Long anticipated traffic-calming measures are coming to California Street, with major changes to the throughway that will make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers in Mountain View.
The California Street project is one of many infrastructural developments that the city is planning to build in the next five years, as part of its Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Initially designed to cover just one block on California Street, the project expanded its scope to encompass a 1.2-mile stretch of the transit corridor, from Showers Drive to Shoreline Boulevard.
The project is a temporary installation that can be modified as the city evaluates the effectiveness of its road safety measures. Its anticipated cost, as a permanent build out, is $30 million, although the funding has yet to be appropriated or approved by City Council.
“I believe it’s going to be more than a year because we actually don’t have that kind of money readily available. To save up for it, maybe we just do a block at a time, in smaller chunks,” said Public Works Director Dawn Cameron, who spoke at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting Monday evening, Oct. 3.
The design of the project is split into two segments, said Trent McGowan, a civil engineer with BKF Engineers. The first segment, from Showers Drive to Mariposa Avenue, will implement a “road-safety diet” that reduces the four-lane street to three lanes and includes a new, two-way center left-turn lane.
The project will feature parking-protected bike lanes in each direction, with striped buffers and different types of vertical elements – or dividers – to deter motor vehicles from blocking the bicycle lanes, McGowan said.
This portion of California Street, known for its multifamily housing, also will have three new midblock crossings for pedestrians. The design elements include flashing beacons and high-visibility crosswalk striping, corner curb extensions or “bulb-outs,” median refuge islands and curb ramps to improve accessibility to shopping areas, according to the council report.
The second segment of the project, from Mariposa Avenue to Shoreline Avenue, will reduce California Street from four lanes to two lanes, with parking-protected bike lanes in each direction, and high-visibility striping at intersections. This stretch of California Street will not have a center turn lane, and the landscaped median buffer that already exists will remain in place, McGowan said, adding that the area primarily consists of single-family housing.
“These improvements aim to reduce speeds of vehicles on the road, provide a safe, separate space for bikes to use the corridor and provide pedestrians with more crossings that have more visibility,” McGowan said.
With the road safety measures, the city anticipates a reduction of on-street parking from 275 spaces to approximately 212 spaces to comply with national guidelines that encourage clear sight lines by driveways and intersections, the report said.
Community members commended the plan for its progressive elements and responsiveness to local concerns.
“I just want to express how absolutely over-the-moon enthusiastic I am with this design,” said Ken Kershner, a Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition advocate. “It’s going to completely change the character of that neighborhood and turn it into really an urban village,” he said.
Commentators also expressed support for the proposal to add planters as vertical elements, or buffers, to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from cars, which will add to the cost of maintenance but is feasible, according to the report.
The issue of community outreach was raised by Tracy Chu, a Mountain View resident who began advocating for safety measures along the corridor after three pedestrians were fatally struck by cars in 2011 and 2012. “This was a real watershed moment for our neighborhood,” she said, adding that she was pleased by the plans but also concerned about the public reaction to it.
“There’s going to be controversy. One person’s traffic-calming is another person’s extra minute on their commute,” she said.
Responding to Chu’s point, Mayor Alison Hicks and council members Lisa Matichak and Ellen Kamei encouraged city staff to engage in extensive outreach about the proposed changes with local residents, neighborhood associations and schools.
“I do think it’s going to be critical to its success. I’ve seen a road diet in another community go forward and then be reversed,” Kamei said.
Kamei also asked for clarification about how the California Street improvement project fits in with the city’s broader initiatives, such as its investments in multimodal transit options and its Vision Zero goals.
Incorporating these comments, staff plan to submit the final project design in the spring with construction anticipated to begin next summer. Construction likely will take nine months to complete.
“It will really change the look and feel of the corridor,” Cameron said, referring to the project in its totality.
