REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Resolutions Accepting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study, Selecting a Preferred Design Concept and, as appropriate, Taking Related Actions Regarding Parking and Curb Modifications
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study (Study) is a planning-level document that identifies 1.75 miles of potential bicycle improvements along Monroe Street from San Tomas Expressway to Lawrence Expressway. The goal of the Study 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. Three concepts have been developed for adding bicycle facilities along the corridor and include potential parking or lane removals.
These proposed concepts and improvements were developed based on an analysis of the corridor, recommendations in the Santa Clara Bicycle Plan, engagement with several committees and commissions, and robust public outreach efforts. Development of the Study included significant community participation and feedback, most notably through the support of the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). It should be noted that the Study is only a planning-level document and does not include design, environmental review, or construction of any alternative. Additional funds would be required to design and construct the preferred alternative.
BACKGROUND
The City received a grant award from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in the 2016 Measure B Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning Studies competitive grant program for the Study. Bicycle improvements along Monroe Street from San Tomas Expressway to Lawrence Expressway is a priority project in the City of Santa Clara’s Bicycle Plan. Council approved a professional services agreement for the Study with Alta Planning + Design and work on the project began in January 2023.
This effort has been coordinated with the City’s BPAC, Senior Advisory Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Youth Commission, various stakeholders (including the Santa Clara Unified School District), and the public. The Study was a regular item on the BPAC Agenda, with input and feedback provided at four separate meetings. On June 17, 2024, the BPAC reviewed the final draft and voted to recommend that the City Council consider adopting the Study and also recommended a preferred design option.
The Study provides draft roadway concepts and potential enhancements to improve bicycling along Monroe Street consistent with the Santa Clara Bicycle Plan. Adopting this Study and selecting a design concept will allow the City to apply for grant funds such as the VTA 2016 Measure B Bicycle and Pedestrian Program or the California Transportation Commission Active Transportation Program (ATP) in order to move forward with design and construction. Additionally, it will help promote and advance the City’s Complete Streets Policy, which has a goal of creating and maintaining streets that provide safe, comfortable, and convenient travel through a comprehensive, integrated network serving all modes of transportation.
DISCUSSION
This planning-level document focuses on a 1.75-mile section of Monroe Street from San Tomas Expressway to Lawrence Expressway (Attachment 1). The Study identifies options for bicycle improvements to expand the existing bicycle network, fill in gaps, provide greater connectivity to public transportation, increase mobility, and encourage the public to choose more sustainable modes of transportation. It also includes potential options for both parking removal and lane reductions.
The Study (Attachment 2) is divided into five chapters which include:
(1) Introduction and Background
(2) Existing Conditions
(3) Corridor Alternative Concepts & Analysis
(4) Community Engagement
(5) Recommendations
An Appendix is also included with detailed information on existing conditions, parking utilization analysis, traffic analysis, speed survey results, community survey results, and community engagement material. The Study Appendix can be downloaded from the project webpage at: <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-g-z/public-works/engineering/traffic-engineering/bicycle-and-pedestrian-projects/monroe-street-class-ii-buffered-bikeway-study>. Each Study chapter is summarized below.
Introduction and Background
The Study supports the City’s Climate Action Plan by identifying strategies to improve connectivity for people biking and walking while encouraging mode shifts from vehicles toward more sustainable modes such as biking and walking.
Both the City of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) have adopted plans highlighting the need for bicycle facilities on Monroe Street to improve local and regional bike access. The Santa Clara Bicycle Plan identifies a Class IIB buffered bike lane along the study corridor as a high-priority project to improve connectivity in the City’s bike network. Monroe Street is also identified as part of a future priority “Cross County Bicycle Corridor” in the VTA’s Santa Clara Countywide Bicycle Plan Update 2018 as it connects to a Class II bike lane on Reed Avenue in the City of Sunnyvale.
The Monroe Street corridor is primarily fronted by residential uses and schools, including Adrian C. Wilcox High School (Wilcox), with a small pocket of mixed-use commercial use near the Lawrence Expressway intersection. There are other important community destinations along the corridor, including the Lawrence Caltrain Station, Everett N. “Eddie” Souza Park, and the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail.
The east-west segment of Monroe Street in the Study area has four travel lanes (plus a two-way left-turn lane in front of Wilcox) and a posted speed limit of 35 mph. There are 5-foot bicycle lanes on Monroe Street between Chromite Drive and San Tomas Expressway and there is no parking allowed along the southside of the street in front of Wilcox.
