Attachment 4 - Additional Public CommentsATTACHMENT 4
From: <>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 1:22 PM
To: Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>;
Matthew Hudes <MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Rob
Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road Project Comment for 4/18
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Los Gatos Town Council Members,
I am writing to echo the opinion and sentiments of the many neighbors of Shannon Road who
oppose the current project plans to modify the street.
The intent of the plan is not in dispute. The street currently has no sidewalk, no bike lane, and
no speed bumps. By the the time this project is over all these will be added - with the support
of most of the residents. The block will certainly be safer, especially for students.
However, based on our neighborhood group discussions, the residents of this street, and of the
surrounding blocks, are unified that the proposed implementation is undesirable.
The disagreement is with specific elements of the design. Much greenery will be torn out to be
replaced by concrete and painted asphalt. This concerns me, concerns other residents, and
should concern all the citizens of Los Gatos.
Los Gatos cares about our greenery. Many planning commission decisions focus on the number
of trees to be removed and the environmental impact of these changes. Yet here on Shannon
we are about to remove extensive trees and greenery.
The current proposal would cause a single block of Shannon to be significantly different than
every other street and block around it. This doesn't quite make sense. No student commutes
just in this block alone and the entire route should be considered for safety. For example, Fisher
students who come down Shannon immediately cross over to Roberts road which is much
tighter and busier during school hours and has no bike lanes at all.
The residents (and I) would like to see the project move forward but with increased efforts to
minimize the impact on the street and the town. Removing some parking can be considered,
but please limit the size of the sidewalks and bike lanes, and make the block more in the
character of Los Gatos, like the other neighborhood streets in town.
Thank you for your consideration, and I appreciate your dedicated service to this town.
Regards,
Peggy Cannan
ATTACHMENT 4
From: varun s <>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 9:45 PM
To: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>; Rob
Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes
<MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame
<MBadame@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: pooj <>
Subject: Re: Shannon Rd Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Los Gatos Town Council Members,
I’d like to share our comments on the Shannon Road project prior to the meeting next week. We
connected with our neighbors and are in alignment with their comments/feedback.
My wife, Pooja, and I are generally aligned with the high level intent of the project. We have 3 little kids
and the oldest has just started at Blossom Hill Elementary. The new version of the street will be safer
for our children to commute to school every single day. The road currently has no sidewalk, no bike
lane, and no speed bumps. By the time this project is over all these will be added - with the support of
most of the residents.
However, we genuinely feel that the proposed implementation is undesirable. We moved to Los Gatos
since we loved the residential vibe the town & this street (in specific) had. We feel that with this change,
the street loses its residential feel. Here are a few things that matter to us that we will lose:
• Much greenery will be torn out to be replaced by concrete and painted asphalt. It definitely
feels hypocritical when the town mandates new trees be planted on site when residents
remodel/remove trees from their property, and the town isn't held to the same standards.
• The current proposal would cause a single block of Shannon to be significantly different than
every other street and block around it. No student commutes just in the project area and
parents will consider the entire route. For example, Middle school students who come down
Shannon immediately cross over to Roberts road which is much busier during school hours and
has no bike lanes at all. It feels like we are rushing through this project on this street due to the
grant expiring instead of careful review from each neighbor.
I would urge you to reconsider the design and limit the size of the sidewalks and bike lanes, eliminate
the buffers, and make the block more like the other neighborhood streets in town. I would also like to
see more greenery or give each resident some space back to plant greenery to make this road
something beautiful (& of course, safe).
Thank you for your consideration and service to this beautiful town.
Best,
Varun & Pooja
Shannon Rd
ATTACHMENT 4
From: KENNETH ARENDT <>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 4:33:11 PM
To: Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road issue - beware
[EXTERNAL SENDER] Hello Maria, I hope you remember Pat and me from St Mary's and Fischer and as very long time
residents of LG. Since 1974. I don't usually do this, but I'm writing just to you, not the
entire TC, in hopes that you listen to your constituents out there on Shannon Road. Pat and I live on Ann Arbor Ct, but as such, we know many of those folks. Some since their child-hood.
