CC 06-02-2020 Item No. 21 Complete Streets Commission_Written CommunicationsCC 06-02-20
Item #21
Complete Streets
Commission
Written Comments
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com>
Sent:Friday, May 29, 2020 7:08 AM
To:City Council
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com
Subject:Complete Streets Commission
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Dear City Council:
I am wondering about Item 21 on the City Council Agenda. Who is this new body and what decisions will they be
making? I don't want them to start closing streets in Cupertino. The bulk of this group seems to be the Bike and Ped
Commission. We need to proceed carefully with something like this before we make this another Commission.
We already have tremendous issues with Vallco and West Port/The Oaks and drama with the City of San Jose over their
vision and our vision for Stevens Creek Blvd. We have large dump trucks wandering up and down Stevens Creek Blvd
that seem to be attached to seceral building projects at the east end of town.
We need to have a lot of input on something like this before we make another commission.
I would like to make a commission as to why we are trying to cut down all the new, young oka trees at West Port/ The
Oaks.
I am glad that item was postponed because we need to look at what we are doing to those that were planted on that
site by the City Council as replacement trees in 2009.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com>
Sent:Friday, May 29, 2020 7:27 AM
To:City Council
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com; City Clerk
Subject:Item 21 and MTC
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Completed
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Dear City Council:
I am even more concerned about Item 21 and making a Complete Streets Commission when it says that this group will
be taking direction from the MTC . The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is not a group that should be advising
anyone on anything. The MTC seems be overtly involved in peddling Big Housing Bills with ABAG and busily promoting
their Bay Area Plan 2050 which among other thing takes away local control of residents and their cities and giving those
rights "by right" to MTC and ABAG and some other unelected groups with unelected bodies on them.
Again, making a whole Commission that might be taking direction from such a group as the MTC is very frightening
indeed and needs to be studied thoroughly. The MTC already has some serious issues internally and we need to look at
those before we give them any control over anything in Cupertino.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com>
Sent:Sunday, May 31, 2020 8:52 AM
To:City Council; City Clerk
Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com
Subject:Complete Streets Commission, Number 21
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Dear City Council:
Item 21 of the City Council Meeting Agenda for June 2,
2020 calls more putting 7 people on the Bike and Ped Commission rather than the 5 that are already on it. This is too
many people.
This is more people than the Planning Commission and the City Council itself. I am also guessing that we are making the
Bike and Ped. Committee another Commission and renaming it Complete Streets to boot?
The MTC has Complete Streets written all over their Bay Area Plan 2050. There has been emerging evidence that that
MTC and ABAG are too overly involved in establishing their Power Base over what happens in the Bay Area. No one
could have known this, but recent activities by the MTC and ABAG brings to question what the true motivations of these
two groups are and who has put them together and allowed them to do what they are doing.
MTC and ABAG are pushing the Housing Bills which are detrimental to Cupertino and they are pushing the Bay Area Plan
2050 which is detrimental to Cupertino. Why would want to even associate ourselves with two groups that are so
vehemently anti‐Cupertino? MTC and ABAG have shown that they do not respect Cupertino or recognize its right to exist
as a soverign city so why would we even want to be associated with them in any way?
There should be a Committee or Commission to investigate MTC and ABAG and their dealings. There is much to question
already.
Also, I think we should have a Historical Commission that has members from the public on it. There are probably other
Commissions we could have to study why we are cutting down young oak trees at Westport/ The Oaks which were
planted by City Council direction in 2009.
Also, I think a Commission to protect Heart of the City would be nice too.
I understand that Bike and Ped Commission is very important, but putting
7 people on it and making it beholden to MTC and ABAG and also renaming it Complete Streets which is what MTC and
ABAG wants is not the route to go. This makes this group more powerful than the Planning Commission. And they should
also not be making deals or negotiations with other cities or counties or VTA or MTC or ABAG or Cal Trans or the Water
District or Road and Airports or Lawrence Expressway or
280 or 85. That is too much power and smacks of the San Jose Urban Village Advisory Committees which are not
democratic and make capricious decisions as we experienced with the Stevens Creek Urban Village Advisory Committee
three years ago.
