Attachment 2 - Public CommentsFrom: Helen Sun <>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2023 9:04 AM
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>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Shannon Road Project (For the next Town Council Meeting)
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Town Council Members,
I just realized that the screenshot in my earlier letter did not go through. Here is what I was referring to
on the EXTRA wide buffer right in front of 16680 and 16668. Can you please point to me where else in
town that has this? Is this section of the Shannon Rd considered more dangerous/busier to the
bikers/walkers than the other streets, like Roberts, Fisher Ave, Kennedy, Englewood or any other streets
near schools that do not have a buffer? LG Blvd does not even have a wide buffer or buffer
throughout. We would like to see the justification backing this. Thanks.
Best,
Helen
ATTACHMENT 2
On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 8:00 PM Helen Sun <> wrote:
Dear Los Gatos Council Members,
This is Helen, resident on Shannon Road since 2013. We are writing to let
the Town Council know that we agree with everything that our neighbor, Ned
Finkle, said in his email dated March 23rd.
1) First off, we very much support this project to make our street safer for the kids who
walk/bike to and from their schools. However, we really don’t need to go to the extent of
adding the full width of bike lanes, walkways, and even the larger than usual buffers. I
hope you all still agree that Shannon Rd is a neighborhood street and should continue
to be kept that way. Shannon Rd is NOT Winchester or Blossom Hill. While it is
necessary to add the safety elements, there is absolutely NO reason for the town
to OVER expand and OVER spend (whether it is federal or local tax dollars).
2) When designing the street, the design team should have looked at the connecting
streets in the neighborhood, such as Englewood, Roberts and Cherry Blossom, to make
sure the layout is aligned and not vastly different. The 2-block of the Shannon Rd
is NOT busier than the streets below during the school rush hours. So, why should the
2-block on Shannon Rd be so largely different from the others?
*Fields in red font are areas where the elements differ from the Shannon Rd design of the 2-block length.
Buffer Bike Lane Sidewalk Parking Trees
Shannon-Roberts NO In Car Lanes 2 Sides 2 Sides YES
Shannon-Englewood NO NO NO 2 Sides YES
Shannon Beyond the 2 Blocks NO NO 1 Side 2 Sides YES
Shannon-Cherry Blossom NO 2 Sides 2 Sides 1 Side YES
Yes, it is true that none of these streets have buffers. Over the past year and
half, we have reached out to the town engineer numerous times to talk about
the street design and stress that we don’t need the buffers on this street, and
most definitely, not a wider buffer than others. As of today, this is what we are
seeing on the project plan, a whole 6’ width of marked buffer right in front of
our property and 7' outside of 16668. This is even much wider than the
buffers I see on Los Gatos Blvd! Most of the LG Blvd does not even have a
buffer. With all due respect, I don't think anybody reading this would be
pleased to have this implemented right outside of their property.
3) As a community, we have raised our voice about these views/opinions over and
over, but not much has changed. One of the items we feel very strongly about is NO
barriers of any kind. We don’t want barrier on our street. There are no barriers in any
other neighborhood streets in town. Barriers got knocked over and they are extremely
unsightful and they don’t work!
4) We also expressed strongly that we need to add trees on our street as part of
the Shannon Rd project. The current plan will add much more CO2 footprint, take away
the existing trees with no plan to add any more back. This can not be considered
acceptable given the environmental crisis we are in. Adding trees on our street as part
of this project was one of the first few things that the residents asked for. However, that
has been neglected all along as well.
5) Lastly, but not the least, we ask the town council to consider scoping down the
project also because of the budget issue that the town is facing. Everything is getting
even more expensive around here than just a year ago. The actual implementation of
this plan will cost a lot more than the number on the paper. This is NOT a good use for
the tax money for all the reasons that we mentioned above.
We really hope the Town Council members would review the objectives of the
project again and scope down accordingly. While we modernize the town, we
also should continue to keep the same feel and look that we all love and came
here for. Thank you again for your time and consideration, and for continuing
to serve the people in this town.
