1. Where do you walk and bike in Mountain View? Which areas do you think are Great Streets now? Which do you think have potential to become Great Streets?
ALEX NUNEZ
My biking in Mountain View has taken me primarily back and forth from home to our caltrain stops, but also on grocery shopping runs, to friend’s houses, and to work. This has taken me onto our neighborhood’s residential roads, our trails, and primary transit roads such as El Camino/Shoreline/California, etc. My walking has primarily centered around Shoreline West, Old Mountain View, and along our wonderful trails and parks when the need for fresh air calls.
I believe a Great Street facilitates pedestrianism, safe bicycling, and neighborhood/retail activities AND has excellent tree canopy with inviting features for pedestrians to interact with. Unfortunately I do not believe that there are streets in Mountain View today that incorporate all of these criteria, and for this reason, I am very hesitant to call any of our streets Great Streets.
I believe that there are many streets that have the potential to become Great Streets moving forward. These would especially be Castro Street, especially if we are able to take proper queues from the success of Castro STREats and explore the benefits of permanent closure to cars. Additionally, I believe that even Moffett Blvd on the other side of Castro Street is primed to take on similar characteristics if we can zone for the appropriate mix of retail/residential to take advantage of the upcoming transit center upgrades.
Furthermore, streets such as California St., Montecito, Sierra, Old Middlefield, Whisman, and Evelyn are all primed for much stronger upgrades to bicycling safety infrastructure to allow for the feeding of connections to similar arterial roads in the city.
JOHN LASHLEE
I live on Flynn Avenue and enjoy walking and biking to Castro Street, to my workplace at LinkedIn, the Stevens Creek Trail, and just around my neighborhood in general. During the pandemic I have been getting out more and more just for fun bike rides around the city.
I think Castro Street deserves special attention as a “Great Street.” It was quite easy to traverse by foot, bike, and car before the recent closure. On foot or bicycle I never felt threatened by high speeds of cars. And I was always comfortable with the traffic throughput in my car.
I think that Middlefield as well as Moffet have the potential to become a “Great Street.” On Middlefield we can invest in better bicycle infrastructure and signage to make sure that bicycle lanes are accessible during the day. We can also improve the lighting on Middlefield and the Stevens Creek Trail to make it accessible to nighttime joggers. On Moffet we can improve the sidewalk infrastructure.
JOSE GUTIERREZ
I walk from Latham street to Rengstorff park and La Plaza market. I also walk to downtown Castro and Eagle Park from Latham street. When I would road bike, I would go down Latham to El Calderon circle around to CalTrain, downtown Castro, up to Cuesta, then Foothill expressway, up to Los Altos Hills, down to VA hospital, up to Woodside through Junipero SIerra, then Sand Hill, and come back home to Latham. On Sundays, I’d go up to San Mateo when they would close down the back road through Woodside and come back to Latham. About 40 miles round trip on those days. Nowadays, I will bike to Cuesta park as well as Shoreline. If I want to make the Shoreline ride longer, I will use trail over by Landels school then come back home.
Frankly, I believe we need to improve our streets for bicyclists as a whole. I don’t see any Great Streets just yet, and that’s because I see incomplete bike route paths connecting Castro school, (Escuela ave.) with downtown access or Cirttenden, Graham middle school access. As a school board member we’ve worked with Safe Moves to provide bicycle safe routes to schools and on campus with safety programs for our kids. However, the city needs to step up and expand on reducing lane space, increasing space for bicyclists not just for individuals, but family rides. These lanes should connect to new housing developments, with ease of access to parks, and schools within our community. Though there are designated bike lanes by Rose market towards Graham, we still have a lot of accidents between our kids and cars as they cross El Camino. The clarity of the lanes between Castro across El Camino needs highlighted bike right of way signs, same can be said for all bike routes we currently have in place.
Potential for Great Streets I see with California Ave., Latham/Church streets, Castro up to Cuesta, Castro down to Moffett and towards Wagon Wheel and any street to school sites and parks. A mini bike lane expressway system is what I would like to see done.
LENNY SIEGEL
My wife and I have always walked downtown, and during COVID-19 we are enjoying walking throughout Old Mountain View. It’s great to see people avoiding each other, even walking in the street.
