City of Mountain View  
Minutes  
Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee  
Wednesday, September 27, 2023  
6:30 PM  
Plaza Conference Room and Video Conference,  
500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041  
1.  
2.  
CALL TO ORDER  
Chair Kuszmaul called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.  
ROLL CALL  
Staff members present: Transportation Manager Ria Hutabarat Lo, Associate Civil Engineer Kathryn  
Robertson, Principal Civil Engineer Robert Gonzales, Senior Traffic Engineer Darwin Galang, Active  
Transportation Planner Brandon Whyte  
Twenty-one (21) members of the public were present, including 10 in person and 11 online.  
3 - Committee Member Terry Barton, Vice Chair John Stone, and Chair James Kuszmaul  
Present  
2 - Committee Member Lada Adamic, and Committee Member Valerie Fenwick  
Absent  
3.  
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC  
(00:01:30)  
Bruce England noted that the agenda file included an ID number, which can make it more difficult for calling  
in. He also commented on A Day Without Driving on October 4.  
April Webster noted that Caltrans Draft Design Information Bulletin (DIB) 94 on Complete Streets was  
distributed earlier this year. Recently, there has been discussion about omitting interchanges from the Final  
DIB 94, which she suggested would mean that the Highway Design Manual (HDM) would prevail for  
pedestrian and bicycle facilities at overpasses such as at Shoreline. She also noted that there is a new Safe  
Routes to School assistance program and neighborhood grants program.  
4.  
MINUTES APPROVAL  
Approve Meeting Minutes April 26, 2023  
Motions: (00:08:02)  
4.1  
MOTION: Approve the BPAC meeting minutes of April 26, 2023.  
Stone/Barton – 3/0/0 - passed. Absent Adamic and Fenwick.  
Yes:  
3 - Committee Member Barton, Vice Chair Stone, and Chair Kuszmaul  
Approve Meeting Minutes April 27, 2023  
Motions: (00:08:25)  
4.2  
MOTION: Approve the BPAC meeting minutes from April 27, 2023  
Stone/Barton – 3-0-0 - passed. Absent Adamic and Fenwick.  
Yes:  
3 - Committee Member Barton, Vice Chair Stone, and Chair Kuszmaul  
5.  
6.  
UNFINISHED BUSINESS  
NEW BUSINESS  
Grant Road and Sleeper Avenue Intersection Improvements, Project 21-39  
6.1  
Gonzales and Robertson provided a presentation on updates to the design for the Grant/Sleeper project.  
(00:09:15)  
Public Comment (00:22:11):  
Jack and Sharon Siegel, former MV mayor and community advocate, thanked members for their work and  
supported the project. He noted that this project was funded in 2011 and will take another year and a half to  
build. He appreciated the addition of the northern crosswalk. If traffic backs up through Cuesta and El  
Camino Real intersections, there should be ‘Keep Clear’ markings so that cars are not caught in the  
intersection when the light changes. The pedestrian crossing signal should be long enough for all  
pedestrians to cross safely. He highlighted the importance of the project for safety.  
Dale Kursten, retired MV firefighter from Waverly Park, noted that children use the crosswalk as a route from  
the trail and motor vehicle speeds have increased over time.  
Ken and Cindy Newman (aka Cynthia Palacio), resident from Villa Nueva, noted that when she walks and  
bikes to Cuesta Park or formerly to work she would use the intersection of Eunice-North and Grant. This  
intersection may receive increased traffic with this project. She was not in favor of the use of posts and  
medians due to her experience of being trapped in a protected bikeway from a passing truck. She supported  
a restricted left-turn only during peak hours, not 24-7. She felt the project was over-designed and was  
concerned about cut-through traffic increasing on Eunice, which will block Villa Nueva exiting traffic  
Chris Sotobahn, a resident from Villa Nueva, was concerned that the turning restriction may cause confusion  
with the posts and that there may be backups on Carol Ave.  
Ann Bradford, resident from Wood Leaf Way, was confused about what movements would still be permitted  
and how they affect school traffic on Eunice.  
Silja Paymer supported this project and appreciated the improved protection for when she crosses with  
children. She also appreciated the northern crosswalk, which aligns with the crosswalk.  