2
As I recall people were trying to set up Stevens Creek Advisory Committees in Cupertino at the time and they were of
questionable motivation and attached to the Urban Village Push in San Jose. People thought Cupertino was an Urban
Village of San Jose. Well, we are not.
i think we need to study the connection of MTC and ABAG in the push for Plan Bay Area 2060 and Complete Streets
before we unleash them on our Bike and Ped Commission. There are too many factors to question that could be harmful
to Cupertino. MTC and ABAG have shown themselves time and time again to be hostile to Cupertino and we should be
concerned about their motivations and intent to do this again if we associate with them further.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Gerhard Eschelbeck <gerhard@eschelbeck.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 1:01 PM
To:City Council; Deborah L. Feng
Subject:Written Communication/Public Comment Agenda Item 21 - Complete Streets Commission
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Dear Mayor Scharf and Members of the Cupertino City Council,
I am a resident of Cupertino and also the Chair of the Cupertino Bicycle‐Pedestrian Commission. I am writing this
comment as a resident of Cupertino.
The proposed objectives of the proposed Complete Streets Commission are largely the same as the objectives of the
existing Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. In fact, the current Bicycle Pedestrian Commission has even formed
subcommittees working with other commissions including Technology, Information, and Communication Commission
(TICC). Therefore the intended expansion in objectives of such Complete Streets Commission is not entirely clear. While
changing the name of the commission may be possible, based on the past years' experience I do not recommend
changing the size of the commission.
I strongly recommend reconsidering this proposal, and invite you to join an upcoming Commission meeting to develop a
deeper understanding of the focus, scope, and effectiveness of the current Bicycle and Pedestrian commission.
The current commission has a well diversified membership representing the different aspects of Complete Streets. The
overhead of 7 members is not justified, and also not practiced in our other commissions.
Thanks,
Gerhard Eschelbeck.
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Caryl Gorska <gorska@gorska.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 1:06 PM
To:Steven Scharf; Liang Chao; Jon Robert Willey; Darcy Paul
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:NO to 7-person Complete Streets Commission
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City Clerk, please enter this into the public record of communications for Item 21 of tonight’s city council agenda:
Dear Mayor Scharf and Council Members,
I understand the desire to change the name of the Bike Pedestrian Commission, but I don’t really see how its functions
would expand, as the original mission of the commission is vague enough to incorporate pretty much whatever you
want:
“…establishing the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission as a five‐member Commission tasked with the function of
reviewing, monitoring, and suggesting recommendations for City transportation matters including, but not limited to,
bicycle and pedestrian traffic, parking, education and recreation within Cupertino.”
In fact, I suggest defining the commission’s purview very clearly, particularly its limitations.
I do NOT support expanding the commission membership to 7 commissioners.
This commission is already powerful, and I’m mighty suspicious that someone is trying to pack the commission for
political reasons, which I find unethical.
Whoever is playing politics here, stop it.
Regards,
Caryl Gorska
10103 Senate Way
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Jennifer Shearin <shearin.jen@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 2:16 PM
To:City Council; Deborah L. Feng
Subject:Written Communication/Public Comment Agenda Item 21 - Complete Streets Commission
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Dear Esteemed Mayor Scharf and Councilmembers,
I wish to express my support for expanding the Bicycle‐Pedestrian Commission to create a Complete Streets
Commission, with a note on one item of the staff report. Though I am currently an active member of the Bicycle‐
Pedestrian Commission and past Chair and Vice‐Chair of the Commission, today I write to you as a resident.
Our current commission considers bicycle and pedestrian issues, but recently the focus by several of our commissioners
seems to have changed more toward traffic management and monitoring, including creating a subcommittee for
“Technology Use for Traffic Safety” in April. Changing to a Complete Streets Commission would be a way to address
these traffic issues while still having the commission encourage walking and biking trips for residents of all ages, which
the name “Bicycle‐Pedestrian Commission” would currently make one assume is the only focus.
