REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Action to Recommend City Council Adoption of the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study and Approval of a Preferred Concept (Shariat)
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara’s Bicycle Master Plan Update 2018 identified the section of De La Cruz Boulevard between Central Expressway and Lafayette Street and Coleman Avenue between Reed Street and Brokaw Road as a priority. Through funding from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency's (VTA) Measure B grant program, the City of Santa Clara is studying the feasibility of a bike facility along the corridor. The City and project consultant, Kimley-Horn, began work on the project in Winter 2023.
The project team identified the most feasible design options to reallocate roadway space and provide 1.4 miles of protected (Class IV) bike facilities along De La Cruz Boulevard from Central Expressway to Reed Street and Coleman Avenue between Reed Street and Brokaw Road (Attachment 1). The goal of the project is to identify bicycle infrastructure improvements that will close bicycle network gaps, increase mobility, and encourage the public to choose more sustainable modes of transportation. The project includes reviewing potential project options with parking removal. The result of the project will be a final Planning Study that will contain a parking analysis, street design concepts, a discussion on opportunities and constraints of the potential design options, and a summary of community engagement, and a preferred design concept. It should be noted that this project is only a planning-level effort and does not include design, environmental review, or construction of any concept.
De La Cruz Boulevard and Coleman Avenue serves as a crucial north-south connection between US 101, El Camino Real (SR 82), and Interstate 880. The corridor is bordered by the San Jose Airport to the east; other surrounding land uses consist largely of industrial and commercial spaces.
The project has been presented to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) at three previous meetings:
• In March 2023 staff provided a project overview, schedule, and vision.
• In October 2023 staff shared a summary of input gathered from the first round of community outreach, presented the existing conditions analysis and the first draft of design concepts.
• In January 2024 staff shared a summary of input gathered from the second round of community outreach, answered frequently asked questions, and presented revised design concepts. Informal polling at this meeting showed one BPAC member in support of Concept A, and four in support of Concept B.
Community engagement was a major component of the project, and a variety of engagement strategies were used to seek input from the community:
• Project signs installed along the study corridor
• Postcard mailings (approximately 3,000 sent through three outreach rounds)
• Social media posts
• City News Articles & City Manager Newsletter
• Inside Santa Clara Articles
• Community Workshops (3)
• Senior Advisory Commission (1)
• Parks and Recreation Commission (1)
• Youth Commission (1)
• Pop-up events (4)
• Online surveys (3)
• Project page on City website
• E-blasts
DISCUSSION
Since the last project update in January 2024, the project team has completed a third and final online survey along with the third round of community engagement on improvement alternatives and released the Draft Bikeway Planning Study (“Study”) on the project webpage for public review and comment from April 19 to May 12, 2024.
The Study is divided into five chapters which include (1) Introduction and Background, (2) Existing Conditions, (3) Corridor Alternative Concepts and Analyses, (4) Community Engagement, and (5) Recommendations. The Study also includes appendices with detailed information on existing conditions, parking utilization, collision data, survey results, and community engagement material. The Study can be viewed and downloaded from the project webpage at www.SantaClaraCA.gov/BikePedProjects <http://www.SantaClaraCA.gov/BikePedProjects> under the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study link.
At the June 2024 BPAC meeting, the project team will provide a project update and:
1. Share the Draft Final Bikeway Planning Study.
2. Seek final BPAC approval of the Study.
3. Seek a BPAC recommended preferred design concept to present to the City Council.
Corridor Design Concepts
The project team developed two alternative concepts to meet the project goals (Attachments 2 and 3). The concepts utilize the corridor’s wide cross-section and underutilized parking to provide separated Class IV bike lanes along De La Cruz Boulevard and Coleman Avenue. Due to the existing conditions and roadway constraints south of Martin Avenue, both alternative concepts are the same south of Martin Avenue. Both concepts propose to maintain the existing number of vehicle travel lanes. Each concept is summarized below:
• Existing Conditions/No Build
o North of Reed Street, De La Cruz Boulevard typically includes six vehicle lanes, a raised center median or turn lane, and parking or a shoulder on both sides of the street. There is intermittent sidewalk along the west side of the street and no sidewalk along the east side of the street. There are no existing bike facilities.