You personally might or might not be mis-informed about this project and resident
attitudes, but let me tell you, these folks on Shannon Road are enraged at what might go down as currently proposed from your engineering department. From what I have seen and heard from them and the residents on surrounding streets/blocks, they are unified on this issue.
They are well educated and sophisticated residents who have a strong vested interest in what happens to their property and to our community. They are not stupid and are well aware of Town issues and its financial situation. For example, we have been told by Town engineering people that they could not properly repair the hazardous sidewalk
in front of our house because there wasn't enough money! They threw on a slab of
asphalt instead of repairing the concrete sidewalk! It seems we can't take care of our own sidewalks much less going further in debt! Maria, a vote in the wrong direction here will not be well received, nor will it be ignored
by them.
As Mayor of our community, I hope that you can lead the TC in the right direction on this issue. I know that you are getting many letters from the Shannon Road residents asking that the TC do the right thing. In fact, I have seen options proposed from them
that would seem to work better for everyone.
Maria, I hope you take this letter of mine the right way, as I would hate to see something like this tear the Town apart more.
Thanks for listening!
Ken and Pat Arendt Ann Arbor Ct.
ATTACHMENT 4
From: Jessica Richter <>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 2:04 PM
To: Rob Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes
<MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame
<MBadame@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Rd resident Opposed to irrational and unnecesarry bike lane changes on Shannon Rd.
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Town Council,
I have lived on the corner of Shannon and Hilow Court for 10 years. I bought my house when my son was
four years old. He’s now almost 14. Since buying this house, I’ve asked for a safer route along Shannon
to Fisher Middle School. I live East of Cherry Blossom, and I would be livid if the town wanted to put
ballards on Shannon in front of my house. I appreciate that efforts are being made to make Shannon a
safer bike route. Having the crossing guard at Cherry Blossom and Shannon stay longer this year has
been a welcome (if belated change).This should continue indefinitely. I appreciate the speed bumps and
they seem to be helping. Now they need to be added between LG Blvd and Cherry Blossom.
I AGREE WITH Ryan Rosenberg and his letter below—a sidewalk, a bike lane, speed bumps and other
traffic calming measures (islands with greenery!) are needed in this section between Cherry Blossom
and Los Gatos Blvd. However, I agree that the current plan calls for too much greenery to be removed.
In addition the ballards are illogical and not necessary because no connecting streets have this kind of
protection. They are ugly and remove greenery. Any changes MUST preserve trees and some parking
spaces. It makes no sense to destroy the character of this short stretch of roadway when all of the
connecting streets are unchanged.
My 14 year-old regularly rides his bike on Blossom Hill between Cherry Blossom and Los Gatos Blvd. Why
isn’t there a ballard protected bike lane on Blossom Hill Rd. West of LG Blvd? That makes no sense. He
and other students also also have to ride ON LARK on a regular basis to get to the JCC, Yavneh Day
School, and to/from neighborhoods off Lark to Fisher and LGHS. Most students do not use the LG Creek
Trail because it’s longer. There have been some bike lane improvements on Lark but these are
inadequate and disconnected. It makes ZERO sense to do such an elaborate and ugly bike lane project
on this one little section of Shannon and leave these other areas without protected bike lanes and
desperately needed traffic calming.
I’d like to add that the Safe Routes to School bike safety classes at the elementary schools seems to have
really improved student bike safety from my casual observations. When we first moved to Hilow
Court/Shannon and my child was young, I would see students repeatedly and regularly riding on the
wrong side of the road down Shannon and blasting through stop signs. Now, I rarely see that behavior.
Students seem to be more aware and cautious than they were before the course started. I think my son
was the second group of students who did the bike safety classes (2017-2018 I think?). He’s now in 8th
grade so that means that most Fisher students have had bicycle safety classes. It’s not a perfect result,
but I think this should be considered in terms of the necessity of this short overly protected route on
Shannon..
