REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Action to Recommend City Council Adoption of the Walsh/Martin Avenue Bikeway Planning Study and Approval of a Preferred Concept (He)
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara received a 2016 Measure B Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning Studies grant from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to conduct the Walsh/Martin Avenue Bikeway Planning Study ("project"). This project focuses on a 1.7-mile segment of Walsh Avenue between Bowers Avenue and Lafayette Street and a half-mile stretch of Martin Avenue between Lafayette Street and De La Cruz Boulevard. The 2016 Measure B grant aims to close gaps in the existing bicycle network, improve connectivity, and enhance bicycle safety.
The project began in January 2023, with a goal of identifying and evaluating design options to install bicycle lanes, preferably Class IV bikeways, on both corridors, which may include options for parking removal and/or lane reduction. Class IV bikeways are dedicated on-street facilities designed exclusively for bicyclists, with a physical separation that separates the bikeway from the travel lanes. They provide protection and comfort for people on bikes and are most encouraging for a broad range of users. The proposed bikeways will connect to existing and future planned bicycle networks including Scott Boulevard, Monroe Street, Lafayette Street and De La Cruz Boulevard in Santa Clara.
Walsh Avenue: Walsh Avenue is an east-west minor arterial running parallel to Central Expressway with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour (mph). The study corridor is mostly a four-lane roadway (two-lanes in each direction). The section of Walsh Avenue between Bowers Avenue and San Tomas Expressway has an existing two-way center turn lane. The adjacent land use is predominantly office buildings, industrial parks, and surface parking lots. The corridor has Class II bicycle lanes or Class III bicycle sharrows on both sides b...
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