I bicycle EVERYWHERE in Mountain View. During COVID-19, I bike less on the Stevens Creek Trail because it’s difficult to maintain social distance. (I usually do not wear my mask while biking.)
I think we should emphasize active transportation on neighborhood streets, such as Mercy, Montecito, Sierra Vista, Franklin Ave., and Tyrella. Those are safer, more comfortable bikeways and pathways than major streets with dedicated bike lanes.
LISA MATICHAK
I walk in several areas in Mountain View – Castro Street, my neighborhood, and Stevens Creek and Permanente Creek trails. I don’t bike much anymore, but when I did a lot of bike riding I did it for pleasure and rode a lot in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The closest I think we have to a great street is Castro Street. It is very walkable with interesting things to see and do at ground level, historic buildings, lots of trees/shade, and people mingling and enjoying themselves. And it is surrounded by residential neighborhoods.
I think we have the potential for great streets in the areas where we envision the most change – North Bayshore and East Whisman. The plans are for mixed use neighborhoods that are very walkable and bikeable, with lots of trees, plazas, parks, and ground floor retail. It is much more difficult to retrofit existing streets than it is to plan for great streets in areas where we are expecting to see considerable change.
MARGARET ABE-KOGA
I live in Old Mountain View, and so I walk everywhere in the neighborhood, especially in downtown. It is great to be able to do business such as banking, shopping, and go to work at City Hall by walking. I tend to ride my bike on the great trails we have – Stevens Creek, Permanente Creek, Hetch Hetchy, etc. I am a recreational cyclist and bike mainly for physical fitness as I teach indoor cycling classes and like to cycle outdoors for a change of pace. I bike intra and intercity as a result.
Castro Street is certainly a great street, especially now that we have closed it to car traffic. I have been pleased with the improvements to El Camino Real following the Grand Boulevard Initiative especially for pedestrians with widened and beautified sidewalks as parcels redevelop under the updated Precise Plan. I am proud to have championed bike lanes on El Camino Real and excited that they are planned for building when Caltrans resurfaces ECR in 2022 timeframe. Most of our neighborhoods are pleasant to walk. We are making improvements in bike access, especially with bike infrastructure such as on Castro Street in front of Graham Middle School, but I would like to expand on protected bike lanes, cycle tracks, and other bike infrastructure throughout the City. I would in particular, like to revisit the California Street road diet and other projects that were put on hold several years ago.
PAT SHOWALTER
I’m a frequent rider on Stevens Creek Trail riding to downtown, Shoreline Park and to the SMART Station along the Bay Trail. Several times a day, I take my dog to Cooper Park and around our neighborhood. From time to time, I walk for an hour or so on SCT with a friend.
In downtown Mountain View Franklin St from High School to Evelyn has great potential to become a Great Street. The car traffic is slow and it’s good to walk as well. Villa St is another that could be a Great Street with some small infrastructure improvements.
PAUL ROALES
I live right off Stevens Creek Trail and my wife and I find it a wonderful resource for both running and biking. Before March I would often bike to work along Central as well.
For a street to be a great street, it needs to have separated bike lanes. Painting a line down the side of a road, does not create a safe bike lane, we need to do more than that and ensure that everyone can get anywhere they need to go in our city safety on a bike, without worrying about overly aggressive, or distracted drivers.
SALLY LIEBER
I walk and bike around Old Mountain View, from Castro St. area to El Camino/San Antonio, on the Stevens Creek Trail to the Bay Trail, and through various streets that can be characterized as the Peninsula Bikeway to get to Los Altos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. I also bike to Sunnyvale often, through Moorpark.
Currently, I feel like the smaller streets are safer and more connected for getting around either by walking or by bike. If you are cycling, it takes some work using Bikely or other tools to figure out the best routes. Crossing the larger streets by foot is unsafe in Mountain View and surrounding cities. Our network of trails, when open, can be considered ‘Great Streets,’ as can certain less-wide streets that are not used for commercial cut-through traffic.
With protected bike lanes, Evelyn could be a great commuter street or better access to downtown Sunnyvale. A protected lane on Central Expressway would be a helpful link to the smaller streets in Palo Alto that get you to a bikeway to downtown. A Peninsula Path on the Hetch-Hetchy right of way would be a huge asset and amenity. All routes to schools and to the downtown should be prioritized for safe routes.
