REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Recommend to City Council the Removal of On-Street Parking on the East Side of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue and Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue to Install Buffered Bicycle Lanes on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Per the Active Transportation Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
Sunnyvale Avenue is a posted 25 miles per hour and 30 miles per hour north-south residential collector street between Maude Avenue and Evelyn Avenue; and a Class II arterial between Evelyn Avenue and El Camino Real, providing direct pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular access to Downtown Sunnyvale and the commercial area along El Camino Real. The segment of Sunnyvale Avenue between Olive Avenue and the Caltrain railroad track is located within the Downtown Specific Plan area, and Sunnyvale Avenue terminates at El Camino Real, which then transitions into Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road south of El Camino Real. The north end of Sunnyvale Avenue connects to Borregas Avenue, which provides access to Moffett Park as well as the Bay Trail via the pedestrian and bicycle overcrossings over US 101 and SR 237. Sunnyvale Avenue between Hendy Avenue and Maude Avenue has one travel lane in each direction and has time-limited (no parking between 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.) on-street parking on both sides of the street along the frontage of Villa Oaks Apartments and Spangler Mortuary between Hendy Avenue and California Avenue. There is also on-street parking along the west side of the street south of Central Expressway, and on both sides of the street between Arques Avenue and Maude Avenue; there is no on-street parking for the remainder of the street. There is currently no bicycle facility on Sunnyvale Avenue between Hendy Avenue and Maude Avenue; bicyclists and vehicular traffic must share the travel lane.
Along the west side of Sunnyvale Avenue between Hendy Avenue and Maude Avenue, there are single-family and multi-family residential units, an auto repair shop and a church; along the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue, there are single-family and multi-family residential units, a mortuary, Murphy Park, and Bishop Elementary School.
At the August 25, 2020 meeting, City Council adopted the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) (RTC No. 20-0249), where one of the main goals of the plan is to create a safe, connected, and efficient citywide walking and bicycling network. The proposed bicycle improvement on Sunnyvale Avenue between Maude Avenue and Hendy Avenue as described in the ATP is a Class IIB buffered bicycle lane, which will fill in the missing gap in the bicycle network along Sunnyvale Avenue and provide bicycle connectivity for students traveling to Columbia Middle School and Bishop Elementary School, as well as the commercial area in downtown Sunnyvale and along El Camino Real corridor. The ATP identified that in order to implement a Class IIB buffered bicycle lane along Sunnyvale Avenue, on-street parking would need to be removed on at least one side of Sunnyvale Avenue north of Arques Avenue, and on both sides of the street south of Arques Avenue; additionally, a parking study would need to be prepared to evaluate the potential parking impacts to determine whether the proposed improvement is feasible.
In 2017, the City was awarded an Active Transportation Program grant in the amount of $1,889,000 with a required local match of $473,000 to plan, design, and construct bicycle, pedestrian and Safe Routes to School (SRTS) improvements in the vicinity of Bishop Elementary School along Maude Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue. On January 22, 2020, the City signed a consultant services agreement with Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc. (KHA) to conduct an environmental assessment and traffic study for the SRTS improvements project on Maude and Sunnyvale Avenues. In February 2020, KHA conducted data collection along the project corridor and in August 2020, KHA completed the Traffic and Parking Study for Safe Routes to School Improvements on Maude Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue (Attachment 2). On July 29, 2021, the project team presented the parking study results and proposed bicycle improvements on Sunnyvale Avenue to the public for input on the parameters of the project.
Attachment 3 presents project limits and locations of where on-street parking spaces are proposed to be removed; Attachment 4 shows the existing and proposed cross sections on Sunnyvale Avenue.
The City Council is scheduled to consider this item on September 28, 2021.
EXISTING POLICY
Resolution No. 793-16 Complete Streets Policy (and Resolution No. 896-18 amending Resolution No. 793-16): The City wishes to improve its commitment to Complete Streets and desires that its streets form a comprehensive and integrated transportation network promoting safe, equitable, and convenient travel for all users while preserving flexibility, recognizing community context, and using the latest and best design guidelines and standards.
General Plan Chapter 3 Land Use and Transportation:
• 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-3.8: Prioritize safe accommodation for all transportation users over non-transport uses. As city streets are public spaces dedicated to the movement of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, facilities that meet minimum appropriate safety standards for transport uses shall be considered before non-transport uses are considered.
• Policy LT-3.9: As parking is the temporary storage of transportation vehicles do not consider parking a transport use of public streets.
• Policy LT3-10: Prioritize street space allocated for transportation uses over parking when determining the appropriate future use of street space.
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.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination for this project is a Class 1 categorical exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) for operation, repair or minor alteration of existing streets, sidewalks and pedestrian and bicycle trails or other similar alterations that do not create additional automobile lanes.