Best,
Helen
From: Maxine Granadino <>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2023 3:11 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Council Members,
We are writing to you regarding the proposal to implement 6ft sidewalks on both sides of
Shannon Road. Our family have lived on Hilow Court just off of Shannon Road for 33 years.
Much of what follows we owe to Ned Finkel, who managed to encompass all the concerns we
have so well that we felt it appropriate to use his words. We would like to add that we
understand that neighbors on Shannon will be required to move trees from their properties,
which is a huge shame for a town that values it’s trees as ours does, as well as for the
homeowners losing that valuable asset.
Thank you for your service to the town in such a demanding role, given how tight and personal
our town is. Most LG’ers care deeply about our town, and that is part of what makes it special.
However, we are writing to express the views of ourselves and the neighbors in the area
affected by the proposal, who are not happy with its implementation.
To be blunt, we feel that the proposal will be visually unattractive (very ugly) and not in keeping
with the town's character. Furthermore, it is not representative of the normal neighborhood
implementations for sidewalks and trees, and it is not environmentally friendly, as zero trees
are included in the proposal. The implementation calls for 6ft sidewalks for a quarter mile on
both sides of the street, while the norm in the town is 5ft. As a result, we will have half a mile of
sidewalks with no trees and no carbon offset to the 187,393 pounds + of CO2 it took to put the
concrete in. The sidewalk with no trees and utility poles sticking out is moved to the near edge
of the property lines on nearly all homes. The bike lane plus padding on both sides has
essentially eliminated all street parking. This, plus the proposed barriers, has residents unified
in opposition to the implementation.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had tried to politely present these feelings via just a few
representatives in consideration for the council. However, what was recorded in the notes was
that only a few had problems with the implementation. We followed with a signature list from
nearly all the homes requesting a meeting to express our views. We did have that meeting, and
there was a great amount of sharing of views by the neighbors and listening by the now
departed town engineers. While there were meetings that followed with individual
homeowners, the plan was essentially unchanged. Lots of reasons were given, but my
understanding is that there was no funding to make slight adjustments with the contractor. So,
the plan moved ahead for council vote at “65% completion “and was moved forward on a 3-2
vote. Here we are 1 year later, and the street feels the same about the proposal as we currently
understand it. It is so bad that most fear reduction in property values as a result.
This document was created by an application that isn’t licensed to use novaPDF.
Purchase a license to generate PDF files without this notice.
We all know that the town budget is in poor shape, and we sense that the actual
implementation will cost much more than what the grant provides. We also know thatthe
original grant request letter signed by County Supervisor & former LG Mayor Mike Wasserman
was for a 5ft sidewalk on one side of the street plus a Class 1 bike lane. A much more modest
approach and fiscally conservative. If we are going to make improvements, why not do them
right. I propose the following to gain the support of the neighborhood.
1. Speed humps will get you 70+ percent of your safety improvement, and they are
cheap. Do them now. You have the data from the other part of Shannon, and we can see
the positive effect it has had, reducing the average speed by 10-15 mph and nearly
eliminating the high speeds.
2. Revise to 5ft sidewalks & include trees.
3. Adjust the bike lane to a more modest implementation due to the speed reduction.
How about a 2 ft space next to the road and pass on the 2ft next to the curb as cars will
almost never be there to open a door.
4. Add the 4 ft of space back to the property line buffer and open room for the addition
of trees.
We think that you will save money with the reduction in concrete…1/2 mile times one foot is a
lot of concrete & CO2 savings (~29,440lbs). We also are happy to water the trees until they are
self-sustaining. Also, less direct costs to the homeowners from the repairs of driveways and
fences.
We think all the council members would have a hard time convincing your current neighbors to
happily implement what is proposed for our street. We are being pulled out from the
neighborhood onto LG boulevard visually and don’t even get the trees.
We close with this final ask. Do the right thing and revise this to a more modest and cheaper
version. Do what a neighbor would do for a neighbor. That is the core of why our town has a
durable & charming character & we love it so much.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Maxine and Francisco Granadino
108 Hilow Ct
This document was created by an application that isn’t licensed to use novaPDF.
