REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Sidewalk Improvement and Expansion (Garcia)
Report
BACKGROUND
In January 2026, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Member Duong requested a work plan topic discussion on sidewalk improvements and expansion (Attachment 1).
DISCUSSION
The work plan topic includes several discussion topics related to pedestrian activity:
• Lack of a complete sidewalk network
• Discontinuous sidewalks
• Street segments without sidewalks
• Inaccessible sidewalks due to overgrown trees and construction
The recommendations in the topic request include:
• Improve and expand sidewalks to encourage more pedestrian trips
• Install more trees to provide shade
• Leveling uneven sidewalks
• Adding streetlighting
• Enforce parking near intersections and crosswalks
City Plans and Policies
Development of the City of Santa Clara first started over 150 years ago and the City’s requirements for development have evolved over time. Currently, the land use designations in the City’s General Plan (adopted in 2010) and Land Use Zoning Code (updated in 2025) include residential, commercial, mixed-use, office and industrial uses and special purpose zones. The General Plan has several policies relating to pedestrian activities:
General Plan Policies -
5.3.1-P10 - Provide opportunities for increased landscaping and trees in the community, including requirements for new development to provide street trees and a minimum 2:1 on‐ or off‐site replacement for trees removed as part of the proposal to help increase the urban forest and minimize the heat island effect.
5.3.1-P12 - Encourage convenient pedestrian connections within new and existing developments.
5.3.1-P15 - Require new developments and major public infrastructure projects to include adequate rights‐ of‐way to accommodate all modes of transportation.
5.3.1-P26 - Support a community‐initiated planning process so that existing neighborhoods can participate in developing more detailed plans for street, landscape and pedestrian facility improvements.
In addition to the General Plan and Zoning Code, the City has specific, precise, and focus area plans for regions within the City that have specific requirements for streetscape designs including sidewalks and landscaping. Currently, the City has area plans for the following locations:
• Lawrence Station
• Tasman East
• Patrick Henry Drive
• Downtown
• Stevens Creek
• Freedom Circle
• El Camino Real
• Santa Clara Station (in-progress)
The area plans typically show requirements for sidewalk widths, landscape strips, and pedestrian amenities. After the area plans are approved by Council, any future redevelopment projects should comply with the standards in the area plans.
In addition to development requirements for sidewalks, the City has plans that specifically address pedestrian facilities and access including the Pedestrian Master Plan 2019 and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and Transition Plan (approved in 2024).
Pedestrian Master Plan 2019: The Pedestrian Master Plan identified areas in the City that lack sidewalk facilities or require pedestrian upgrades. The plan focuses on nine areas of the City that have a higher pedestrian activity demand than other areas. The Pedestrian Master Plan includes the following:
Recommended Sidewalks
This Plan calls for the installation of sidewalks across the City to fill in the gaps and complete the pedestrian network. A comprehensive and connected network assists people in getting all the way from their front door to their intended destination. Sidewalks should be at least 5 feet wide in residential areas and 10 feet wide in commercial areas. As per the ADA, sidewalks must maintain an accessible pedestrian route with the appropriate width, slope, and surface. Sidewalks that connect to parks, schools, and libraries in residential areas may need to be wider to accommodate and encourage greater demand. Sidewalks should also accommodate 4 feet of clear path around obstructions such as telephone poles and utility boxes.
Lighting
Recommendations:
1. Develop street light guidelines and light level goals that meet or exceed American National Standard Institute (ANSI)/Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recommended best practices for roadway lighting.
2. Work with Silicon Valley Power to expand LED Streetlight Retrofit Program to priority pedestrian zones and other areas outside of these zones, as opportunity arises.
Pedestrian-Scale Lighting
Pedestrian-scale lighting can improve walking accessibility at night by illuminating sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, and signs as well as barriers and potential hazards. Pedestrian-scale lighting should be employed in areas of high pedestrian activity.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and Transition Plan: The ADA Transition Plan addresses accessible pedestrian routes through existing City facilities. The plan has identified barriers including narrow walkways, steep slopes, missing curb ramps, poor sidewalk condition, and uneven pathways.
In addition to these plans, City Council approved Resolution 18-8593 to establish a Complete Streets Policy in 2018. The Complete Streets Policy has four principles:
1. Complete Streets Serving All Users. The City of Santa Clara ("City"), through its Circulation policies within the 2010-2035 General Plan and reaffirmed by this resolution is committed to creating, preserving, and maintaining Complete Streets that provide safe, comfortable, and convenient travel along and across streets (including streets, roads, highways, bridges, and other portions of the transportation system) through a comprehensive, integrated transportation network that serves all categories of users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers of commercial goods, users and operators of public transportation, seniors, children, youth, and families.
