Land Use and Transport WGs: Relevant comments from a participant at our Community Visioning Meeting
Bruce England
I'm forwarding these comments that came from one participant at our community General Plan update public input meeting, which we held last night. Her comments relate, in part, to the relative isolation of the Whisman Station communities relative to shopping areas at El Camino and Grant Road. If you look at the attached file (also posted to both working groups files sections as WhismanToGrantRdAccess.jpg), which I put together very quickly and might or might not be at all viable as is, you can see how it might be possible to provide a bi-directional path on the east side of North Whisman Road that cuts over to Sylvan Avenue; then, if pedestrians/bicyclists turn onto Rainbow Drive, another path could cut over to the Stevens Creek Trail; then a third link could run along (but not on) the path of El Camino to the crosswalks at Grant and El Camino. Very messy! But it highlights the difficulties called out in Cynthia's message.
Thanks for your consideration,
Bruce England
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-----Original Message-----
From: Cynthia Marshall Schuman
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 1:50 PM
To: commun...@mountainview.gov
Cc: mjo...@communitymanagement.com
Subject: Community Visioning Meeting
Hello,
My name is Cynthia Marshall. I will not be able to attend the visioning meeting on Saturday, but I did have a chance to sit in on the smaller similar program in my neighborhood last night. I have some concerns that I'd like to share in spite of not being able to attend the larger meeting.
In particular, I am very frustrated that I must drive to get to my local retail center. If you can picture the area: Whisman dead-ends into Hwy 237, which then becomes Grant Road. I travel this route at least three times each week to go to the YMCA, then to pick up groceries at Nob Hill.
The distance between our home in Whisman Station and the Y/Nob Hill is short; as the crow flies, it's no more than a mile. My instinct is to walk it or to ride my bike, but I can't because I'd have to be on Hwy. 237 for a stretch of it and I don't think pedestrians or bikes are allowed on it.
Could the city build a pedestrian/bike trail that would link my community to our closest shopping center?
I know I'm not alone because Whisman Station is a large development, getting larger with each new condo complex that goes up. Ironically, our proximity to the Grant-El Camino shopping area is close, but not easily accessible, except by car.
I think it's also high time to build some retail right into Whisman Station.
Where is it? I understand that the housing developers don't think traffic would be sufficient to support businesses, but surely it will be once they've (over) built it with high-density housing! Moreover, why are the developers, rather than the residents and elected officials, driving the design (or lack thereof) of this community?
In the short term, I'd like the city to sponsor a conference for the small grocers in Mountain View, to teach them what a neighborhood store should stock. The bodega in our neighborhood carries liquor and cigarettes. We need a place to get organic milk, good bread, eggs, and bananas. And we need to be able to walk for them! This is such a simple request -- why can't somebody do something? All the visioning in the world is useless if our basic needs can't be met.
I eagerly wait for your reply.
Cynthia
Elizabeth Mezias
Did you write back to Cynthia? She is eagerly awaiting a reply.
You might suggest that she can use the existing Steven's Creek trail to bypass 237. You go down Gladys from Whisman to meet the trail or pick it up on Central Expressway or follow Whisman around past Twister's gym to Dana and meet the trail on Dana Streetat the school that is on the left.
It is probably easier and safer to go to the Bailey Park Safeway on foot or by bike from Whisman Station. Straight down Gladys from Whisman, onto the trail, exit on to Central, cross Moffett, right turn on Stierlin and voila! You can buy organic milk or whatever your heart desires in the Bailey Park complex...
Regards,
Beth
Cynthia
I happened onto this discussion and wanted to respond briefly to your
comments, Elizabeth, about walking to Bailey Park Safeway if I want a
market I could walk to from Whisman Station. I think you're kind of
missing the point; Bailey Park Safeway isn't even close to my
neighborhood. The way you answered suggested that I was desperate to
walk to a market -- any market -- and so you suggested a market -- any
market -- that a person could theoretically walk to. What I want is
infrastructure, a way to walk to the sorts of things people use every
day, without going out of my way. Bailey Park is entirely out of the
way of someone living in Whisman Station. The intersection of Grant
and El Camino is the logical shopping area for people in my
neighborhood and if there were a pedestrian path, it would be
walkable.
By the way, a lot of housing is being built in our neck of the woods,
but I don't see any plans to put up retail to support the influx of
people who will be filling those homes and condos. Do you really want
them all clogging 237 between Whisman and El Camino? That intersection
is worth looking at more closely; it's almost always clogged. Perhaps
a pedestrian/bike path could offload some of the automobile traffic.
Cynthia
On Jun 9, 1:26 pm, "Elizabeth Mezias" <emez...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Bruce,
>
> Did you write back to Cynthia? She is eagerly awaiting a reply.
>
> You might suggest that she can use the existing Steven's Creek trail to
> bypass 237. You go down Gladys from Whisman to meet the trail or pick it up
> on Central Expressway or follow Whisman around past Twister's gym to Dana
> and meet the trail on Dana Streetat the school that is on the left.
>
> It is probably easier and safer to go to the Bailey Park Safeway on foot or
> by bike from Whisman Station. Straight down Gladys from Whisman, onto the
> trail, exit on to Central, cross Moffett, right turn on Stierlin and voila!
> You can buy organic milk or whatever your heart desires in the Bailey Park
> complex...
>
> Regards,
> Beth
>
Bruce England
I'm *completely* with you on this, and I've been doing a lot of research (including fence hopping and creek trudging!) into adding a bike/pedestrian path that would nicely connect Whisman Station with Grant Road El Camino. To see what I'm proposing (through the Transport WG) please have a look at the attachment (pages extracted from my complete set of recs). I'd would very much like to hear any comments and feedback! I have more photos showing the terrain at ground level, but this should give you the general idea.
Bye for now!
Bruce
P.S. Where are you in Whisman Station? I'm on Whisman Station Drive about a block away from North Whisman.
P.P.S. The Transport WG thought of suggesting to your WG that you recommend planting more trees along Castro specifically to provide more places to lock bikes! ;-)
Elizabeth Mezias
While the task force works on making this city more green you need to
work with what you have now. I live on Middlefield between Whisman
and Tyrella, in the same neighborhood as you. Shoreline Road at
Montecito seems as close as Grant and there is no freeway ramp to
negotiate along the way. I use the Bailey Park Safeway quite a bit
and have taken my bicycle around the corner to Gladys, onto the
Stevens Creek trail and through to the Bailey Park Safeway.
Whisman is your only way out of the station, right? Once you get to
Whisman, your route is the same as mine. The Stevens Creek trail can
also take you to the Nob Hill at El Camino and Grant Road, but it is a
longer and more difficult ride. Light rail is another possibility.
It can take you pretty close to the Mountain View market on Castro. I
hope these suggestions are helpful. Every little bit helps.
Regards,
Beth
Kal Sandhu
Beth: It must be the hot weather.
Folks can alway order their food & groceries, online, as a community and get it delivered. Plus they can get airmiles through Safeway.
cheers,
Kal Sandhu