REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Action to Recommend City Council Adoption of the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study Report and Approval of a Preferred Concept (Garcia)
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara’s Bicycle Plan Update, 2018 identified the Monroe Street segment from Lawrence Expressway to San Tomas Expressway as a priority. In October 2021, the City received a grant award in the 2016 Measure B Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning Studies competitive grant program from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for the Monroe Street Class II Buffered Bikeway study (“project”). The City and project consultant, Alta Planning + Design, began work on the project in January 2023.
The project team identified the most feasible design to reallocate roadway space and provide 1.75 miles of bike facilities along Monroe Street from Lawrence Expressway to San Tomas Expressway. 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 or lane removal. The result of the project will be a final Project Report that will contain a traffic and parking analysis, street design concepts, a discussion on opportunities and constraints of the potential design options, 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.
The Monroe Street corridor is primarily fronted by residential uses and schools, including Wilcox High School, with a small pocket of mixed-use commercial near the Lawrence Expressway intersection. There are also other important community destinations along or just off the corridor, including Lawrence Caltrain Station, Everett N. “Eddie” Souza Park, and the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail.
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 August 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 and presented revised design concepts. Informal polling at this meeting showed two BPAC members in support of Concept A, two in support of Concept B, and one in support of Concept C.
DISCUSSION
Since the last project update in January 2024 the project team has completed the third-round survey on concepts and released the Draft Bikeway Planning Study Report (“Report”) on the project webpage for public review and comment from April 22 to May 12, 2024. 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)
• 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 (6) including one at Wilcox High School
• Online surveys (3)
• City website
• Emails
The Report is divided into five chapters which include (1) Introduction and Background, (2) Existing Conditions, (3) Corridor Alternative Concepts & Analysis, (4) Community Engagement, and (5) Recommendations. The Report also includes an Appendix with detailed information on existing conditions, parking utilization, traffic analysis, survey results, collision data, survey results, and community engagement material. The Report can be reviewed and 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>
At the June 2024 BPAC meeting, the project team will provide a project update and:
1. Share a summary of the Draft Bikeway Planning Study Report.
2. Seek BPAC recommendation that City Council adopt a resolution for the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study.
3. Seek a BPAC recommendation for a preferred design concept to present to the City Council.
Corridor Design Concepts
The project location map is provided as Attachment 1. The updated roadway concepts show a prototypical location on Monroe Street to demonstrate different roadway and intersection design features. The concepts are not specific to a particular location or intersection on Monroe Street. The cross-section design detail and more information on the proposed dimensions and considerations of each concept are in the project report and Attachment 2. Each concept is summarized below:
• No Build Option for Monroe Street 64-Foot-Wide Typical Section
o This concept represents a “No Build” scenario and matches the existing condition on Monroe Street from Lawrence Expressway to San Tomas Expressway, with four traffic lanes and parking on both sides. The vehicle travel lanes are 11 to 12 feet wide, curb-to-curb width is 64 feet wide (including the gutter), and the public right-of-way is 90 feet wide. This condition varies from Calabazas Boulevard to Chromite Drive where there is a two-way left-turn lane, parking only along the north side of the street, and parking restricted along the south side of the street. This condition also varies from Chromite Drive to San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail where the vehicle travel lanes are 10 feet wide, and there is a five-foot-wide bike lane and parking on each side of the street.
• Concept A: Two Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Buffered Bike Lanes, Parking on Both Sides
o This concept removes one travel lane in each direction and adds a two-way center left-turn lane. Parking is maintained on both sides of the street. An eight-foot-wide buffered bicycle lane (Class II) is added to each side of the street, with five feet of bikeway and three feet of buffer. On the segment in front of Wilcox High School, because there is no parking on the south side in front of the school, the bikeways are wider, with an 11-foot-wide buffered bike lane on the south side in front of the school and a nine-foot-wide buffered bike lane on the north side in front of residences.
• Concept B: Two Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes
o This concept removes one travel lane in each direction and adds a two-way center left-turn lane. An eight-foot-wide separated bikeway (Class IV) is added to each side of the street in this concept, with five feet of bikeway and three feet of buffer. Parking is maintained on both sides of the street, but it is positioned outside the bikeway to act as vertical separation between the bikeway and vehicle travel lane. On the segment in front of Wilcox High School, because there is no parking on the south side in front of the school, the bikeways are wider, with an 11-foot-wide separated bike lane on the south side in front of the school and a nine-foot-wide parking-protected bike lane on the north side in front of residences.
• Concept C: Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes, Remove Parking on One Side
o This concept maintains four travel lanes, but it removes one parking lane. 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. On the segment in front of Wilcox High School, because there is no parking on the south side in front of the school, there is less space for bikeway implementation, with an eight-foot-wide separated bike lane on the south side in front of the school and a five-foot-wide bike lane on the north side in front of residences.
o If Concept C is selected, it is recommended to remove parking from the south side, as that would have the least impact on parking supply on the Monroe Street corridor.
The project team analyzed and estimated the impacts of proposed concepts on traffic, safety, parking utilization along the project corridor. An analysis summary is presented in Table 1 and a benefits summary in Table 2.
Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study Report
The City posted the Draft Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study online and accepted public comments from April 22 through May 12, 2024. The following section details high-level summaries and final community feedback on the report.