Our current Chair, Gerhard Eschelbeck, states in a letter to the council today, “[the objectives of the] Complete Streets
Commission are largely the same as the objectives of the existing Bicycle Pedestrian Commission”, so it is not necessary
to expand the commission. However, the official mission for the Bicycle‐Pedestrian Commission is very different than
the objectives for the Complete Streets Commission, as they are stated below on the official City BPC webpage:
Be one of the top 5 cities in California for biking and walking and achieve Gold status from the League of American Bicyclists.
Expand middle and high school student bicycle and pedestrian trips to 40% of total school commutes.
Expand intra‐city trips for errands and leisure by adults and seniors via bicycle/walking to 20% of trips.
Expand resident bicycle/pedestrian commuting to major Cupertino employers and De Anza College to 15% of total trips.
From Cupertino’s official Bicycle Pedestrian Commission webpage
(https://www.cupertino.org/our‐city/commissions/bicycle‐pedestrian‐commission)
The new Complete Streets Commission would allow these objectives for walking and biking in our city to still be a
priority while considering the focus on traffic management and technology concerns of some current Bicycle‐Pedestrian
commissioners and councilmembers.
If this expansion goes forward, I would like to highlight one very important item in the proposed staff report on the
proposed Complete Streets Commission:
The City will retain eligibility for Transportation Development Act Article 3 bicycle- and pedestrian-related
grant funding administered through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), as long as the
Commission continues to review bicycle and pedestrian projects and includes members who represent bicycle
and pedestrian interests. (emphasis added)
It is vitally important, if this change is approved, that the commissioners appointed to the new Complete Streets
Commission, including any alternates, represent bicycle and pedestrian interests. Potential commissioners should be
vetted carefully to determine if they have been active opponents of city bicycle and/or pedestrian projects, as this may
disqualify the commission as ‘representing bicycle and pedestrian interests’ and thus put our grant funding at risk. In
addition, commissioners should feel personally comfortable and have used all modalities of transport to be an adequate
representative of all residents of our city.
2
Thank you for considering my viewpoint and I thank you for your service to our city.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Shearin
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Kathy R Chole <kathychole@comcast.net>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 2:57 PM
To:City Council
Cc:Deborah L. Feng; David Stillman; City Clerk
Subject:Agenda Item 21 - 6/2/2020 Council Meeting
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Agenda Item 21: Establishment of the Complete Streets Commission
This item is on the council agenda for 6/2/2020. This will be the first public notification of changing the name
of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, increasing responsibilities and increasing the commission from 5 people
to 7 people.
As of today, 6/2/2020 (approx 2:45 p.m.) the minutes of the Bike/Ped Commission for January 2020 and
February 2020 have not been posted to the website. I have inquired twice. The only way for the public to be
aware of this agenda item is to read the “draft” minutes of the February 2020 meeting that were approved as
an April 2020 agenda item. Again, the approved minutes for Jan/Feb 2020 have not been posted.
From the February 2020 “draft” minutes:
7. Staff Report (David Stillman) a. Work on proposal for expanding the Commission to 7 members as per
Mayor speech. New Commission will have expanded responsibility, including transportation, focusing on
streets, in addition to bicycle and pedestrian issues.
Needless to say, this agenda item 21 is not a proposal, but an amended ordinance. Staff that will support this
commission will be reallocated from another area. What tasks won’t get done by reallocating
resources? Projects currently on the list by Public Works and the Transportation Department have had
repeated delays. Even pre‐Covid. The list of projects will be endless with the expanded
responsibilities. Spend City money wisely. We are in a crisis.
While this newly named commission may be the right thing to do to follow other Bay Area communities, or
merely appeasing Mayor Scharf’s vision, it is necessary that any proposed projects, CIPs by the Complete
Streets Commission (if approved) follow the protocol of agreement/acceptance by other affected
Commissions (i.e. Parks and Rec; Planning, etc) prior to presenting to the council for vote. And don’t forget
public outreach.
Additionally, timely posting of meeting minutes is a City responsibility. Kindly improve in this area.
