Last night, the City of Mountain View hosted a public meeting to review the results of the Latham Ave / Church Street Bicycle Boulevard Feasibility Study. After many years of discussion by city council, city staff, BPAC (Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee) and local bicycling advocates it’s very exciting to see some positive momentum in the creation of the bike boulevard. At the meeting, the city’s consultants from Nelson-Nygaard presented the results of the study and the initial plans to an audience of about 40 residents.
A bicycle boulevard is a street with low automobile volume that is designed to give bicycle traffic priority. (A nearby example is Bryant Street in Palo Alto). At the meeting, Alex Sweet, a consultant from Nelson/Nygaard who worked on the feasibility study, shared some of the key design elements employed in bicycle boulevards to create a low-stress and relaxed environment for bicyclists including pavement markings, wayfaring signs, and automobile traffic calming and diversion.
As explained during the meeting by Greg Unangst, long-time resident and BPAC member, the Latham/Church corridor is ideal for a bicycle boulevard because it is one the few uninterrupted North-South corridors in Mountain View and it is a good bicycling alternative to El Camino Real being only one block away. Also, there are possibilities to connect the southern end to the Stevens Creek Trail.
Alex shared the initial concepts for the bicycle boulevard which incorporated many design elements including speed bumps, pavement markings, wayfaring signs, raised intersections, refuge islands, additional stop signs on cross streets and auto traffic diverters at Shoreline and Ortega.
As next steps, the feasibility study will be presented to the BPAC and then to City Council for comments and prioritization as part of the Capital Improvement Plans.
