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City Hall West, Conference Room July 17, 2003 |
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A meeting of the Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) was held on July 17, 2003 in the West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale. Committee Chair Gregory called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. |
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Members Present: |
Kevin Jackson |
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Members Absent: |
Thomas Granvold |
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Staff Present: |
Dieckmann Cogill, Public Works
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Visitors: |
Tim Risch, Vice Mayor |
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ORDER OF BUSINESS
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I. |
Approval of Meeting Minutes from June 19, 2003 |
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Mayer clarified the intent of a statement that was made in General Business Item #2. Motion to approve minutes with revisions Mayer/Jackson, 4 in favor, 1 abstain (Wolnik)
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II. |
Public Announcements |
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Jackson reported that he had reported
construction zone safety issues on Fremont/Wright, and that staff made
the appropriate improvements. He also noted to the committee the
importance of assuring that there is safe bicycle access to the
community and senior centers.
Wolnik requested a closure update of the Stevens Creek Trail undercrossing of 101.
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III. |
General Business/Public Hearings |
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1. |
Election of Officers |
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Mayer and Gregory were nominated for the position of Chair. Gregory declined the nomination. The Committee elected Mayer as Chair unanimously. Gregory was nominated as Vice Chair. The Committee elected Gregory as Vice-Chair unanimously.
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| 2. | Review of Code of Ethics | |
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The Committee was asked to review the Code of
Ethics.
Wolnik raised concerns regarding the language discussing divisive or harmful behavior and it's relation to dissent. The Committee discussed the meanings and clarified that dissent is within the Code of Ethics, however divisiveness is not. Regarding Code #15 the Committee announced that it is appropriate for council members to attend one BPAC meeting per year because of the importance of council feedback, input and dialog with the Boards and Commissions.
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3. |
Discussion with Vice Mayor Risch | |
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Vice Mayor Risch thanked the Committee for the
invitation to attend the BPAC meeting. He also discussed the current
budget situation and how that could possibley effect bicycle and
pedestrian projects in the future. He also thanked the Committee for
providing input towards a reinvigorated bicycle licensing education
program. He stated that he believes the BPAC can really add value to
that program. He addressed the issue regarding the possibility of changing
the BPAC meeting hours, stating that although changing the meeting hours
may not be the proper solution, all boards and commissions will be asked
to think of money saving measures.
Jackson raised his concerns that bicycle projects will be overlooked in the economic downturn. He also raised his concerns with staff's current scope changes for the Wolfe Road bike lane project. Jackson also requested that bicycle and pedestrian planning be incorporated from the start of the mall design. Risch discussed the project in relation to the Bicycle Opportunities Study, a large scale planning study, and the need for project specific impact analysis. Risch stated that everyone is very concerned about having a pedestrian friendly and walkable downtown and mall. He also stated that he would advocate BPAC involvement through the process. Gregory stated that he is concerned about how the Public Safety budget cuts will effect traffic safety regarding bikes and pedestrians. He also asked about the feasibility of convening some sort of PTA/City/school task force to tackle school safety problems. Risch stated that that could be a good idea. He stated that the City has historically had some difficulty getting schools to commit any resources to solving a traffic safety problem. Wolnik stated that she felt that City staff should be able to use flex-time instead of overtime. Gras stated that sometimes he believes that neighborhood dissatisfaction is over-estimated and that he believes that bicycle projects in some cases can reduce operating costs. Risch mentioned the Transportation Strategic Program and the possibility of the implementation of a transportation impact fee. He stated that it will most likely be coming to council in august and that he would support additional BPAC review. Mayer expressed concern regarding the amount of time it has been taking to complete the major Sunnyvale bike projects such as the Borregas Bridges and the Calabazas Creek trail project. He also asked the Vice Mayor to make sure that the Transportation and Traffic Division are always considered a high priority when evaluating budget cuts.
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4. |
Wolfe Road Bike Project | |
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Jackson does not believe that the shared use
arrow accomplishes what it is intended to do. He also believes that
there is minimal parking demand in the project area. He believes that
the scope change jeopardizes the safety of bicyclists, discourages
bicycle use, and compromises the integrity of the County bike route
system.
Motion Form a subcommittee that would prepare a letter to council that communicates that the scope change would jeopardizes the safety of bicyclists, discourages bicycle use, and compromises the integrity of the County bike route system. Jackson/Gras 1 in favor (Jackson), 4 oppose Wolnik believes that battles over on-street parking are very difficult to win and the committee should consider whether this battle is worth fighting. Gregory expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the shared use arrow on high volume and high speed streets. Gras suggested that if parking is sparse at rush hour maybe the bike lane could be used for limited hours. Mayer expressed his concerns about using a sharrow on streets with parking. He believes that they should be used in locations with narrow outside lanes without parking. He also believes that staff should construct a bike lane and allow parking in the bike lane during non-commute hours. Motion Because of the concern regarding the effectiveness of the shared use arrow and because the BPAC believes that the Wolfe Road Bike project scope change would jeopardize the safety of bicyclists, discourage bicycle use, and compromise the integrity of the County bike route system, the Committee recommends that on-street parking be removed at least during commute time to accommodate a bicycle lane. Mayer/Jackson, motion carries Unanimously
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5. |
Review of Public Safety Activities - Bicycle Licensing Educational Material | |
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The committee reviewed the CHP Bicycle
handout. They stated that the believed that the graphics were childlike
and not ethnically diverse. They stated that it could be a suitable
handout for children.
Gregory stated that he agreed with staff's recommendation to provide a variety of materials. Wolnik believes that the bike map has some valuable safety material on it, and is a good education handout if nothing else can be found. Mayer stated that this item shall be continued until a representative from the Department of Public Safety is available to discuss the issue.
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IV. |
Citizens to be Heard |
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None
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V. |
Non-Agenda Items and Comments |
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Wolnik reported issues with the amount of green time that is given for bicyclists at Moffett Park Drive and Mathilda. She stated that Dennis Ng has responded that they will be fixing the timing to correct the problem, but asked if there were minimum green time standards that need to be met. She also requested that this be considered as a study issue item. Gregory asked about a problem that he had reported on Hollenbeck Jackson requested copies of the Bike Opportunities Study. Mayer requested that staff reply to the Segway user to make him aware of the committees decision not to recommend Segway regulation at this time. He also asked staff to give an update the BPAC on AB 1408 status. He also requested that a letter of support be sent from the City and the BPAC regarding AB1408. Lastly he requested that a letter be sent from the BPAC to the Santa Clara County Water District expressing deep concern regarding the 237 bike detour. Mayer/Jackson, Unanimous
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VI. |
Information Only Items |
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1. |
Approved April 17, 2003 Meeting Minutes - Accepted as Submitted |
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2. |
BPAC Active Items Report - Accepted as Submitted |
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3. |
BPAC Email - Accepted as Submitted |
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| 4. | BPAC Calendar - Accepted as Submitted | |
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VII. |
Adjournment |
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Motion to adjourn, Gregory/Mayer, unanimous . Meeting adjourned, 9:30 p.m. |
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Respectfully Submitted,
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