Purchase a license to generate PDF files without this notice.
From: Maxine Granadino <>
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2023 9:16 AM
To: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Ms Burnham,
We are writing to you regarding the proposal to implement 6ft sidewalks on both sides of
Shannon Road. Our family have lived on Hilow Court just off of Shannon Road for 33 years.
Much of what follows we owe to Ned Finkel, who managed to encompass all the concerns we
have so well that we felt it appropriate to use his words. We would like to add that we
understand that neighbors on Shannon will be required to move trees from their properties,
which is a huge shame for a town that values it’s trees as ours does, as well as for the
homeowners losing that valuable asset.
Thank you for your service to the town in such a demanding role, given how tight and personal
our town is. Most LG’ers care deeply about our town, and that is part of what makes it special.
However, we are writing to express the views of ourselves and the neighbors in the area
affected by the proposal, who are not happy with its implementation.
To be blunt, we feel that the proposal will be visually unattractive (very ugly) and not in keeping
with the town's character. Furthermore, it is not representative of the normal neighborhood
implementations for sidewalks and trees, and it is not environmentally friendly, as zero trees
are included in the proposal. The implementation calls for 6ft sidewalks for a quarter mile on
both sides of the street, while the norm in the town is 5ft. As a result, we will have half a mile of
sidewalks with no trees and no carbon offset to the 187,393 pounds + of CO2 it took to put the
concrete in. The sidewalk with no trees and utility poles sticking out is moved to the near edge
of the property lines on nearly all homes. The bike lane plus padding on both sides has
essentially eliminated all street parking. This, plus the proposed barriers, has residents unified
in opposition to the implementation.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had tried to politely present these feelings via just a few
representatives in consideration for the council. However, what was recorded in the notes was
that only a few had problems with the implementation. We followed with a signature list from
nearly all the homes requesting a meeting to express our views. We did have that meeting, and
there was a great amount of sharing of views by the neighbors and listening by the now
departed town engineers. While there were meetings that followed with individual
homeowners, the plan was essentially unchanged. Lots of reasons were given, but my
understanding is that there was no funding to make slight adjustments with the contractor. So,
the plan moved ahead for council vote at “65% completion “and was moved forward on a 3-2
vote. Here we are 1 year later, and the street feels the same about the proposal as we currently
understand it. It is so bad that most fear reduction in property values as a result.
This document was created by an application that isn’t licensed to use novaPDF.
Purchase a license to generate PDF files without this notice.
We all know that the town budget is in poor shape, and we sense that the actual
implementation will cost much more than what the grant provides. We also know thatthe
original grant request letter signed by County Supervisor & former LG Mayor Mike Wasserman
was for a 5ft sidewalk on one side of the street plus a Class 1 bike lane. A much more modest
approach and fiscally conservative. If we are going to make improvements, why not do them
right. I propose the following to gain the support of the neighborhood.
1. Speed humps will get you 70+ percent of your safety improvement, and they are
cheap. Do them now. You have the data from the other part of Shannon, and we can see
the positive effect it has had, reducing the average speed by 10-15 mph and nearly
eliminating the high speeds.
2. Revise to 5ft sidewalks & include trees.
3. Adjust the bike lane to a more modest implementation due to the speed reduction.
How about a 2 ft space next to the road and pass on the 2ft next to the curb as cars will
almost never be there to open a door.
4. Add the 4 ft of space back to the property line buffer and open room for the addition
of trees.
We think that you will save money with the reduction in concrete…1/2 mile times one foot is a
lot of concrete & CO2 savings (~29,440lbs). We also are happy to water the trees until they are
self-sustaining. Also, less direct costs to the homeowners from the repairs of driveways and
fences.
We think anyone would have a hard time convincing your current neighbors to happily
implement what is proposed for our street. We are being pulled out from the neighborhood
onto LG boulevard visually and don’t even get the trees.