2. During the pandemic we have seen a phenomenal mode shift from solo car driving to walking and biking. Prior studies of commutes in Mountain View showed that approximately 6% biked and 3% walked as of 5 years ago. Although we don’t have current statistics, what current goals would you set for active transport commutes for the upcoming years?
ALEX NUNEZ
With regards to quantification of goals, I would want to know what the current metrics are and what projections would be feasible given different courses of action and levels of investment.
More broadly however, I am very much supportive of moving forward with plans and goals that would directly contribute to the reduction of vehicle trips and increased walkability in our city. This includes the adoption of form-based zoning to increase density within the existing envelope of single-family lots, as well as enabling readily accessible convenience retail to all neighborhoods without the need for a vehicle trip. This way we can leverage vehicle trips as a metric which are more closely monitored, and use them as a proxy for understanding if we are getting people out of their cars, which ostensibly would imply greater increases in pedestrianism/cycling.
JOHN LASHLEE
We have to be honest: we just don’t have enough information to set informed goals right now. We don’t know what the prevalence of telework after the pandemic will be. There will be so-called “mix shift” of the types of jobs being performed in-person and remotely. This will be determinative of the types of commuting being done.
My approach to setting commute type targets will be to be supportive of non-car commutes. We can build protected bike lanes; build housing near jobs; and approve denser, more walkable, transit-oriented communities which will promote non-car commutes. I am also open to exploring alternative ideas to promote carpooling.
JOSE GUTIERREZ
I believe the current pandemic has already changed the way we commute around town. Many folks are working from home, a lot of others have moved out because they work for tech and no longer want to pay the high end luxury apartment rental rates because they can work from anywhere, so they are gone. However, bike usage for overall transportation looks like it has increased and that is awesome. Because of that we have the chance to reassess how we prioritize building great streets. I would want to do this doing my first term in office, should I be blessed to be voted on council. I would partner up with Great Streets, Safe Moves and the Mountain View Whisman school district to figure out how best to create paths that are safe for our kids to use from home to school sites. Would work also with parks and rec and the city to figure out best paths between those sites and parks in order to then create our bike expressway within Mountain View. These could then have enough spaces for riders, clear and night friendly lighted paths which can then be used during the day and night.
LENNY SIEGEL
If we build more mixed-use neighborhoods, giving people the opportunity to live near work, we can raise the percentage of active transportation commutes tp 15% to 20%.
LISA MATICHAK
I think we have seen more walking and biking because people want to get outside and get some exercise, but they were not going far due to shelter-in-place orders. With so many people working from home, most are not walking and biking for commute purposes. That said, some are riding bikes to work to avoid public transportation. We are seeing more and more vehicle traffic as health orders ease restrictions.
Mountain View is working to add more bike and pedestrian infrastructure so that it is easier and safer to get around via these modes. We adopted a Vision Zero policy to make roads safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. It is hard to say how the pandemic is going to impact commute modes in the future. If I assume people stop working from home and go back to commuting to work, I would hope that we could get to 10% biking and walking in the upcoming years. (Bike ridership has dropped from 6%.) Once housing is built in East Whisman and North Bayshore, I would hope this number would substantially increase.
MARGARET ABE-KOGA
The Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s goal is 10% of trips by 2025, San Jose’s modeshift goal is 15% by 2040 and Sunnyvale just adopted a goal of 10%. I think we can set a big goal as a way to incentivize our City to increase efforts around bike/ped access improvements. I believe we can aspire to a 15% goal for biking and 8-10% for walking. I would like us to continue to work on Safe Routes to Schools. The Bike Coalition recently conducted a poll on alternative transportation, and one of the conclusions was that more adults are likely to ride bicycles if they road as a child and kept riding as a teen. Thus, we should invest in Safe Routes To Schools beyond elementary school.
PAT SHOWALTER
I would like to see a doubling of active transportation in the next 5 years. The City has a list of nearly 100 funded bike ped projects that if executed and completed could see the City reach this goal. In order to execute these projects in a reasonable timeframe the City will need to hire additional transportation planners in the near future.
Although having good infrastructure so people feel comfortable on a bike is vital,
we also need to make sure that anyone who wants a bike and promises to use it, has access to one along with a helmet. At the Silicon Valley Bike Summit, it was reported that only about a third of people have a bike here which means that 70% of people don’t have a bike. We also need to encourage the use of e-bikes because they allow people to expand the range of comfortable bike trips substantially.
