by Tracy | Oct 11, 2022 | Elections
There are five candidates vying for three seats on the Mountain View City Council this November. Mountain View Streets for All was interested in hearing each candidate's ideas for how to improve street safety and encourage active transportation in our community as well as understand what kind of advocate they would be for these causes.
We sent each candidate the following questions. We received responses from Alison Hicks, Ellen Kamei, and Lucas Ramirez and have published their answers on our website. We hope that hearing about these topics in the candidates' own words will help you make a more informed choice in November.
View their responses
by jarkatmu | May 5, 2013 | California Street, City Council, Council Meeting, Escuela Avenue, Events
The time has come! On Tuesday, May 21 at City Hall, Council will be voting on funding for improving safety on two streets in the Rengstorff Park area and we need you to be there!
Like safer streets? This is the place to be on the evening of Tuesday May 21!
That evening, City Council will be voting on a number of projects as part of the Capital Improvement Program List. This list is only chosen every two years and typically includes projects that are over $50,000 and are upgrades of city infrastructure. Included are a handful of projects that will elevate street safety in the Rengstorff Park neighborhood and other parts of the city. Together with projects such as the Castro Street road diet, Council will be considering a project labeled as the California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study.
This study is the first step towards a safer, more beautiful California Street and Escuela Avenue– and the first step towards great streets in the Rengstorff Park neighborhood! Here’s the project description– it reflects a lot of the ideas put forth by Great Streets Rengstorff Park.
California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study: This project would study options to improve the bicycling and pedestrian environment along and across California Street. Improvements would be explored with and without reducing a travel lane in each direction. Examples of possible improvements include elimination or narrowing of vehicle lanes, increased area for bicyclists, curb bulbs to reduce crossing width for pedestrians, and improved lighting and signage. An analysis of the traffic impacts associated with lane reduction (road diet) will be included. The study would also consider pedestrian and bicycle activity to facilities on Escuela Avenue (e.g., Castro Elementary School, Senior Center, Teen Center).
City Council have made street safety efforts a high priority as part of their 2013 goal-setting initiative but, we must demonstrate that there’s strong support from those who live near and use these streets everyday.
Please join us on May 21 and voice support for the California Street/Escuela Avenue Improvement Study. Specifically, show support for analyzing the California Street road diet as part of the study. We’re confident that it can work, and would welcome the more detailed analysis that comes with the traffic study, but Council could choose to eliminate it from the study during the May 21 meeting.
The road diet has the strongest potential to reduce crashes and make the street a more inviting place, and we hope that you will join us in voicing support for the study and the road diet.
The date and time once again– Tuesday, May 21; Approximately 5:30PM; 500 Castro Street, Downtown Mountain View
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If you can’t make the meeting, please send council an e-mail expressing support for the California Street/Escuela Avenue study, including the California Street road diet alternative.
As always, sign up for our Newsletter for the latest information.
by jarkatmu | Dec 11, 2012 | California Street, City Council
On November 20, Mountain View City Council held a study session on traffic safety, and Mayor Kasperzak and councilmembers Ronit Bryant and Laura Macias spoke strongly in support of taking action in the form of road design changes to improve safety and make it easier and safer to get around when walking or biking. The study session was held in response to the recent rash of collisions between cars and students walking and biking to local schools, the April case of reckless driving that killed William Ware as he waited for a bus, and growing public awareness that the status quo is negatively impacting the quality of life in the city.
Councilmember Laura Macias briefs the council on safe bicycle street design at the November 20 study session.
City Staff and the Police Department gave a presentation outlining the the student education, enforcement, and data collection efforts that are currently ongoing. Public Works Director Michael Fuller discussed some of the solutions that they are working on including tree trimming, lighting, and potential speed limit reduction, particularly around schools.
In the short-term, ticketing, student education, and tree trimming are strong steps forward for safer and more livable streets, but in the long term, road design changes are necessary. Reducing speed limits on roads like California Street may have some impact on behavior, but as Traffic Officer Lopez from the MVPD commented at a The Shoreline West Association of Neighbors traffic safety meeting: “Once we’re gone, people speed up again.”
The reason people speed once the police leave is because the design of the road sends information to drivers. The ability to see far down the road, wide lanes, and broad corners all contribute to a perception that speeding is normal and accepted. California Street is a prime example of this condition. The long blocks, wide lanes, and rounded corners allow drivers to comfortably maintain high speeds despite traumatizing the people on foot and bike who use the street.
But isn’t speed okay? Speed can have its place on freeways and expressways, where the sole pupose of the road is to move cars quickly. However, on neighborhood streets there are numerous residents living in close proximity to the road and many bicyclists and pedestrians. Reducing speed is not only critical to creating a more livable environment, but should there be a collision between a driver and a pedestrian or bicyclist, small differences in speed are often the difference between life and death. According to numerous sources, 85% of pedestrians die when hit by a car travelling at 40MPH, 40% die at 30MPH, and 10% die at 20mph. The posted speed limit of most large streets in Mountain View is 35, and we know drivers often go faster. Recognizing the reality of our major streets, councilmember Ronit Bryant declared: “If it feels comfortable to be driving 40mph on our major streets, something needs to change.”
Relationship between speed and pedestrian fatalities.
Moving forward, Councilmember Laura Macias called for continued action at the city’s Transportation and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Mayor Mike Kasperzak stated “I would like to see Mountain View out in front on these issues.” City Council will have an opportunity in January or February of 2013 to confirm their support of safer, more livable streets when they make recommendations for the Capital Improvement Project list. The California Street road diet and streetscape improvement project proposed by Great Streets Rengstorff Park could be added to this list, but your support of this and smilar projects are needed to make truly great streets. Once we have more information on key opportunities for public input, we hope you will join us in writing letters and attending meetings in support of better road design.