We close with this final ask. Do the right thing and revise this to a more modest and cheaper
version. Do what a neighbor would do for a neighbor. That is the core of why our town has a
durable & charming character & we love it so much.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Maxine and Francisco Granadino
108 Hilow Ct
This document was created by an application that isn’t licensed to use novaPDF.
Purchase a license to generate PDF files without this notice.
From: Cheri Finalle <>
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 12:54:33 PM
To: Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Mayor Ristrow,
April 4th, the Shannon Road project will again come to you for a vote. You and I spent much time
brainstorming ideas with staff at the meetings and discussing safe green roads in other
communities. Parking was removed in sections as we discussed but instead of getting large planters
for trees we got even larger buffers and more asphalt - still not space for trees. This project
continues to be a major concern to me because it changes our residential road into something that
will look like an airport runway. It will be a sea of pavement & asphalt. I am pro walking/biking but
I am also pro environment. The current street design has buffers which cannot be made into green
space. Furthermore, this road does not meet the town's own standards. There has been much staff
turnover since this project started. Please have the new staff spend more time on this to get it
right. Please send this back to staff for more permeable surfaces and more green space/trees.
Please do not prematurely rush this through just to get something done - spend the time to get this
right.
Respectfully,
Cheri Finalle Binkley
From:Sridevi Sheth
To:Rob Moore; Rob Rennie; Matthew Hudes; Mary Badame; Maria Ristow; Nicolle Burnham; James Watson
Subject:Shannon Rd pedestrian/bikeway project proposal
Date:Monday, March 27, 2023 8:55:40 AM
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hi Los Gatos Town Council Members,
From: Sri Sheth of 16090 Shannon Road
My neighbor Ned did a fantastic job below sharing the resident's (on Shannon Road) concernson the pedestrian / bikeway project and I wanted to add my thoughts as well.
I've lived in Los Gatos for ten years and recently moved to Shannon road during the pandemic.
I remember hopping on the zoom council meetings to share our concern for theproposed project. Los Gatos has always been an extremely charming town and that's due to the
extreme efforts of the council and the community to keep it full of trees, visually charmingand not industrial.
This proposed plan turns our humble town into a common city which is not what Los Gatos is
about. It's also concerning to see so many residents raise concern over a project and have thecouncil move forward with the plan anyways without any changes that the resident's have
requested/proposed.
We're all for improving our neighborhood for the better! But the current plan does notachieve this at all. This is why Ned's suggestions below should be highly considered.
1. Speed humps will get you 70+ percent of your safety improvement, and they are
cheap. Do them now. You have the data from the other part of Shannon, and we can see
the positive effect it has had, reducing the average speed by 10-15 mph and nearly
eliminating the high speeds.
2. Revise to 5ft sidewalks (which was on the original grant request letter signed by
County Supervisor & former LG Mayor Mike Wasserman was for a 5ft sidewalk on oneside of the street) & include trees.
3. Adjust the bike lane to a more modest implementation due to the speed reduction.
How about a 2 ft space next to the road and pass on the 2ft next to the curb as cars will
almost never be there to open a door.4. Add the 4 ft of space back to the property line buffer and open room for the
addition of trees.
I live on the side of Shannon with the speed humps and was already living on this road when
they were being added. I've seen the increase of safety and the reduction of speed firsthand infront of my house and can confirm that this addition is highly beneficial to our community.
We need to move forward with things that work, are cost efficient and are supported by the
community and not a plan that is intrusive of its residents and over budget, just so that we canspend money!
I appreciate your time! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing you all at the
public hearing on April 18.
Thanks,
Sri Sheth
On Thu, Mar 23, 2023 at 5:44 PM Ned Finkle <> wrote:
To: Los Gatos Town Council Members
bcc: Friends and Neighbors
From: Ned Finkle of 16608 Shannon Road
Dear Council Members,
I am writing to you regarding the proposal to implement 6ft sidewalks on both sides ofShannon Road. Some of you may already know me, as I have lived in the town for 50 yearssince my father moved here. I have lived on and off Shannon Road for nearly all those years,
and my father still resides in his house off Shannon. Therefore, I know the road well, and I
have raised my family here, with my three children growing up on this road.