o South of Reed Street, the roadway transitions to the tri-level interchange, where directional roadways and flyovers connect vehicles between De La Cruz Boulevard, Coleman Avenue, and Lewis Street. Southwest of the tri-level structure, De La Cruz Boulevard merges with Lewis Street to become a four-lane section with paved shoulders, crossing over El Camino Real. Directly south of the tri-level structure, De La Cruz Boulevard becomes Coleman Avenue, where it maintains a similar section with six through lanes, a two-way left-turn lane and sidewalk along both sides of the roadway. Under the Existing Conditions/No Build scenario, no bike improvements would be provided on the Corridor.
• Concept A: Includes More One-Way Class IV Bike Lanes
o Concept A proposes Class IV cycle tracks on each side of De La Cruz Boulevard between Central Expressway and Reed Street and a two-way cycle track on the east side of Coleman Avenue south of Reed Street to Brokaw Road. A two-way cycle track is proposed south of Reed Street to create a safer and more comfortable experience for people biking, allowing southbound bicyclists to avoid potential conflicts with vehicles merging from the tri-level and with vehicles entering and exiting the Costco parking lot.
o Concept A proposes to narrow vehicle travel lanes and repurpose parking on the west side of the street (from Central Expressway to Reed Street) to create space for protected bike lanes. North of Reed Street, Concept A includes 6’-7’ wide bike lanes and 2’-3’ wide physical separation for the bike lanes to create a comfortable, dedicated space for people biking. South of Reed Street, Concept A proposes a 10’- 12' wide two-way cycle track with 2’- 3 wide physical separation.
o At signalized intersections, the project may implement protected intersection features and/or bike signals to help people biking cross safely and transition people biking between one-way/two-way cycle tracks.
o With Concept A, northbound bicyclists would transition from the east side of the street to the west side of the street at Central Expressway to connect to the US 101/De La Cruz/Trimble Interchange Class I shared-use path (currently in construction). Concept A provides a more direct connection to Ewert Road (on-airport) for northbound cyclists than Concept B.
• Concept B: Includes More Two-Way Cycle Tracks
o Concept B proposes a two-way cycle track along the west side of De La Cruz Boulevard between Central Expressway and Martin Avenue, Class IV cycle tracks on each side of De La Cruz Boulevard between Martin Avenue and Reed Street, and a two-way cycle track on the east side of Coleman Avenue south of Reed Street. Concept B proposes to narrow vehicle travel lanes and repurpose parking on the west side of the street (from Central Expressway to Reed Street) to create space for protected bike lanes. North of Martin Avenue, Concept B includes a 10’ wide two-way cycle track with 2’ wide physical separation, serving as an extension to the facility proposed by the US 101-Trimble Interchange project. Between Martin Avenue and Reed Street, Concept B includes 6’ wide bike lanes and 2’-3’ wide physical separation for the bike lanes. South of Reed Street, Concept B also proposes a 10’- 12' wide two-way cycle track with 2’- 3' wide physical separation.
o At signalized intersections, the project may implement protected intersection features and/or bike signals to help people biking cross safely and transition people biking between one-way/two-way cycle tracks.
o With Concept B, northbound bicyclists would transition from the east side of the street to the west side of the street at Martin Avenue. This may be a more comfortable location to cross than at Central Expressway, which is the crossing location for Concept A. Concept B provides more direct access to commercial destinations on the west side of De La Cruz Boulevard north of Martin Avenue, especially for northbound cyclists, than Concept A.
Concept Analysis Summary
The project team analyzed the impacts of the proposed concepts on speed, safety, parking utilization, and Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) along the project corridor. An analysis summary is presented in Table 1 and a benefits summary in Table 2.
