REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Accept LinkedIn’s Donation of Voluntary Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Improvements on Maude Avenue between Sunnyvale/Mountain View City Limits and Approximately 400 feet West of North Mathilda Avenue with an Estimated Construction Cost of $1,180,000 and Finding of an Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act
Report
BACKGROUND
Maude Avenue is an east-west commercial/industrial collector that connects to State Route (SR) 237 and Sunnyvale/Mountain View city limits on the west and ends at Wolfe Road on the east. On Maude Avenue between the Sunnyvale/Mountain View city limits and approximately 400 feet west of North Mathilda Avenue (Project Limits), there are two travel lanes in each direction with a two-way center turn lane and a Class II bicycle lane on both sides of the street. There are continuous sidewalks on both sides of the street, except for a portion on the north side approximately 440 feet west of Macara Avenue into Mountain View. This segment of Maude Avenue is located within the Sunnyvale Peery Park Specific Plan area, where most of the land use along this corridor are office, research and development, and industrial land uses.
In 2018, LinkedIn Corporation (LinkedIn) approached the City with a request to install voluntary improvements consisting of on-street Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes and pedestrian improvements along Maude Avenue from 400 feet west of North Mathilda Avenue to the west city limits. LinkedIn has retained the services of a professional engineering firm to prepare plans suitable for construction of the improvements.
EXISTING POLICY
In performing the analysis and developing the conclusions identified in this report, the following policies were referenced and considered:
General Plan Chapter 3 Land Use and Transportation:
• Policy LT-1.7: Emphasize efforts to reduce regional vehicle miles traveled by supporting active modes of transportation including walking, biking, and public transit.
• Goal LT-3: An Effective Multimodal Transportation System - Offer the community a variety of transportation modes for local travel that are also integrated with the regional transportation system and land use pattern. Favor accommodation of alternative modes to the automobile as a means to enhance efficient transit use, bicycling, and walking and corresponding benefits to the environment, person-throughput, and qualitative improvements to the transportation system environment.
• Policy LT-3.6: Promote modes of travel and actions that provide safe access to city streets and reduce single-occupant vehicle trips and trip lengths locally and regionally.
The order of consideration of transportation users shall be:
(1). Pedestrians
(2). Non-automotive (bikes, three wheeled bikes, scooters, etc.)
(3). Mass transit vehicles
(4). Single-occupant automobiles
• Policy LT-3.30: Support regional and cross-regional transportation improvements and corridors while minimizing impacts to community form and intracity travel.
Vision Zero Plan
• Reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2029 and to continue improving traffic safety towards zero fatal and serious injury collisions in the ten years that follow.
• Call to action to make Sunnyvale’s streets safer, especially for people biking and walking.
Active Transportation Plan
• Sunnyvale is a Complete Streets Community where residents and commuters have a choice to bicycle and walk to meet their transportation needs on a connected, comfortable, convenient, safe and efficient network designed for all abilities and ages.
• Increase active transportation mode share to 10% by 2030 and continue to work toward increasing the active transportation mode share in the next 10 years.
City Council Policy 7.1.5 Grants, Donations, Contributions and Sponsorships
3. For donations, contributions, or sponsorships with values of $100,000 or more, as estimated by the donor, a Report to Council will be written outlining its purpose and the advantages and disadvantages prior to acceptance. Authority to accept any such donation, contribution or sponsorship shall rest with the City Council. For monetary donations, it will be stated in the Report to Council if the gift is a onetime contribution for a specific purpose or a contribution where the principal could be invested, and the interest used to support all or part of a special project or program for a number of years.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action to accept the donation is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (c) for existing streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and facilities involving negligible or no expansion and that does not create additional automobile lanes. The CEQA document will be filed at the County Recorder’s Office prior to the start of construction activities.
DISCUSSION
LinkedIn has voluntarily committed to implement bicycle and pedestrian facility improvements along Maude Avenue between Sunnyvale/Mountain View city limits and approximately 400 feet west of North Mathilda Avenue for the benefit of the community.