2. Context Sensitivity. In planning and implementing street projects, departments of the City of Santa Clara shall maintain sensitivity to local conditions in both residential and business districts as well as urban, suburban, and rural areas, and shall work with residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to ensure that a strong sense of place ensues. Improvements that may be considered include sidewalks, shared use paths, bicycle lanes, bicycle routes, paved shoulders, street trees and landscaping, planting strips, accessible curb ramps, crosswalks, refuge islands, pedestrian signals, signs, street furniture, bicycle parking facilities, public transportation stops and facilities, transit priority signalization, and other features assisting in the provision of safe travel for all users as identified in an adopted local plan such as a bicycle, pedestrian, transit, multimodal, or other relevant plan.
3. Complete Streets Routinely Addressed by All Departments. All relevant departments of the City of Santa Clara shall work towards making Complete Streets practices a routine part of everyday operations, approach every relevant project, program, and practice as an opportunity to improve streets and the transportation network for all categories of users, and work in coordination with other agencies, and jurisdictions to maximize opportunities for Complete Streets, connectivity, and cooperation.
4. All Projects and Phases. Complete Streets infrastructure sufficient to enable reasonably safe travel along and across the right of way for each category of users shall be assessed and may be incorporated into all planning, funding, design, approval, and implementation processes for applicable construction, reconstruction, retrofit, maintenance, operations, alteration, or repair of streets, roads, highways, bridges, and other portions of the transportation system, except that specific infrastructure for a given category of users may be excluded if an exemption is approved via the process set forth in section C.1 of this policy.
Starting on January 1, 2025, the statewide “Daylighting Law” (AB 413) went into effect. AB 413 states that vehicles cannot park within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk. See City webpage for more information: <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-g-z/public-works/engineering/traffic-engineering/traffic-safety-programs/statewide-daylighting-law-ab-413>. The law is meant to help drivers and pedestrians see each other to avoid potential collisions. Staff recently added new red curbs and no parking signs in priority walking areas throughout the City, including near Santa Clara University.
Projects and Implementing Improvements
Typically, there are two ways pedestrian improvements identified in the City’s plans and policies can be implemented, through private developments and capital projects. Private development project applications are submitted to the Community Development Department to begin the process of review and approval. Major private development projects are reviewed for comments by each City department for compliance with City plans, policies, and standards. Staff comments and conditions for each project will vary based on the project size, scope, and location but can include on-site design changes and adjacent off-site improvements. Most often, private development projects have been required to install missing sidewalks along the project frontage, curb ramps to comply with ADA requirements, street lighting, crosswalk striping, and pedestrian signals or beacons. In recent years, there have been about 20-30 private development projects per year.
Apart from private developments, the City has Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects that include pedestrian facility upgrades. Depending on the specific need, grant funding is typically pursued due to limited City budget to expand sidewalks in Santa Clara.
The City is currently in the design phase for the Central Santa Clara Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Project, which includes pedestrian facility upgrades at 13 intersections in the central area of the City including on Scott Boulevard, Monroe Street, Lafayette Street, and Lincoln Street based on the recommendations from the Pedestrian Master Plan.
Additionally, the CIP budget includes the ADA Improvements Projects funded by the Measure I Bond program. This project will focus on improvements related to curb ramps, sidewalks, and traffic signals to enhance accessibility in the public right-of-way. The City is currently soliciting private consultant support for the design phase of this project.
The City also has additional CIP projects to address street lighting and sidewalk, curb and gutter repair. The Miscellaneous Street Lighting project is a Silicon Valley Power Department project and includes installation of additional streetlights and replacement of existing street lighting facilities to maintain adequate lighting levels. The work may include installing new streetlight foundations, new streetlight poles, new LED luminaires, and/or new pull boxes and wiring. The work is expected to occur throughout various locations in the city.
The Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Repair Project includes the repair of concrete sidewalks, curbs, and gutters to maintain accessibility and minimize trip and fall hazards at locations identified throughout the City. Sidewalk, curb, and gutter repairs and replacements are identified, prioritized, and completed throughout the year.
Project Input and Public Requests
Members of the public have several opportunities to provide input to the City. For development projects, stakeholders can provide comments regarding sidewalks and other pedestrian facilities to the project planner in the Community Development Department. For major CIP projects, stakeholders can contact the City Department that is leading the project delivery process.
For general requests regarding sidewalks and other pedestrian facilities, members of the public are encouraged to use the MySantaClara App or City webpage for general requests for repairs, improvements, or enforcement at <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/services/make-a-service-request>, including:
• Sidewalk Maintenance - uneven sidewalks and repairs
• Street Light Repair
• Overgrown Vegetation on Private Property
• Weeds and Trees in Public Right of Way
• Parking Restrictions
In addition, members of the public can visit the City’s Street Maintenance webpage for more contact options: <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-g-z/public-works/maintenance-operations/street-maintenance>
Staff
Written by: Ralph Garcia, Senior Civil Engineer, Public Works
Reviewed by: Carol Shariat, Transportation Manager, Public Works
Approved by: Michael Liw, Assistant Director/City Engineer, Public Works
ATTACHMENTS
1. Topic Request Form - Member Duong