Also, as I have written to the city on multiple occasions. There is a safety issue at the intersection of
Shannon and LG Blvd. It’s fine for cars but terrible for cyclists and pedestrians because when you cross in
the crosswalk you can end up on the wrong side of the road and need to cross twice. If ballards are
needed anywhere on Shannon, it would be right at the intersection of Shannon and LG Blvd to try to
prevent cyclists and pedestrians from jay walking from the parking lot across the street to Orange
ATTACHMENT 4
Theory on the other side. In my opinion driving up and down this street for ten years, this is where the
largest problem lies—right at this intersection. I’d like to see funds used to deal with this situation onto
Roberts Road West of LG Blvd.
It’s time to find a reasonable compromise. It’s time not to spend grant money on an unnecessary
project. It’s time to listen to the residents most impacted. Use funds and focus on improving safety on
the larger intersection of Shannon/LG Blvd, BH Rd, LG Blvd and Lark.
Regards,
Jessica Richter
Dear Los Gatos Town Council Members, I’d like to comment on the Shannon Road project. Actually I see a great deal of alignment. The street currently has no sidewalk, no bike lane, and no speed bumps. By the the time this project is over all these will be added - with the support of most of the residents. The block will certainly be safer, especially for students.
However, from what I’ve seen, the residents of this street, and of the surrounding blocks, are unified that the proposed implementation is undesirable.
The disagreement is with specific elements of the design. Much greenery will be torn out to be replaced by concrete and painted asphalt. This concerns me, concerns other residents, and
should concern all the citizens of Los Gatos. Los Gatos cares about our greenery. The recent “Spring Into Green” event celebrated Keep Los Gatos Beautiful Month, environmental sustainability, and Earth Day. A tree planting ceremony was held to honor Arbor Day and the Los Gatos 42nd Tree City USA award. Yet here on Shannon we are about to remove extensive trees and greenery. The current proposal would cause a single block of Shannon to be significantly different than every other street and block around it. Why? No student commutes just in the project area and parents will consider the entire route. For example, Middle school students who come down Shannon immediately cross over to Roberts road which is much busier during school hours and
has no bike lanes at all. The residents (and I) would like to see the project move forward but with increased efforts to
minimize the impact on the street and the town. Removing some parking is fine (with me), but please limit the size of the sidewalks and bike lanes, and make the block more like the other neighborhood streets in town. Minimize or eliminate buffers. Maybe even consider a single
sidewalk? Thank you for your consideration, and each of you have my appreciation for your dedicated service to this town. Regards, Ryan Rosenberg
ATTACHMENT 4
From: Michael Hwang <>
Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2023 7:14:02 AM
To: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Rd Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Nicole,
My name is Michael Hwang and my family lives on Shannon Rd.
By now, I am sure you have read all the letters from the residents on this road. I am writing to add my
voice to speak against the current version of the Shannon Road Pedestrian and Bikeway Project. I am
very much on board with the speed humps (effective to curb the speeding) and the bike lane that was
addressed previous meetings (the one that residents voted for that did not have the green bollards).
Please reconsider this implementation.
Thank you,
Michael Hwang
ATTACHMENT 4
From: Maria Gerst <>
Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2023 9:11:16 PM
To: Clerk <Clerk@losgatosca.gov>; Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER] Dear Los Gatos Town Council Members, I would like to comment on the current Shannon Road project.
I feel that the plans I first saw two years ago - adding a sidewalk and adding a bike lane while retaining much of the greenery - looked very reasonable. The addition of speed bumps has also been fine. I am not sure how things evolved to what we currently have planned but I do know that I am not happy, nor are other residents. No one seems to be
objecting to making the road safer.
As mentioned in other letters, the current plan would cause a single block of Shannon to be significantly different than every other street in the area. I would like the project to consider safety, but also to minimize the impact on residents. Taking away much of the
greenery will negatively effect the look and feel of the street.
I am hoping that the project can be rescoped for a smaller sidewalk, retain more greenery and a bike lane with no buffer and no barrier. Besides being an eye sore a physical barrier would make a bike lane difficult to clean. If the bike lane is not clean
less bikers will want to use it.
This is just one street but if residents here are unhappy on this project it could mean other street projects will be difficult to implement.
In summary, please consider reducing the scale of this project and implementing something a little more resident friendly. Thank you for your consideration and your service to our town.
Regards, Maria Gerst Shannon Rd