Table 1. Analysis Summary
|
Concept |
Roadway Speeds |
Collision Reduction Potential |
Parking Available |
Peak Travel Time (min:sec)* |
Substandard Level of Service |
Annual VMT Reduction Estimate** |
|
No Build Option |
37% of drivers exceeded 35 mph limit |
None |
N: 61% S: 64% |
AM: 10:25 PM: 11:19 |
AM: 4 PM: 3 |
None |
|
Concept A: Two Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes |
3-6 mph slower |
Yes |
Same as No Build |
AM: 18:18 PM: 13:35 |
AM: 4 PM: 4 (+1) |
11,911 |
|
Concept B: Two Lanes, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes |
3-6 mph slower |
Yes |
Same as No Build |
AM: 18:18 PM: 13:35 |
AM: 4 PM: 4 (+1) |
11,911 |
|
Concept C: Four Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes (No Parking One Side) |
1-6 mph slower |
Negligible |
N: 51% |
Same as No Build |
Same as No Build |
11,911 |
*Peak travel times in the AM are westbound on Monroe Street, and eastbound in the PM.
**The annual VMT reduction estimate is based on formula from California Air Resources Board, Quantifying Reductions in Vehicle Miles Traveled from New Bike Paths, Lanes, and Cycle Tracks
If Concept C is selected, it is recommended to remove parking from the south side, as that would have less impact on parking supply on the Monroe Street corridor.
Table 2. Benefits Summary
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No Build |
Concept A - Two Lanes, Turn Lane, Buffered Bike Lanes |
Concept B - Two Lanes, Turn Lane, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes |
Concept C - Four Lanes, No Parking on One Side, Buffered Bike Lanes |
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Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
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Benefits for Bicyclists |
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Adds a bicycle facility |
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Provides physical separation between traffic and bicyclists |
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Encourages bicyclists to not ride on sidewalks |
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Provides consistent clear visibility of bicyclists |
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Allows bicyclists to maneuver around debris |
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Allows bicyclists to make mid-block turns |
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Benefits for Drivers |
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Maximizes roadway and intersection capacity |
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Potential to significantly reduce vehicle collisions |
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Adds a turn lane for safer turning maneuvers |
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Benefits for Community and Residents |
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Reduces VMT |
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Maintains existing on-street parking capacity |
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Encourages slower automobile speeds |
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Incorporates traffic calming measures |
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Does not increase pedestrian mid-block crossing demand |
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Maintains existing residential trash collection plan |
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Allows residents to participate in Annual Cleanup Campaign |
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Does not require construction funding |
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Community Survey #3 Results
The project team ran the third and final online survey from January 16 through February 25, 2024. The survey received 124 public responses, 31 percent of whom live, work, or attend school on Monroe Street itself, and the remainder of whom use the corridor as a transportation route. The project team used ranked choice voting to determine which alternative had a clear majority support from the public. If no concept had an outright majority, the team eliminated the concept with the fewest first-choice votes. Those who voted for the eliminated concept had their votes redistributed to their next highest ranked choice in the following round.
Concept B (Two Lanes, Center Turn Lane, Parking-Protected Bike Lanes) had the greatest support with an outright majority (50%) of all first-choice votes, as shown in Attachment 3, therefore no concepts were eliminated. The reason some respondents voted for Concept B is that they would rather have a protected bikeway for their own safety and comfort, rather than one only separated from traffic by paint. It should be noted that over 80 percent of participants voted in favor of one of the bikeway concepts on Monroe Street.
Draft Study Report Public Comments
The public comment period on the public draft was open from April 21 to May 12, 2024. Of the seven comments received on the public draft, two were in favor of protected bikeways for the safety of children, one expressed concern about people speeding on the corridor, one expressed concern about street sweeper access, one desired to see collision rates shown per lane, one expressed concern about survey responses by people who live on the street and do not ride bicycles and visibility challenges for people driving vehicles while accessing driveways, and one addressed a myriad of topics, including observations of stop failure by people driving vehicles, people turning without looking for bicycles while driving vehicles, preferred buffer next to parking, and issues with flooding on bikeways next to storm gutters.
Role for BPAC Members
At this BPAC meeting, committee members will be invited to recommend City Council adopt the final draft report 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 August 28, 2023)
• Meeting 3: Review analysis results and provide feedback on draft concepts (held January 22, 2024)
• Meeting 4: Recommend approval of the draft final report and recommend a preferred design concept to the City Council for adoption
ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study.
2. Do not recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the Monroe Street Bikeway Planning Study.
3. Recommend City Council approve the No Build Option as the preferred alternative.
4. Recommend City Council approve Concept A (Two lanes, center turn lane, and buffered bike lanes) as the preferred alternative.
5. Recommend City Council approve Concept B (Two lanes, center turn lane, and parking-protected bike lanes) as the preferred alternative.
6. Recommend City Council approve Concept C (Four lanes, parking removal on south side of Monroe Street, and buffered bike lanes) as the preferred alternative.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution adopting the Monroe Street 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 (Two lanes, center turn lane, and buffered bike lanes) as the preferred alternative;
or
Alternative 5: Recommend City Council approve Concept B (Two lanes, center turn lane, and parking-protected bike lanes) as the preferred alternative;
or
Alternative 6: Recommend City Council approve Concept C (Four lanes, parking removal on south side of Monroe Street, and buffered bike lanes) as the preferred alternative.
Staff
Written by: George Foster, Alta Planning + Design
Reviewed by: Ralph Garcia, Senior Civil Engineer, Public Works
Reviewed by: Steve Chan, Transportation Manager, Public Works
Approved by: Michael Liw, Assistant Director, Public Works
ATTACHMENTS
1. Project Location Map
2. Monroe Street Bikeway Design Concepts
3. Ranked Choice Voting Results