The Maude Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Improvements Project includes:
• Slurry seal of the entire street width on Maude Avenue within the Project Limits
• Upgrade the existing Class II bicycle lane to Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes along Maude Avenue within the Project Limits
• Install bicycle queue boxes, pedestrian crosswalks and pavement markings to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety
• Traffic signal enhancements, which include converting the existing in-pavement loop detection to a video detection system at the intersections of: Maude Avenue/Macara Avenue, Maude Avenue/Mary Avenue, and Maude Avenue/Pastoria Avenue
For the segment of Maude Avenue between Potrero Avenue and Pastoria Avenue, LinkedIn will only implement improvements for the westbound direction. For the eastbound direction, the new approved development at 810-870 West Maude Avenue is required to implement off-site public improvements along its project frontage as part of the Conditions of Approval. The improvements along its project frontage on Maude Avenue include shifting the existing curb south by four feet, applying slurry seal from centerline to lip of gutter for the eastbound direction, installing a landscaped median, and installing a Class IIB buffered bicycle lane for the eastbound direction.
All improvements are entirely within the existing right-of-way or existing City easements and is therefore under the City of Sunnyvale’s jurisdiction.
The estimated value of these improvements based on the engineer’s probable construction cost estimate is $1,180,000. Pursuant to City Council Policy 7.1.5 - Grants, donations, Contributions and Sponsorships, authority to accept any contributions with values of more than $100,000 rests with the City Council.
If the City Council accepts this donation, LinkedIn estimates that construction may start in the winter of 2021, and be completed in the spring of 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT
Installation of bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Maude Avenue will be fully funded by LinkedIn. Upon acceptance of improvements, the City will be responsible for on-going maintenance. The additional bicycle and pedestrian striping improvements will be maintained under Department of Public Works Street Operations Program 120 - Pavement and Concrete Maintenance. The additional maintenance cost related to the addition of a buffer space to the bicycle lanes would be approximately $630 in material cost each year. It is anticipated that it would take a four-person crew three hours each year to maintain the buffer striping. In addition, with LinkedIn including an application of slurry seal to the project area the lifespan of this section of Maude Avenue would be extended by a period of three to five years. Installation of video detection cameras will not increase or decrease maintenance costs but likely reduce the chance of traffic signal detection damage due to future roadway construction activity but increase long-term infrastructure replacement costs by an average of $5,000 for each of the three signalized intersections. Existing budgets and staffing resources can absorb the new improvements at this time.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, Sunnyvale Public Library and Department of Public Safety. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Accept LinkedIn’s Donation of Voluntary Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Improvements on Maude Avenue between Sunnyvale/Mountain View City Limits and Approximately 400 Feet West of North Mathilda Avenue with an Estimated Construction Costs of $1,180,000 and Finding of Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (c) for existing streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and facilities involving negligible or no expansion and that does not create additional automobile lanes.
2. Do not accept LinkedIn’s Donation of Voluntary Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Improvements on Maude Avenue between Sunnyvale/Mountain View City Limits and Approximately 400 feet West of North Mathilda Avenue.
3. Take other action as directed by Council.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Accept LinkedIn’s Donation of Voluntary Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Improvements on Maude Avenue between Sunnyvale/Mountain View City Limits and Approximately 400 Feet West of North Mathilda Avenue with an Estimated Construction Costs of $1,180,000 and Finding of Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (c) for existing streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and facilities involving negligible or no expansion and that does not create additional automobile lanes.
JUSTIFICATION FOR RECOMMENDATION
Based on Vision Zero principles, the City aims to incorporate the appropriate roadway design to reduce the chance of collisions to occur for all road users. Dedicated Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes are proven to improve the safety and comfort for users as a striped buffer will provide additional separation between vehicular traffic and bicyclists. This improvement will also provide better bicycle connectivity between the different office buildings along Maude Avenue. In addition, this proposed bicycle improvement was identified in the Active Transportation Plan; the City also has plans to upgrade the existing Class II bicycle lanes on Maude Avenue east of North Mathilda Avenue to a Class IIB buffered bike lanes in 2022 as part of the process of making the bicycle lanes on Maude Avenue permanent resulting from City Council’s approval of the removal of on-street parking along Maude Avenue. These two improvements together will upgrade Maude Avenue to a low-stress bicycle facility, improving the bicycle transportation network connection and functionality to and from the City of Mountain View and the rest of the City of Sunnyvale.
Staff
Prepared by: Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Public Works
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Maude Avenue - Project Limits and Proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements
2. Maude Avenue - Existing and Proposed Cross Sections