PAUL ROALES
My goal would be to have a community where you can bike anywhere in our community in a comfortable, safe, confident manner – and to get there quickly, within a few years not a few decades.
SALLY LIEBER
I would like to see a change where every child in Mountain View has a bike and safe routes to school to use them on. I would like to see easy access to Caltrain through cycling, walking, or using other devices. I would like to see clearer access and signage to actively commute to medical services at PAMF and through the downtown. I would like to see a greater number of biking events and even more acceptance and facilitation of Bike Party and other group biking. I’d like to see Mountain View make a real push for filling in the unconnected portions of the Bay Trail and providing more trail-to-trail signage.
3. Many global cities have enacted infrastructure changes during the pandemic to promote walking and biking. What infrastructure changes would you propose in Mountain View?
ALEX NUNEZ
Having ridden a bike on many of our streets, I would like to see significant deployment of Class II bike lanes on feeder streets like Montecito / Sierra Vista / Old Middlefield / Church etc. Furthermore, I believe we must increase safety on existing Class II lanes on thoroughfares like Rengstorff, and California with upgrades to Class IV.
Furthermore, we can increase the level of Class I dedicated infrastructure such as tunnels in the upcoming downtown transit center and overpasses across Central Expwy, such as the Villa Overpass. By producing new infrastructure, and upgrading that which exists, I believe the goal ought to be creating successive streams of protected, safe, and interconnected bike routes which allow access to all parts of the city with increased safety than that which exists today.
JOHN LASHLEE
We can promote walking and biking by building pedestrian connections through large or “superblocks,” improving sidewalks, improving lighting on our streets and trails. We can promote bicycling in particular by investing in inexpensive or subsidized bike share infrastructure, more bicycle parking near commercial hubs, and exploring the possibilities of street narrowing (to give cyclists more room but also to promote safer car speeds).
Indirectly, but equally importantly, we can promote walking and biking by having more community shuttle routes and shuttles. More people will take trips by public transit and thus get cars off the road, making them safer for cyclists. Also people will take more trips with mixed mode of transport, walking part way and shuttling the other.
JOSE GUTIERREZ
I believe a mini expressway for bicyclists connecting key elements of our city with safe paths clearly marked for both day and night time use, with enough space for multiple riders would be ideal. Would also like to see a reduction of speed during school hours on major streets during drop off and pick up hours at school sites.
LENNY SIEGEL
The news story is about people who bicycle instead of taking mass, local transit during the pandemic. Since Mountain View has limited mass transit and employers that normally encourage people to commute by bike have asked them to work remotely, I don’t advocate any major infrastructure changes related to COVID-19. I am pleased that the city has removed traffic from four blocks of Castro Street. I have been advocating that for years, and I convinced downtown business leadership that such an approach was in their interests.
LISA MATICHAK
The infrastructure changes the city has done are primarily to help our small businesses, enabling them to do business outside. This certainly has benefits for pedestrians on Castro since vehicles are not allowed in the areas in which businesses are now operating. These temporary changes will provide information and insight into whether or not Castro should be permanently closed to vehicles.
The city has great trails and Shoreline Regional Park, both of which have been popular for residents during the pandemic. As the county’s health orders allow more and more activities to resume, the need to make infrastructure changes diminishes. There has been very little communication from residents asking for infrastructure changes.
MARGARET ABE-KOGA
Overall, we need a connected network of buffered and protected bike lanes and we need to slow cars down so people feel safer to ride or walk. As stated above, I would like to implement, road diets, protected bike lanes, continuing to build wider sidewalks, lighted and raised crosswalks, lowering speed limits, and bike repair stations. It would be interesting to pilot a Dutch intersection as well.
PAT SHOWALTER
In addition to the infrastructure changes already planned I would seek to lower speed limits on selected narrow neighborhood roads and restrict use of those roads to residents or those having business in that particular neighborhood to make an extensive network of bike boulevards. This would greatly improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. There are many streets in Mountain View that have the potential to be Great Streets, we just need the political will to implement them.
PAUL ROALES
A massive shift of funding away from vehicle lanes to bicycle lanes.