Firstly, I want to thank you for your service to the town in such a demanding role, given how
tight and personal our town is. Most LG’ers care deeply about our town, and that is part ofwhat makes it special. However, I am writing to express the views of myself and theneighbors in the area affected by the proposal, who are not happy with its implementation.
To be blunt, we feel that the proposal will be visually unattractive (very ugly) and not inkeeping with the town's character. Furthermore, it is not representative of the normal
neighborhood implementations for sidewalks and trees, and it is not environmentallyfriendly, as zero trees are included in the proposal. The implementation calls for 6ftsidewalks for a quarter mile on both sides of the street, while the norm in the town is 5ft. Asa result, we will have half a mile of sidewalks with no trees and no carbon offset to the187,393 pounds + of CO2 it took to put the concrete in. The sidewalk with no trees andutility poles sticking out is moved to the near edge of the property lines on nearly all homes.The bike lane plus padding on both sides has essentially eliminated all street parking. This,plus the proposed barriers, has residents unified in opposition to the implementation.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had tried to politely present these feelings via just a fewrepresentatives in consideration for the council. However, what was recorded in the notes
was that only a few had problems with the implementation. We followed with a signaturelist from nearly all the homes requesting a meeting to express our views. We did have thatmeeting, and there was a great amount of sharing of views by the neighbors and listening bythe now departed town engineers. While there were meetings that followed with individual
homeowners, the plan was essentially unchanged. Lots of reasons were given, but myunderstanding is that there was no funding to make slight adjustments with the contractor.So, the plan moved ahead for council vote at “65% completion “and was moved forward ona 3-2 vote. Here we are 1 year later, and the street feels the same about the proposal as we
currently understand it. It is so bad that most fear reduction in property values as a result.
We all know that the town budget is in poor shape, and we sense that the actual
implementation will cost much more than what the grant provides. We also know that theoriginal grant request letter signed by County Supervisor & former LG Mayor MikeWasserman was for a 5ft sidewalk on one side of the street plus a Class 1 bike lane. A muchmore modest approach and fiscally conservative. If we are going to make improvements,
why not do them right. I propose the following to gain the support of the neighborhood.
1. Speed humps will get you 70+ percent of your safety improvement, and they are
cheap. Do them now. You have the data from the other part of Shannon, and we can
see the positive effect it has had, reducing the average speed by 10-15 mph andnearly eliminating the high speeds.
2. Revise to 5ft sidewalks & include trees.
3. Adjust the bike lane to a more modest implementation due to the speed
reduction. How about a 2 ft space next to the road and pass on the 2ft next to the curbas cars will almost never be there to open a door.4. Add the 4 ft of space back to the property line buffer and open room for the
addition of trees.
We think that you will save money with the reduction in concrete…1/2 mile times one foot is
a lot of concrete & CO2 savings (~29,440lbs). We also are happy to water the trees until
they are self-sustaining. Also, less direct costs to the homeowners from the repairs ofdriveways and fences.
I think all the council members would have a hard time convincing your current neighbors tohappily implement what is proposed for our street. We are being pulled out from theneighborhood onto LG boulevard visually and don’t even get the trees.
I will close with the final ask. Do the right thing and revise this to a more modest andcheaper version. Do what a neighbor would do for a neighbor. That is the core of why our
town has a durable & charming character & we love it so much.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Ned Finkle
-- Shannon Road Traffic Calming Program......