Regards,
Kathy R Chole
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Ilango <ilangog@yahoo.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 3:33 PM
To:City Council
Cc:City Clerk; Cupertino City Manager's Office
Subject:Written communications - Agenda item #21 Proposed Complete streets commission-CC meeting Jun
3, 2020
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Dear Council members,
I reviewed the draft ordinance and supporting materials for the proposed Complete streets
commission. I notice that some of the neighboring cities have such commissions with
expanded scope than just bicycle and pedestrian issues. So I see some merit in expanding
the scope of BPC (or renaming) it to address policy issues related to multi-modal
transportation solutions.
Regarding the expanded scope, the staff report discusses close partnership with other
commissions such as Technology Information & communication (TICC) commission. I
would like to bring to your attention that this is already happening with the current setup;
earlier this year BPC established sub-committees to partner with TICC on Technology use
for transportation safety including bike and pedestrian safety. I am personally involved with
this committee. There are other committees to deal with vision zero and environmental
issues. Public engagement is already happening and more could be done within this scope.
However, I don't see a good reason to expand the scope of the commission to 7 members.
Even our Planning commission that has lot more responsibilities has only 5
members. Cities like Los Altos that has been cited as an example has 5 members. Even if
the council is deciding to establish such a commission, I would recommend keeping the
number of members to 5. In addition to appointed members, similar to Los Altos, you could
consider adding a Council Liaison to the commission. We need diverse set of members with
knowledge of issues with bicycling, pedestrian safety, technology skills, transportation,
finance and budgetary skills. The council already has the opportunity to add members with
right diverse skills during the annual commission appointment process.
Some cities like Palo Alto have planning & transportation commission with separate
Pedestrian and Bicycle advisory committee. So both models have its own merits and
disadvantages.
Lastly, I would like to point out the timing of the establishment of complete streets
commission. Why is this being brought up midyear, this could be done at the end of the
calendar year to coincide with commissions appointment process.
I request the Council to provide more time for the public to comment on the expanded
scope and the draft ordinance specifically on the responsibilities, scope, public engagement,
2
etc., In fact the expanded scope and draft ordinance should have been reviewed in the
current BPC advisory commission for recommendation before it is brought forward to the
Council. Hence, I request the Council to provide sufficient time for public review and
commission review before bringing this forward for voting at a future council meeting.
Thanks,
Ilango Ganga
As Cupertino Resident
on behalf of myself.
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Seema Lindskog <seema3366@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 4:02 PM
To:City Clerk; City Council; Deborah L. Feng
Subject:In support of the Complete Streets Commission
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Dear city council members and esteemed Mayor Scharf,
I am writing to express my support for expanding the bike ped commission into the Complete Streets commission.
This is an important step for our city. It recognizes that livable streets have to be considered as a holistic whole, with
consideration for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, but also for safe routes to school, and other traffic calming and
traffic management measures. I applaud you for seeing and acting on this vision.
A couple of points:
‐ It is critical that the charter of the Complete Streets Commission maintain as a primary purpose the goals of the bike
ped commission so as to retain the city's eligibility for grant funding.
‐ Please select the two new commissioners and alternates to be passionate supporters of the stated charter of the
commission and passionate about increasing waking and biking opportunities in the city. We currently have two
commissioners who vigorously opposed walking and biking infrastructure in their neighborhoods right before joining the
bike ped commission. At least one of them has never been seen walking or biking in his neighborhood. It seems very
likely they joined the commission solely to be able to suppress walking and biking infrastructure projects from the inside.
This perverts the entire purpose of the commission and reduces the credibility of the city government.
Thank you for your service.
Best regards,
Seema Lindskog
___________________________________________________________________
"You must be the change you want to see in the world." ‐ Mahatma Gandhi
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Liana Crabtree <lianacrabtree@yahoo.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 4:03 PM
To:City Council; Cupertino City Manager's Office
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:written communication, Item 21, Complete Streets Commission, 6/2/2020 Council Meeting
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Honorable Mayor Scharf, Vice Mayor Paul, Council Members Chao, Sinks, and Willey, and City
Manager Feng:
Please include this item as written communication for Agenda Item 22, "Complete Streets
Commission" for the 6/2/2020 Council meeting.