SALLY LIEBER
I would like to see more traffic calming at broad, high speed intersections, more use of bike boxes at intersections, more use of buffered zones, more bike signal triggers and more bikeway signage.
For pedestrian access, I would like to see a review of commuting by foot routes to include signage and sidewalk replacement, especially on El Camino. We need complete streets in at least our highest priority areas, and many more connectors for pedestrians, bicycles and people using wheelchairs or strollers. I would put a high priority on accessibility around transit.
4. Many network gaps and improvement areas were noted in Mountain View’s bicycle and pedestrian plans. Which areas would you prioritize?
ALEX NUNEZ
I would improve all routes to schools first, along with implementing protective infrastructure along the El Camino corridor. Furthermore, I believe that we must bridge both sides of Central Expwy/the Caltrain tracks with Class I overpasses. Currently, it is extremely cumbersome to get one from one side of Central to the other without a car.
We need these infrastructure upgrades so that both cyclists and pedestrians can make their way to the other side without a car. Furthermore, we must assure that we can boost broader interconnectivity by connecting the outlets from these dedicated overpasses into streets that themselves also have bike lanes.
JOHN LASHLEE
The top priority projects are broadly categorized as public transit expansion, bicycle lane construction, automobile infrastructure improvement, and feasibility studies. I would prioritize them in that same order.
JOSE GUTIERREZ
I believe we should reassess and do a new study. This should be done in less than a year, both from analysis to action plan. We can then enact and make it happen soon thereafter. Right now is the time to figure out what works better and which areas to prioritize aligning with our neighborhood parks and school routes especially. Give these sites first priority so that our families feel safe and secure whenever bike travel is used. We can then take on the larger challenge of connecting to bike trails and commute along Shoreline, California, Rengstroff, Cuesta, El Camino, Castro streets and parts of Wagon Wheel.
LENNY SIEGEL
My biggest complaints about our biking infrastructure have to do with intersections. We need to actively ensure that bicycle-activated signals (loop detectors) work, and we should create protected left-turn intersections.
We need to create more bike/ped-only grade separations at the railroad tracks/Central Expressway and El Camino Real.
As redevelopment continues on El Camino, we need to create bike lanes where feasible.
I would like to see some focus on streets, such as Calderon, where bike lanes disappear.
When I was on Council, I tried to get relevant city staff out on bicycles so they had a better understanding of the conditions that make many potential cyclists uncomfortable.
LISA MATICHAK
The city’s bicycle transportation plan and pedestrian master plan are out of date and much has changed in the past five/six years. The city has a project underway to assess mobility (pedestrian, bicycle, vehicle, public transportation) across the city, and then optimize routes for the various forms of getting around. Some streets will be optimized for bicyclists, some for pedestrians, some for public transportation, and some for cars. Once the assessment is completed and a plan proposed, residents and the Council will have the opportunity for input.
I would like to see routes to schools and employment centers prioritized for safe active transportation. The first steps to that end have been completed with the plans in the North Bayshore and East Whisman Precise Plans. While progress has been made in terms of safe routes to school (e.g. changes on Castro, changes on Martens), more needs to be done.
MARGARET ABE-KOGA
I would prioritize areas near schools, areas that would improve connectivity such as from downtown to the San Antonio neighborhood as well as within the San Antonio neighborhood, the East Whisman area in light of projected redevelopment, major crossings such as across Central Expressway, Hwy 101 and into neighboring cities such as Sunnyvale and Palo Alto. We are seeing major improvements in North Bayshore but will have to up our efforts if we are to have residential development in that change area.
PAT SHOWALTER
I would prioritize closing major gaps in the bicycle & pedestrian network AND crossing significant barriers such as Hwy 101and the Caltrain tracks. The projects to construct a bike and pedestrian bridge over 101 at Shoreline, a tunnel under Central Expwy at the San Antonio and the tunnel under the Caltrain tracks & Central Expwy are all desperately needed. These and other similar projects close significant gaps and breach long standing barriers to allow safe crossing of these barriers.
PAUL ROALES
Prioritizing the projects here is a losing battle what we need is for the city to really reprioritize how much we spend on bike and pedestrian transportation instead of vehicular transportation and to do in a permanent way.
SALLY LIEBER
I would prioritize safe routes to schools and services, access to transit and safe crossings on streets impacted by high speed driving.