Existing Conditions
Staff collected data and completed traffic analyses to evaluate the existing conditions on the roadway across key metrics including safety, traffic operations, parking, and vehicle speeds. This analysis helped set a baseline for considering design concepts and identifying potential trade-offs between these design concepts compared to the existing roadway configuration.
Safety
Recent available collision data was analyzed for the period of January 2017 through December 2022. This analysis found a total of 130 collisions occurred during this timeframe. Of the 130 collisions, two collisions were fatal, three resulted in a severe injury, nine collisions involved a bicyclist, and seven collisions involved a pedestrian. For the two collisions that involved a fatality, none included bicyclists, while one included a pedestrian. For the three collisions that involved serious injury, none included bicyclists and one involved a pedestrian.
Vehicle Speeds
Speed data was collected at nine locations along the corridor for a seven-day period during peak and non-peak periods. Speed survey data found that 85th percentile speeds (the speed at which 85 percent of all motorists travel at or below) ranged between 33 and 44 miles per hour (mph). Although 37 percent of vehicles exceeded the posted 35 mph speed limit, the majority of drivers were traveling within 9 mph of the posted speed limit, which is typical of most urban arterial streets.
Traffic Operations
Detailed traffic modeling was completed throughout the corridor and 26 intersections were analyzed along Monroe Street and other nearby roadways, including Kifer Road, Walsh Avenue, and Cabrillo Avenue. The traffic analysis evaluated the current Level of Service (LOS) for each study intersection based on criteria established in the City’s Transportation Analysis Policy. Per City policy, intersections on City-owned streets should meet Level of Service D or better and per County policy intersections on County-owned and operated expressways should meet Level of Service E or better.
Based on the analysis, 22 of 26 intersections operate acceptably during the AM peak hours (7:00 - 9:00 a.m.) and 23 of 26 operate acceptably during the PM peak hours (4:00 - 6:00 p.m.). The four intersections that currently do not meet the policy in the AM peak hour are:
• Monroe Street and Lawrence Expressway (County)
• Kifer Road and Lawrence Expressway (County)
• Walsh Avenue and San Tomas Expressway (County)
• Monroe Street and San Tomas Expressway (County)
The three intersections that currently do not meet the policy in the PM peak hours are:
• Kifer Road and Lawrence Expressway (County)
• Walsh Avenue and Bowers Avenue (City)
• Walsh Avenue and San Tomas Expressway (County)
Travel Time
A travel time analysis was completed to evaluate the time it takes to travel the entire length of the study corridor in a car at multiple periods (weekday morning between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m., midday between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., evening between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., and on Saturday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.).
During the busiest time of day travelling westbound (AM peak period), it takes an average of 10 minutes and 25 seconds to travel the entire corridor. During the busiest time of day travelling eastbound (PM peak period), it takes an average of 11 minutes and 19 seconds to travel the entire corridor. The AM peak period includes a high level of traffic from the high school, whereas PM peak period includes more commute traffic and less school traffic.
Parking Analysis
A parking analysis was completed to determine parking occupancy along Monroe Street. Parking counts were collected along both sides of the street from Lawrence Expressway to San Tomas Expressway on three consecutive weekdays (Tuesday through Thursday) on April 4, 5, and 6, and on Saturday, April 8, 2023. Staff conducted counts during three peak parking periods (7:00 - 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.- 2 p.m., and 2:00 - 4:00 a.m.) and counts were also collected on all side streets within 500 feet of Monroe Street. Overall, 62 percent of parking spaces were available. It should be noted that portions of Monroe Street west of Wilcox High School were observed to have parking availability less than 50 percent.
Potential Corridor Alternative Concepts
The Study identifies three roadway concepts and a no-build option that were developed and modified based on feedback from the community, commissions, committees, and Council (Attachment 3). Each concept is summarized below:
Existing Conditions/No Build
This scenario does not implement any improvements on Monroe Street and maintains the existing condition. There are four vehicle travel lanes (two in each direction), parking is maintained on both sides of the streets and no new bicycle facilities are installed.
Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides
This concept removes one travel lane in each direction, adds a two-way center left-turn lane and maintains parking on both sides. An eight-foot-wide buffered bicycle lane (Class IIB) is added to each side of the street, with five feet of bikeway and three feet of buffer. As there is currently no parking on the south side of Monroe Street along Adrian C. Wilcox High School, this concept includes wider bicycle facilities and a protected and buffered bicycle facility (Class IV) adjacent to the school to provide enhanced bicycle safety for students and deter stopping in the bicycle lane during school drop-off.
Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane
This concept removes one travel lane in each direction and adds a two-way center left-turn lane. An eight-foot-wide protected and buffered bikeway (Class IV) is added to each side of the street in this concept, with five feet of bikeway and three feet of buffer with parking as the protection (i.e. parking protected). Parking is maintained on both sides of the street, but it is shifted towards the center of the street to act as a vertical separation between the bikeway and the vehicle travel lane. As there is currently no parking on the south side of Monroe Street along Adrian C. Wilcox High School, this concept includes wider bicycle facilities and a protected and buffered bicycle facility (Class IV) adjacent to the school to provide enhanced bicycle safety for students and deter stopping in the bicycle lane during school drop-off.
Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side
This concept maintains four travel lanes and removes parking on one side of Monroe Street along the entire study corridor. A seven-foot-wide buffered bicycle lane (Class IIB) is added to each side of the street, with five feet of bikeway and two feet of buffer. Based on overall parking inventory along Monroe Street, it is recommended that parking along the south side of the street be removed in this option. Parking would be removed when the City obtains funding and moves forward with construction of this concept. Along Adrian C. Wilcox High School, an eight-foot wide protected and buffered bikeway (Class IV) would be added, maintaining four lanes of travel (plus a center-turn lane), removing parking on the north side of the street, and installing a 5-foot bike lane on the other side of the street from the high school.
Corridor Transportation Analysis and Potential Benefits
The City completed an in-depth transportation analysis to evaluate the potential benefits and impacts associated with each design concept. This analysis evaluated the changes in key metrics including potential collision reduction, potential speed reduction, parking availability, corridor travel times along the study portion of Monroe Street, potential traffic diversion, LOS changes, and potential Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction. A summary table of the transportation analysis results is included as Attachment 4. Additionally, a summary of the potential benefits, per concept, is included as Attachment 5.
Community Engagement
Community engagement was a major component of developing the Study and a variety of outreach strategies were used to seek input from stakeholders. Outreach was conducted during three phases of the project: existing conditions, concept development, and traffic analyses. The following outreach methods were implemented over the course of Study development:
• City website & forum for the community to submit comments
• Dedicated project email address and phone number
• Four BPAC Meetings (including one site visit with BPAC members)
• One Senior Advisory Commission Meeting
• One Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
• One Youth Commission Meeting
• Five Community workshops
• Six City events (Earth Day/Arbor Day, Bike to Work Day, Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival, Wilcox High School Outreach, Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, and Caltrain Commuter Outreach)
• Three online interactive surveys
• Project signs installed along the study corridor
• Four rounds of postcard notifications sent to 1,000 residential and business addresses most proximate to the corridor (4,000 postcards total)
• Social media posts
• City News Articles and City Hall Newsletter
• Inside Santa Clara Articles
All community workshop presentations, recordings, and online surveys were posted on the project website.
Outreach Summary
Residents were provided multiple opportunities to share feedback on the project. Three surveys were completed during the Study. The third and final online survey was open from January 16 to February 25, 2024. This survey received 124 public responses with 13 percent of respondents indicated they live or work on Monroe Street. Twenty-one percent of respondents said they attend or work at Wilcox High School.
The project team used ranked choice voting to determine which alternative had majority support from the public. The roadway concept titled, “Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane” had the greatest support with 50 percent of all first-choice votes. Respondents who favored this concept indicated that they would rather have a protected bikeway for their own safety and comfort, rather than only being separated from traffic by roadway striping. It should be noted that over 80 percent of participants voted in favor of one of the three bikeway concepts on Monroe Street and only 17 percent voted for keeping the existing condition without bicycle facilities as their first choice. A summary of the third survey responses is provided in Table 1 below:
Table 1: Design Concept Preference Survey Summary
|
Roadway Concept |
% of First choice votes* |
|
Existing Conditions/No Build |
17% |
|
Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides |
16% |
|
Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane |
50% |
|
Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side |
17% |
*Ranked choice voting
Implementation
Cost estimates (in 2024 dollars) for the design and construction of each roadway concept were developed and are summarized in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Cost Estimates Per Roadway Concept
|
Roadway Concept |
Cost Estimate* |
|
Existing Conditions/No Build |
$0 |
|
Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides |
$2.5 million |
|
Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane |
$2.6 million |
|
Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side |
$2.5 million |
*Estimates are in 2024 dollars.