April Webster was excited about the intersection design and improved safety. She supported the use of  
vertical delineators. She expressed concerns about the effects of long project times and encouraged staff to  
undertake a project post-mortem to identify ways to improve efficiencies, implement incremental measures.  
Marcy Marcus expressed concern about congestion on Eunice from left turn restrictions. She suggested a  
partial left turn restriction. She noted that many students and parents drive, which could contribute to  
backups. As a parent she indicated that she walks to street lights at the next intersection.  
David Unjerik, resident of Sleeper, supported a crossing solution at Sleeper/Grant because there is a lot of  
bicycle traffic on Sleeper. He would prefer to add turn restrictions without the posts initially. He asked why a  
second crosswalk was needed and how that would affect traffic and supported the first option.  
Ling Lang from near Sleeper noted that she used the existing crossing with young children and noticed that  
drivers on the opposing side do not see her. She felt the design was overkill and requested a beacon. She  
questioned the benefit of the second crosswalk and wondered about effects on traffic.  
Committee Comment (00:58:56):  
BPAC members acknowledged the varied input that they have received and generally supported the proposed  
design.  
Kuszmaul clarified the following items: Robertson’s email was on the mailer. Saint Francis has an access  
from the medical center, and access to Sleeper from southbound Grant will remain open.  
Barton expressed excitement about addressing safety concerns and hoped projects could be ranked based  
on Vision Zero and objective criteria. He noted community comments on overdoing or underdoing the design.  
He asked to move the project forward as designed, with the opportunity to consider a full signal later based  
on performance.  
Stone echoed public support for safety improvements and appreciated the design including the right turn  
blackout. He hopes that the City can move projects like this forward faster in the future.  
Kuszmaul expressed appreciation for the project, particularly including second crosswalk and the no right on  
red feature. He wondered if more substantial posts should be included in the design. He also supported any  
efforts to move projects faster.  
Update on National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)  
Designing for All Ages and Abilities Guide  
6.2  
Whyte provided a presentation on the NACTO Designing for All Ages and Abilities Guide. (01:09:54)  
Public Comment (01:31:07):  
April Webster, Caltrans D4 BAC, noted that Middlefield over SR 85 is a gap with DIB 94 and would require a  
Caltrans exemption.  
Committee Comment (01:33:01):  
Kuszmaul expressed hope to see this guidance applied within the City.  
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory  
Committee (BPAC) Update  
6.3  
Adamic provided written comments on the VTA BPAC Updates. (01:33:31)  
No Public Comments.  
Committee Comment (01:35:02):  
Kuszmaul and Stone appreciated the written comments.  
BPAC Fiscal Year 2023-24 Work Plan  
6.4  
Whyte provided updates on the BPAC work plan and tentative agenda list. (01:35:20)  
No public comments.  
No committee comments.  
7.  
COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS  
7.1. Staff Comments  
Whyte provided staff updates on Bike Month activities including: Bike to Wherever Days; progress on the  
TDM ordinance work; PROWAG publication to the federal register; outreach to Springer Meadow  
Neighborhood Association; hosting and participation in Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit; presentation of Castro  
pedestrian plaza at the California APA Conference; surveys and various outreach events for the Active  
Transportation Plan; recent infrastructure upgrades on Calderon and Leong-Fairchild; A Day Without Driving;  
and Monster Bash. He also provided an update on AskMV reports from March through April including trail  
closures, bike lane blocking, and powerwashing of sidewalks on Castro. Lo also noted that Whyte was  
nominated for Professional of the Year. (01:45:07)  
No public comments.  
Committee Comment (02:07:02):  
Kuszmaul appreciated the efforts to make more nimble pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the City.  
Barton asked about emergency repairs on El Camino in advance of the repaving.  
7.2. Committee Comments  
No committee comments.  
8.  
9.  
SET DATE AND TIME FOR NEXT MEETING:  
Wednesday October 25, 2023  
CALENDAR  
10. ADJOURNMENT  
Kuszmaul adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m.  
Submitted for approval by Ashley Winsor.  
Approved on October 25, 2023.