Table 1. Alternatives Analysis Summary
|
Concept |
Forecast Speed Reduction |
Collision Reduction Potential |
Forecast Parking Availability1 |
Annual VMT Reduction Estimate2 |
|
Existing Conditions/ No Build |
None |
None |
West: 91% East: 80% |
None |
|
Concept A: Includes more one-way Class IV bike lanes |
1-3 mph slower |
Negligible |
West: No Parking East: 43% |
1,905 miles/year |
|
Concept B: Includes more two-way cycle tracks |
1-3 mph slower |
Negligible |
West: No Parking East: 43% |
1,905 miles/year |
1 Reflects average parking availability (total parking minus utilization) for the peak parking hour during observations: Monday to Friday, 1-2pm
2 Source: California Air Resources Board, Quantifying Reductions in Vehicle Miles Traveled from New Bike Paths, Lanes, and Cycle Tracks
Table 2. Alternatives Benefits Summary
|
|
No Build |
Concept A - Includes more one-way Class IV bike lanes |
Concept B - Includes more two-way cycle tracks |
|
|
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Benefits for People Biking |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adds a bicycle facility |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
|
Provides physical separation between traffic and bicyclists |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
|
Encourages bicyclists to not ride on sidewalks |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
|
Provides consistent clear visibility of bicyclists |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
|
No crossing of De La Cruz Boulevard needed at Central Expressway |
|
• |
|
• |
• |
|
|
Direct northbound connection to Ewert Road |
|
• |
• |
|
|
• |
|
Benefits for Community and Businesses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reduces VMT |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
|
Maintains existing on-street parking capacity |
• |
|
|
• |
|
• |
|
Encourages slower automobile speeds |
|
• |
• |
|
• |
|
Community Preference Survey (Survey #3) Results
The project team ran the third and final online survey from January 22 through February 25, 2024. The survey received 41 responses. The project team used ranked choice voting to determine which alternative had a clear majority support from the public. Concept A (Includes More One-Way Class IV Bike Lanes) had the greatest support with an outright majority (58%) of all first-choice votes, as shown in Attachment 4. Some respondents (34%) preferred Concept B, mostly because it would provide a more direct connection to the US 101/De La Cruz/Trimble Interchange shared-use path (in construction) and better access to commercial land uses on the corridor for northbound bikes. It should be noted that over 92 percent of participants voted in favor of one of the bikeway concepts.
De La Cruz/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study
As mentioned previously, the City posted the Draft De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study online and accepted public comments from April 22 through May 12, 2024.
Three comments were received on the public draft. One comment presented strong support for both Concept A and Concept B. Two comments opposed bike improvements along the project corridor. These comments did not result in any modifications to the Study between Draft and Draft Final versions. The full Draft Final Study can be viewed and downloaded from the project webpage at www.SantaClaraCA.gov/BikePedProjects <http://www.SantaClaraCA.gov/BikePedProjects> under the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study link.
Role for BPAC Members
At this BPAC meeting, Committee members will be invited to recommend City Council adopt the Draft Final Study and select a concept to be presented to City Council as the preferred design alternative.
This will be the fourth and final BPAC meeting to provide input:
• Meeting 1: Plan overview, schedule, and BPAC priorities (held March 27, 2023)
• Meeting 2: Review and collect feedback on draft corridor concepts (held October 23, 2023)
• Meeting 3: Review analysis results and provide feedback on draft concepts (held January 22, 2024)
• Meeting 4: Approve the Draft Final Study and recommend a preferred corridor concept to the City Council for adoption.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study.
2. Do not recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study.
3. Recommend City Council approve the No Build Option as the preferred alternative.
4. Recommend City Council approve Concept A (includes more one-way Class IV bike lanes) as the preferred alternative.
5. Recommend City Council approve Concept B (includes more two-way cycle tracks) as the preferred alternative.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the De La Cruz Boulevard/Coleman Avenue Bikeway Planning Study; and
Select one of the following:
Alternative 3: Recommend City Council approve the No Build Option as the preferred alternative;
or
Alternative 4: Recommend City Council approve Concept A (includes more one-way Class IV bike lanes) as the preferred alternative;
or
Alternative 5: Recommend City Council approve Concept B (includes more two-way cycle tracks) as the preferred alternative.
Staff
Written by: Naomi Germain, Kimley-Horn
Reviewed by: Carol Shariat, Principal Transportation Planner, Public Works
Reviewed by: Steve Chan, Transportation Manager, Public Works
Approved by: Michael Liw, Assistant Director/City Engineer, Public Works
ATTACHMENTS
1. Project Location Map
2. Aerial Concepts
3. Section Map Concepts
4. Ranked Choice Community Voting Results