Somerset bike lanes at the BOS meeting Monday, 11/7 at 9:30am


Glenn Kirby
 

Roy,

Thank you for providing the notice for this meeting on Monday morning.  I will be speaking in support of Alternatives 2 and 3.  Alternative 1 does not provide any additional safe access for bikes over the existing condition with only Sharrows painted in the lanes.  Alternative 1 would also not comply with the County’s Complete Streets Policy.  Alt 2A & 2B remove parking on one side of the street to accommodate bike lanes. Alt 2C and Alt 3 remove parking from both sides to accommodate buffered bike lanes.  This is an important issue for both pedestrians and bicyclists in Castro Valley.

Glenn Kirby

On Nov 4, 2022, at 9:25 AM, Roy Taylor via groups.io <roy_a_taylor@...> wrote:

Apologies if I sent this to the wrong email group. 
We would appreciate your support at an upcoming meeting of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to discuss options for the planned improvements on Somerset Avenue in Castro Valley.
Comments can be sent to the email addresses provided below and/or by joining the meeting on Monday Nov 7.

Thanks
-roy

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: BikeWalkCV <bikewalkcv@...>
Sent: Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 01:46:25 PM PDT
Subject: Somerset bike lanes at the BOS meeting Monday, 11/7 at 9:30am

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Please send an email of support or join the BOS meeting Monday, Nov. 7th at 9:30am (virtually or in person) to support Bike Lanes on Somerset


Somerset has arrived at a critical juncture--on Monday, Nov 7 @9:30am, the Board of Supervisors will review the 3 proposals for Somerset bike lanes, both virtually and in person. Timing is awkward but any kind of input, virtual and/or email (see below) would be fantastic and go a long way to blunt resistance to bike lanes (Alt 2 or 3). In 3 public meetings, public comment has favored bike lanes so far but the timing of this meeting eliminates many of our supporters such as youth and working people. Here are the 3 alternatives:
  1. No bike lanes (sharrows) and retain all parking
  2. 5' bike lanes and retain parking on 1 side 
  3. 7' buffered bike lanes and retain no parking
Although Supervisor Nate Miley prefers not to tip his hand, we believe he is trending toward Alt 2 since he plans to host a Complete Streets workshop on Nov 16. However, he needs our support to counter act some of the resistance from residents who will lose some parking. We need to make the decision politically easier for Nate.

Despite some relatively positive data (below) from previous public meetings, Director Woldesenbet recommends Alt 1 (sharrows), highlighting the trauma of 70+ yr olds walking half a block to their car and the idea that cyclists do not pay taxes. Please remind him that 70+ yr olds ride bikes! Data supporting bike lanes:
  • Public Works parking analysis shows that all parking fits on 1 side
  • 52% of survey respondents want some sort of bike lane (Alt 2 or 3)
  • ACPWA routinely removes parking throughout the county, including 1.5 mile stretch on Redwood from Hayward to CV Blvd on east side and many others locations
Here is a link to a video of a Canyon student riding home from school over sharrows on Center St as designed by Public Works, including several "Bikes May Use Full Lane" signs. This is the same design as Alt 1 that Mr Woldesenbet recommends for Somerset. Even though the student was riding extremely fast on an ebike, 2 different drivers accost him for using the road as he was taught for his own safety, and is the law. Fortunately, 2 other drivers demonstrate some empathy with words of support, 1 at the stop light and another who follows him home to make sure he is safe. Students and other cyclists already experience similar dangerous behavior on Somerset, which is why we are asking you to please take some initiative to improve Somerset for all cyclists. 

Transportation and Planning Committee email addresses to voice your support by email NOW: Link to participate in the 11/7 @9:30am meeting virtually: https://zoom.us/j/85889338665

Full meeting Info here: https://www.acpwa.org/acpwa-assets/docs/projects/current-upcoming/Somerset_Ave/FinalACPWA-SomersetAve_PC_email_2.pdf

Thank you for your support of these critical bike lines for our Castro Valley community!
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