DISCUSSION
On-Street Parking Occupancy Study
To evaluate whether the removal of on-street parking on Sunnyvale Avenue would have an impact to the residents who live along the corridor and to nearby residents, an on-street parking study was conducted along Sunnyvale Avenue as well as streets perpendicular to Sunnyvale Avenue on three different mid-week weekdays: Tuesday, February 4, 2020 to Thursday, February 6, 2020. The data was collected at four different times throughout the day to capture the parking occupancy at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. At the time when the on-street parking observation was conducted, it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore, it represented the normal pre-pandemic traffic conditions. When looking at the data in aggregate, the total number of parked vehicles along this corridor was very consistent among the three days of observation, with a slightly higher usage at night. Given the corridor consists of mostly residential land uses, the 1:00 a.m. observation would have the highest parking occupancy for the area. The average on-street parking occupancy data is summarized in Attachment 5.
Sunnyvale Avenue Between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue
On Sunnyvale Avenue between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue, there are 27 single family homes (plus 1 single family home on Maude Avenue) with 47 available on-street parking spaces on the west side of Sunnyvale Avenue, of which an average of 25 vehicles (53% utilization) were parked there at 1:00 a.m. On the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue, there are 13 single family homes with 39 available on-street parking spaces, of which an average of 13 vehicles (33% utilization) were parked there at 1:00 a.m. Based on the data collected, the parking spaces on the west side along this segment of Sunnyvale Avenue were more utilized whereas the parking spaces on the east side along this segment of Sunnyvale Avenue were not as utilized at night when residents are typically at home.
Based on this data, staff proposes to remove on-street parking on the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue. Table 5.2 and Figure 5.2 in Attachment 5 illustrate the proposed on-street parking removal locations, the number of parking spaces proposed to be removed, as well as the average number of vehicles parked on-street at 1:00 a.m. If on-street parking were to be removed along the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue, it will remove a total of 39 parking spaces, and 13 vehicles, which were observed to be parked along this segment at 1:00 a.m. when residents were typically home, would be displaced.
To evaluate if the surrounding streets would have enough parking availability to accommodate parked vehicles displaced from Sunnyvale Avenue if on-street parking were to be removed, parking occupancy on surrounding streets were also observed. Figure 5.3 in Attachment 5 shows the number of unoccupied spaces on surrounding streets in green, and the occupied spaces (or number of parked vehicles to be displaced) in black. On Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and E. Taylor Avenue, if the on-street parking were to be removed on the east side of the street, 10 parked vehicles would be displaced. The parking occupancy data showed that there are sufficient parking availabilities, across the street as well as around the corner on Arques Avenue and Taylor Avenue. For the segment of Sunnyvale Avenue between E. Taylor Avenue and Maude Avenue, a total of 3 parked vehicles would be displaced; and from the parking occupancy data, there are sufficient parking availabilities across the street as well as around the corner on E. Taylor Avenue and Hazelton Avenue. Residents can also park in their garage, driveway, or on the west side of Sunnyvale Avenue, in addition to around the corner.
Sunnyvale Avenue Between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue
On Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue, there are 18 available parking spaces on the west side of Sunnyvale Avenue, of which an average of 2 vehicles (11% utilization) were parked there at 1:00 a.m. On the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue, there are 12 available parking spaces, of which an average of 3 vehicles (25% utilization) were parked there at 1:00 a.m. Based on the data collected, the parking spaces along this segment of Sunnyvale Avenue were not highly utilized at night when residents were typically home. As shown in Table 5.2 and Figure 5.2 in Attachment 5, if the on-street parking were to be removed on both sides of the street along this segment, 30 parking spaces would be removed, 2 parked vehicles would be displaced on the west side of Sunnyvale Avenue, and 3 parked vehicles would be displaced on the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue. Similar to the segment of Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and Maude Avenue, instead of parking on the street, residents can park in their garage or driveway, in addition to around the corner.
A mortuary is located on the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue. In front of the mortuary, on-street parking is allowed in general, but parking is prohibited between 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Staff has reached out to the mortuary to discuss the project and if this project is approved, staff will work further with the mortuary to address their needs.
Online Public Outreach Meeting
On Thursday July 29, 2021, an online public outreach meeting was held with residents, and property owners along the project corridor, as well as other members of the public, to present the project and the parking occupancy study results, as well as to obtain input from the public. Residents and property owners along the Sunnyvale Avenue corridor as well as surrounding streets were notified of the public meeting through postcards mailed to their addresses (mailer notification area is shown in Attachment 2). A total of 16 members of the public participated in the outreach meeting. Some of the attendees voiced displeasure with the loss of on-street parking, citing concerns related to safety, convenience, and other personal factors. Other attendees were enthusiastic about the project and focused on the benefits that the project would bring, namely improved bicycle connectivity and encouraging further bicycle ridership. Attachment 6 provides a summary of the public outreach meeting conducted for this project.
Online Survey
The project team also solicited public input through an online survey, which was available from July 12 to August 2. There were 179 responses on the survey. Through the online survey, respondents answered questions on whether they reside on Sunnyvale Avenue, travel and parking patterns on Sunnyvale Avenue, whether they have a family member who attends Bishop Elementary School and whether or not if new buffered bike lanes would change their transportation mode choice. Respondents could also provide additional comments in the comment box at the end of the survey. The Public Outreach Memorandum (Attachment 6) provides a summary of the responses from the online survey.