I request that Council consider alternatives to raise the profile of the Bicycle Pedestrian
Commission that do not involve adding members to the commission.
To the extent that a "Complete Streets" re-imagining of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
includes decisions affecting roads, sidewalks, trails, and easements, I request that Council
work with the commission add hygiene stations to the easement or protected roadway in safe
proximity to the encampment located on the east side of Wolfe Rd near HWY 280.
+ + +
Council has many levers available to elevate the profile of the commissions' whose work it values:
+ provide sufficient staff resources so all commissioners can participate fully in the meeting and none
are sidelined with responsibility to record the minutes
+ host the commission meetings in the evening in a venue that encourages community participation
(Community Hall)
+ video record the commission meetings and broadcast them via live stream on the City website
+ advertise the commission meetings on social media and encourage community members to attend
Please consider any combination of the options above as means to elevate the profile of the
re-imagined Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. If Council is determined to have seven (7)
community members serve on the re-imagined Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, please consider
adding 2 additional community members to all commissions to ensure some parity across
commissions.
+ + +
Hygiene stations (portable toilets and hand washing stations) must be added to the Wolfe
Road encampment as essential humanitarian aid to support the health of the residents who
need them.
Sincerely,
2
Liana Crabtree
Cupertino resident
representing myself only
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Erik Lindskog <eriklindskog@yahoo.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 4:05 PM
To:City Council
Subject:Regarding establishment of the Complete Streets Commission
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Dear Mayor Scharf and Councilmembers,
I am a commissioner in the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission but I write here representing only myself.
I write in support of expanding the Bicycle-Pedestrian Commission into a Complete Streets Commission.
The current Bicycle‐Pedestrian Commission only focusses on bicycle‐pedestrian issues. A complete streets commission
would focus on making sure that our whole transportation network is available and safe for all modes of transportation.
Apart from continuing to work for improved bicycle and pedestrian improvements, this would also include considering
transit issues as well as general traffic calming measures to improve safety for all modes of transportation and their
users of all ages and abilities.
Best Regards,
Erik Lindskog
Cupertino Resident
1
Cyrah Caburian
From:Hung Wei <hungweichien@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 5:00 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Revised Public Comment on Agenda Item #21 - City Council Meeting 6/2/2020
Attachments:Support for the Complete Streets Commission.docx
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Dear sir,
Please use this version of Public Comment from Hung Wei on Agenda #21. Please replace the one sent before. Thanks.
Best regards,
Hung (Wei)
Cupertino resident
10969 Maria Rosa Way, Cupertino
For Public Comment on Agenda #21 – Council meeting of
6/2/2020
Re: Establishment of the Complete Streets Commission
I support the establishment of the Complete Streets Commission.
This Commission will achieve the following aims and benefit
Cupertino residents and the Silicon Valley area as a whole:
1) Expanding citizen participation in communicating concern
and support in addressing city-wide transit issues in
coordination with bike and pedestrian infrastructure
expansion. This Commission could maintain an active
dialogue with Cupertino citizens and bike/ped path/transit
users to coordinate the planning of organized infrastructure.
2) A better future lies in reducing carbon footprints by offering
environmentally friendly transportation options. Innovation
and education go hand in hand in enhancing citizens’
knowledge, desire, and willingness to move forward in this
direction. This Commission will have the group wisdom and
energy to take the lead in researching innovative transit
options and offering educational programs including and
beyond bicycle and pedestrian expansion
3) As we are experiencing now with the COVID-19 crisis –
things change. This Commission will be able to create and
monitor multi-year transit models while observing changes in
future transit needs, in order to provide the Council and our
citizens with updated recommendations on policies and
proposed solutions
Citizen participation, group wisdom, innovation, coordination and
future planning are elements that the Complete Streets
Commission brings to the table with my full support. Many
thanks.
Hung Wei, Cupertino resident