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-- Thanks,
Sri Sheth
From:Frank Lawrence
To:James Watson; Mary Badame; Matthew Hudes; Maria Ristow; Nicolle Burnham; Rob Moore; Rob Rennie
Cc:Frank Lawrence
Subject:Shannon Road bike lanes project
Date:Wednesday, March 29, 2023 3:24:21 PM
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Council & Staff members,
I am a 27-year resident on Shannon Road and write to you in support of the residents who arevery unhappy with the current proposal for a radical bike lane implementation between Cherry
Blossom and Los Gatos Boulevard.A significant majority of the directly impacted residents, i.e. those whose property directly
abuts the current proposal, and many of us who live on Shannon, are strongly opposed to thepresent design, as it will have a very negative impact on the character and feel of the
neighborhood and bring limited benefit, considering the overall transit routes along ShannonRoad and it’s adjoining streets, (e.g. Englewood) which cannot accommodate grandiose
redesign such as that proposed for just two blocks of Shannon Road.
Please refer to the recent communication from Ned Finkle for a more detailed commentary onthe current project.
The implementation of a more modest design for a bike lane, in addition to the planned speed
humps (which have been very effective on the rest of Shannon to Short Road), would be moresympathetic to the character of the neighborhood and Town, deliver improved safety of all
road users, reduce the environmental impact and could be supported and welcomed by theresident's.
The specter of the monstrosity recently inflicted on Winchester Boulevard looms large.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Lawrence
-- Frank
From:Town PPW
To:James Watson
Cc:Nicolle Burnham
Subject:FW: Raised crosswalks on Shannon Road?
Date:Tuesday, April 11, 2023 9:05:18 AM
-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Hammers <>
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 8:48 AM
To: Town PPW <ppw@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Raised crosswalks on Shannon Road?
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear PPW Department,
Thank you for the efforts to slow traffic on Shannon Road. It has made a big difference in safety and quality of life
for families like ours who live on Shannon. Unfortunately, cars still run the stop sign at Shannon and Blossom Hill
Park as well as at Shannon and Cherry Blossom, which children and pedestrians use heavily. For this reason, I
wonder if the Town might consider adding raised crosswalks to Shannon Road as we embark on Phase Two of the
Shannon safety improvements? Having watched countless children dart across the street in front of traffic at
Englewood, I think another stop sign and raised crosswalk there could be lifesaving as well.
I recognize plans are already set, but I also know there is always room to make changes and adjust plans to meet
community needs.
Thank you for considering my suggestions and thank you again for the work already completed on Shannon.
Respectfully,
Mary Hammers
Sent from my iPad
From: kalpana sheth <>
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 9:32:00 AM
To: Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Proposed Shannon Rd Bicycle lane Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Mary,
I voted for you as I resonated with your message of keeping the charm of Los Gatos while at the
same time addressing the issues that face our community.
In this email I want to address a project that the town council is considering on our street -
Shannon Rd.
I am a resident of Shannon Rd and want to reach out to you about the proposed bike lane
project on this neighborhood street that the majority of the residents are opposed to. Not
because we don't want the bike lane and the pedestrian lane , but we absolutely dont want
those awful industrial style green ballards to disrupt this beautiful neighborhood.
I've been walking Shannon Rd. for years at different times of the day and I can honestly say that
I have never seen a single bike on this road!! Has anyone done a survey or a put up cameras to
see how many bicycles actually go up and down this road? You will find on any given day -
probably none!!
To make an industrial style bike lane that will cost the LG city over $2 million for bicycles that
won't even be using this road is fiscally irresponsible, bad political decision, and worst of all
takes away from a beautiful tree lined street with homes and homeowners who value the
community aspect of their street.
To be clear as a walker on Shannon Rd. I do want a pedestrian walkway, the same can also be
used for the occasional bicyclist who rides on this street. But to spend so much money, time,
and energy on a fancy bike lane for bicyclists that don't use this road and that none of the
residents on Shannon Rd want is beyond ridiculous and sheds light on how a small number of
overzealous bicycle enthusiasts can ruin the beauty of a serene neighborhood.
Thanks for reading this input.
Kalpana Sheth
From: <>
Sent: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:30 PM
To: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Town council date for Shannon Rd pedestrian/bikeway project update
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hi Nicolle,
Thanks for responding on a Saturday. Will keep my fingers crossed. I can't imagine the town council authorizing this overkill project due to the huge town deficit we are experiencing. All we need is a simple 5 ft sidewalk and
4-foot bike line which can built in the current shoulder.
