluate the feasibility of striping this road. Status: 4 DeAnza B Bicyclists leaving the North Entrance of DeAnza College to cross M and Mary Steven Creek Blvd to gain access to Mary Ave have no visible bicycle induction loop for detection. If unassisted by a car going straight ahead, the bicyclist must use the pedestrian button to cross. On the other hand, bicyclists wishing to cross Stevens Creek while on Mary Ave have a visible loop to gain access to the college. Action: Under staff review Status: A work order has been submitted. 11 Several B Can the city install more share the road signs? A detailed list of ideal H locations can be produced rather easily. Action: List of locations provided to David Stillman prior to the Jan meeting. Status: review of the recommended locations has begun. 12 Rainbow B Between Bubb and Stelling there are several obstacles for bicycles. L/M Ave Action: Hannah Chow requests details /list of obstacles and locations Status: 13 McClellan B Complete the Bike Lane striping from Stelling to DeAnza. This effort H is deemed critical given this route is a main east to West Bike Route and is an access point to 1:he Library. Can the city approach the property owner where th e tree makes a bike lane difficult to install? This is in the draft Bicycle Transportation plan Action: Under staff review Status: 18 Bandley P/B There is currently a cross walk that is used for both bikes and H and pedestrians for children going to Lawson Middle School that crosses Mariani Bandley. The traffic at th Ls T intersection is often traveling at a high rate of speed. This poses a safety concern for walkers and bikers crossing this intersection on their way to Lawson Middle School in the mornings and afternoons. Can the city investigate the feasibility of placing a three way stop sign at this intersection? If not a stop sign, some kind of traffic calming device like a traffic soldiers be installed. Action: Under Review Status: 22 McCellan B No bike trip on East bound McCellan making a left onto Northbound L -M and Stelling. Can a sensor be added? Stelling Action: Signal Technician to check status of trip. Status: Open 23 Stelling B Pot hole located just south of Steven Creek on the Northbound M direction in /near bike lane. Can this hole be filled? Action: Location Clarified. Status: Action Pending. Closed Items Item Location B or Issue Priorit P Y 3 Torre at B No bike lanes for library traffic. Could this be made one way like H Rodrigues Kim? Again, better bike access to the library would help with the library parking problems. Action: Status: One -way traffic on Torres Avenue is not feasible due the amount of traffic use on Torres Avenue. 5 Rodrigues B Bicyclists traveling south on Rodrigues to cross DeAnza Blvd to gain M at DeAnza access, say to city hall or the library, have a faded loop for detection, but it is nearly a car length from the cross walk, which would require the bicyclist to move forward if a car wished to go straight ahead or made a right turn. Action: Status: 8/27/09 The bicycle loops at this intersection have exceeded their life span and they have been placed on the scheduled maintenance list to be replaced. 6 Rodrigues B Bicyclists traveling south on Rodrigues to make a left turn onto M at DeAnza DeAnza have no visible indication of the left -turn induction loop. Action: Status: 8/27/09 The bicycle loops at this intersection have exceeded their life span and they have been placed on the scheduled maintenance list to be replaced. 7 Rodrigues B Bicyclists traveling north on Rodrigues to cross DeAnza Blvd to gain M at DeAnza access to schools, the college, or the Mary Ave overcrossing have neither visible induction loops to go straight across DeAnza nor make a left turn onto DeAnza unless supported by automobile detection. A bicyclist not turning right is, therefore, vulnerable to "positional" communicati an problems after using the pedestrian button. Action: Status: 8/27/09 The bicycle loops at this intersection have exceeded their life span and they have been placed on the scheduled maintenance list to be replaced. 