Funding
Currently, there is no funding identified to design and construct any of the alternatives identified in the Study. If the Council selects a preferred concept, staff will begin the process to pursue funding opportunities for future design and construction.
These opportunities include:
• Local and Regional Grant Programs
o VTA 2016 Measure B
o Transportation Fund for Clean Air County Program Manager Fund
o One Bay Area Grant Program
o Transportation Development Act Article 3
• State & Federal Grant Programs
o California Active Transportation Program (ATP)
o Highway Safety Improvement Program
o Office of Traffic Safety Grant
o Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A)
o Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program
If the Council selects a preferred concept, staff will begin the process to pursue funding opportunities for future design and construction phases.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting and Feedback
On June 17, 2024, the City’s BPAC reviewed the final draft Study and voted by majority (5 yes, 0 no, 4 absent) to recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution adopting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study.
The BPAC also voted by majority (5 yes, 0 no, 4 absent) to recommend the roadway concept titled, “Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides” as the preferred alternative. The BPAC discussed this concept as being the least impactful of the three concepts, easier for the City to maintain using existing street sweepers, a more intuitive design for bicyclists and drivers, and no impact to residents during the Annual Cleanup Campaign.
Staff Recommendation
Based on the concept analysis findings, community input, and BPAC recommendation, staff recommends the roadway concept titled, “Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides” as the preferred alternative. This alternative meets the goals of the study while minimizing impacts to on-street parking and street sweeping.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered to adopt the Study does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to California Code of Regulations Section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, The Study is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15262 of CEQA Guidelines as the Study is a planning document for future possible actions which the City has not yet approved, adopted, or funded. Future environmental review will take place should the Study move forward to design and construction.
The modification of parking regulations being considered is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) - Existing Facilities, as the activity consists of operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trains, and similar facilities involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact resulting from the adoption of the Study. However, by adopting this Study, the City will increase its eligibility for grant funds to implement a preferred design concept, should one be selected by City Council. It is important to note that there will be a future cost associated with implementing any of the proposed design concepts contained within the Study. The design and construction costs associated for the design concepts range from $2.5M - 2.6M (in 2024 dollars). Additionally, implementation of protected and separated bicycle lanes may require the use of specialized street sweeping equipment that the City does not currently have. Additional equipment (i.e. smaller street sweeper) or contractual street sweeping services will be necessary. There is currently no dedicated funding source to design or construct any of the design concepts; however, staff can explore potential grant sources to fund the design and construction of a design concept, should one get selected by the Council.
COORDINATION
The Study has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, Finance Department, BPAC, Senior Advisory Commission, Youth Advisory Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Santa Clara Unified School District.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
In early September, staff mailed notices to the neighborhood adjacent to the Study corridor and utilized social media and City Hall News to distribute information regarding the September 24, 2024 City Council meeting regarding the Study and the potential parking or lane removal design options.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt a resolution accepting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study.
2. Approve the No Build Option as the preferred alternative.
3. Approve the roadway concept titled “Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides” as the preferred alternative.
4. Approve the roadway concept titled “Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane” as the preferred alternative.
5. Approve the roadway concept titled “Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side” as the preferred alternative and adopt a resolution amending parking regulations to remove on-street parking on the southside of Monroe Street between Lawrence Expressway and San Tomas Expressway.
6. Adopt a resolution establishing no parking zones as necessary on Monroe Street between Lawrence Expressway and San Tomas Expressway to accommodate the approved bikeway facilities.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternatives 1,3, and 6:
1. Adopt a resolution accepting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study;
3. Approve roadway concept titled “Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking on Both Sides” as the preferred alternative; and
6. Adopt a resolution establishing no parking zones as necessary on Monroe Street between Lawrence Expressway and San Tomas Expressway to accommodate the approved bikeway facilities.
Staff
Reviewed by: Craig Mobeck, Director of Public Works
Approved by: Jovan D. Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Project Location Map
2. Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study
3. Monroe Street Bikeway Design Concepts
4. Transportation Analysis Summary
5. Potential Benefits Summary
6. Resolution to Accept the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study
7. Resolution to Remove Parking on the Southside of Monroe Street to Implement Roadway Concept titled - “Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side”
8. Resolution Establishing No Parking Zones on Monroe Street