Forty-one respondents indicated that they live on Sunnyvale Avenue, and 108 respondents indicated that they live in the area but not on Sunnyvale Avenue. The majority of the respondents who travel along Sunnyvale Avenue currently drive alone. 36 respondents indicated that they park along Sunnyvale Avenue, of which when asked why they parked on Sunnyvale Avenue, the majority of the 36 respondents indicated they were visiting a friend or relative, followed by “The private parking at my residence is occupied/used”, then by “It is more convenient for me to park on the street instead of on my private parking areas.” Some responded that they did not have any private parking at their residence, however, when Staff conducted a site visit along the corridor, all the residential dwelling units appeared to have private parking and/or driveways. This may indicate that some residences or rooms are rented out.
When asked if they would be more likely to bike if bike lanes were provided on Sunnyvale Avenue, 100 out of the 179 respondents indicated they would. Only 16 of the respondents indicated that they have children who attend Bishop Elementary School, of which 7 of them indicated they would consider letting their children bike to school with new bike lanes.
Of the 179 respondents, 42 respondents provided written comments on the survey: 19 supported the removal of on-street parking to install Class IIB bicycle lanes, and 19 did not support the removal of on-street parking. The remaining four responses were not directly related to the proposed project: two respondents asked not to close Sunnyvale Avenue from vehicular traffic; one respondent is in support adding dedicated bicycle lanes but wanted to include additional improvements; and one provided comment not related to the proposed project.
FISCAL IMPACT
If on-street parking were to be removed on the east side of Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and Maude Avenue and both sides of Sunnyvale Avenue between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue to install Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes, funding is available in Project 833850 - Sunnyvale Safe Routes to School Improvements. The funding included an Active Transportation Program grant in the amount of $1,889,000 which included a required local match of $473,000 to plan, design, and construct bicycle, pedestrian and Safe Routes to School (SRTS) improvements in the vicinity of Bishop Elementary School along Maude Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue. The estimated cost to plan, design, and construct the proposed Buffered Bicycle Lanes on Sunnyvale Avenue between Hendy Avenue and Maude Avenue would be approximately $400,000.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board, on the City’s website, and the availability of the agenda and report in the Office of the City Clerk.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend to City Council the Removal of On-Street Parking on the East Side of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue and on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue, and to Install Buffered Bicycle Lanes on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Per the Active Transportation Plan
2. Recommend to City Council to Retain the On-Street Parking on the East Side of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue and on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue, and Not to Install Buffered Bicycle Lanes on this Segment of Sunnyvale Avenue
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Recommend to City Council the Removal of On-Street Parking on the East Side of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Maude Avenue and Arques Avenue and on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Between Arques Avenue and Hendy Avenue, and to Install Buffered Bicycle Lanes on Both Sides of Sunnyvale Avenue Per the Active Transportation Plan
JUSTIFICATION FOR RECOMMENDATION
The City has a vision to increase the viability of bicycling, walking and transit ridership throughout the City in order to help provide people additional transportation options beyond driving a car. By removing on-street parking and installing Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes on Sunnyvale Avenue, it will fill in the gap in the bicycle network and provide a direct connection to the commercial areas in Downtown Sunnyvale and El Camino Real, residential areas and Murphy Park within the study corridor, and employment center and Bay Trail in north Sunnyvale. In addition, it will provide a dedicated bicycle facility for students to travel to and from Bishop Elementary School, Columbia Middle School, and Fremont High School.
Currently, there is no dedicated bicycle facility on this segment of Sunnyvale Avenue, however Sunnyvale Avenue is already a heavily used corridor for bicyclists because of several reasons:
1. The closest parallel routes include Mathilda Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue, which both have heavier traffic and higher posted speed limits.
2. Sunnyvale Avenue provides a direct path for bicyclists to travel to/from north and south Sunnyvale, via Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road and Borregas Avenue, and the two existing pedestrian/bicyclist overcrossing bridges over US 101 and SR 237.
3. Sunnyvale Avenue has direct access to multiple destinations within the city
a. Moffett Park and the Bay Trail to the north
b. Downtown/El Camino Real employment and retail area to the south
c. Connections to Bishop Elementary School and Columbia Middle School
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 buffered bicycle lanes are proven to improve the safety and comfort for users since a striped buffer will provide additional separation between vehicular traffic and the bicyclists.
Because of its proximity to key destinations within the City, Sunnyvale Avenue was identified as a high priority project in the Active Transportation Plan. In addition, this proposed improvement will align with the City Council’s Strategic Priority: Ability of Infrastructure to Support Development, Traffic and Active Transportation. Furthermore, it will comply with our Complete Streets Policy and support the City’s Climate Action Plan goal to reduce vehicle emissions.
Staff
Prepared by: Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer
Reviewed by: Dennis Ng, Transportation and Traffic Manager
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Department of Public Works
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Reserved for Report to Council
2. Traffic and Parking Study for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Improvements at Maude Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue
3. Study Area
4. Proposed Bicycle Improvements on Sunnyvale Avenue
5. On-Street Parking Observation Summary & Study
6. Public Outreach Summary Memorandum