14 Stelling and B The sensor for bikes is not working on the east side of Pepper Tree H Pepper Ln. Tree Action: 8/27/09 The bicycle sensors have been repaired by the traffic technicians. Status: 8/27/09 completed 16 Bubb and B There is currently a fence in place to prevent pedestrians from H McClellan cutting the corner to get to the 7 -11 store. This fence make making a left hand turn difficult for bicycles from McClellan to Bubb southbound. Can this fence be moved back a few feet to provide a safer left had turn for bikes? Action: 8/28/09 Review completed by staff. Status: 8/28/09 The fence will remain at its current location for the following reasons: 1) The fence is required to direct pedestrians to use the crosswalk to arrive at the 7 -11 instead of making a short -cut in the middle of the road. 2) The fence is lined up with the limit line of the left turn lane pocket from Bubb onto McClellan. A vehicle at the limit line would conflict with any bicycles making a left turn from McClellan onto Bubb. 2 Stelling P Cross walk across from the Community Center is very dangerous. H Status: Silicon Constellation installed In- pavement lights and a two - way beacon on November 6, 2009. 8 Mary Ave B/P Approach paths to the Mary Ave Bridge are 8', while the bridge is 12'. M Bridge Given the popularity of the bridge, the trail width creates some dangerous situations between bikes and peds (especially with small children present. Action: Forwarded to Ralph Qualls for his review. Status: 9/9/09 Trail width to be expanded near bridge transitions by Contractor within the next several months 9 Mary Ave B/P Approach to the bridge right at the bridge entrance does not flair out M/H Bridge to match the bridge width. This makes the Bollards at each end more of an obstacle given bicycles will highly prefer to travel in the center opening given they would need to leave the path to enter on the left or right sides of the bollards. Action: A written communication was received about a bike accident due to this problem. Hannah Chow has forwarded this e- mail to Ralph Qualls. Status: 9/9/09 Bollards to be relocated to allow better access for bicycles by Contractor within the next several months 10 Mary Ave B Bicycles heading North off bridge going West on Homestead or North L/M Bridge on Mary do not have an easy connection to these directions. Action: Forwarded to Ralph Qualls for his review. Status: This item has been moved to closed given the difficulty in improving this intersection. 15 Sr Center B Ann Ng e- mailed the commission pointing out that there are limited H bike racks at the Senior Center. Action: The BPC e- mailed a list of proposed locations for the racks to the city for consideration. Status: Number of Single bike racks to be placed at the following locations: Senior Center (3), Blackberry Farm (2), McClellan Ranch Park (1). 17 Mary B There is a recessed six inch service cover that poses a risk to bicycles L/M Avenue on the South approach to the bridge on Mary near Millard heading Bridge North bound. This hole is approximately 1.5 inches deep and is Approach about one foot from the bake lane. The cover is marked "Water" Action: This was not part of the Mary Ave bridge project. This issue was forwarded to the Service Center for their evaluation. (It may be an outside utility) This item is still open. Status: This has been repaired, action closed. 25 Mary B BPC would like to help assess the planned Mary Ave development to H Avenue insure that an adequate bike lane is planned given the route to the Mary Ave Bridge. Action: Status: No action needed, project not moving forward. 20 Mariani B East Bound Miriani at De Anza Blvd there is no room for bicycles H heading east to Lawson Middle School. Can the road be re- striped to have one left turn lane and add bike lanes on this road given it is a very common Action: Under staff review Status:Re- striping not feasible due to the volume of left turn traffic during the afternoon commute. 21 Miller at B Can a bike lane be striped from Steven Creek to Creekside Drive on M Stevens Miller? This is in the Bicycle transportation Plan Creek Action: Status: This effort will be tracked as part of the bike transportation plan 19 Rodrigues P/B Can a bike /foot path be opened to access the library along the water M/H district canal behind the library to Rodrigues Ave. This would help with bike access to the library and help reduce traffic around the library. Action: Hannah Chow is inquiring with the water district about what the issues are with putting in a path behind the library to provide better access . This option is still viable if concerns about noise for residents can be adequately addressed. Status: This action will be tracked as part of the bike transportation plan.