Thanks, Sheila
From: Cheri Finalle <>
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2023 1:34 PM
To: James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>; Peter Binkley <>
Subject: Shannon Road
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
James,
Hi! I wanted to reach out to see if there was a final design plan for Shannon Road as it is slated for
another vote April 4th with the town council. I am a resident of Shannon Road and would like to have
proper time to review it prior to the meeting for discussion.
Thank you, Cheri Finalle Binkley
From: Cheri Finalle <>
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2023 1:34 PM
To: James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>; Peter Binkley <>
Subject: Shannon Road
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
James,
Hi! I wanted to reach out to see if there was a final design plan for Shannon Road as it is slated for
another vote April 4th with the town council. I am a resident of Shannon Road and would like to have
proper time to review it prior to the meeting for discussion.
Thank you, Cheri Finalle Binkley
From: <>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 3:14 PM
To: Matthew Hudes <MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Rob
Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Pedestrian and Bikeway Improvement Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER] To: Los Gatos Town Council Members From: Sheila Bony 16675 Shannon Road
Dear Council Members, I have been a Los Gatos resident for 32 years and a Shannon Road resident for 7 years. I love our beautiful historical town, the soaring mountains, and our charming community.
We urge you to send the Shannon Road Pedestrian and Bikeway Improvement project back to the engineering department to scale back this excessive design plan. This project is overkill and the costs are out of control.
We absolutely want a sidewalk and a simple bike line on our street for pedestrian and bike safety. All we need is a simple 5-foot sidewalk and a 3-foot bike line. These two elements can be built on the existing wide shoulder on the street. Telephone poles would not need to be moved. The plants/trees/greenery/driveways/walkways in front of
residents' homes will not need to be ripped out. Concrete costs will be lower. The
project will be completed sooner, etc. Image the cost savings for the town! Also, plants
and trees beautify our neighborhood so why is the town council ok with the logic of ripping it all out?
Shannon Road is a residential street and sidewalks and bike lanes should conform to a residential street-not the other way around. Class 4 bike lanes do not belong on a residential street. This pedestrian and bikeway plan is stripping our neighborhood of its residential feel. The current plan with excessive concrete, 3 ft buffers, too large sidewalks, and extra-wide bike lanes should be used on a major thoroughfare-not a
residential street. We believe the town engineering department's goal should be to
install a minimally invasive sidewalk and bike lane that will not negatively affect residents' property or the residential feel of the street. We feel the town's Bicycle Advisory Commission is out of touch with the Shannon
resident's recommendations and we ask you, council members, to question their
excessive recommendations. We believe the safety of all residents is important and want our neighborhood to look like....a neighborhood and not a boulevard. The funding for this project is from 2 VTA grants are $940,100 + $174,250 from two
different programs. The town only has to match 10% of the total grant sum to accept the grant which is $107,829.47. The grant totals and the town match $$ is enough to build a simple 5-foot sidewalk on both sides of the street and paint for a 3ft bike lane. The engineering department requesting an additional $1 to $1.2 million dollars for this project is not fiscally responsible. As you know, Los Gatos staff are predicting a $3
million annual budget deficit over the next 5 years. The remaining planned speed humps for Shannon near LG Blvd will help immensely with pedestrian/bike safety. The speed humps and simple 3ft bike line and 5 ft sidewalk is all that we need. Say no to excessive spending.
Thank you, Sheila Bony
From: mark bony <>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 9:06 PM
To: Matthew Hudes <MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Rob
Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Nicolle Burnham <NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Regarding the Shannon Road Pedestrian and Bikeway Improvement
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Dear Council Members,
I would respectfully request that you reconsider the decision made so far on
the Shannon Road Pedestrian and Bikeway Improvement initiative.
Some helpful contexts:
• Initially three separate “Shannon Road Pedestrian and Bikeway
Improvements” proposals were given by the PPW department to all
residents, including the impacted Shannon neighborhood, to consider.
• Most of us participated in 1-1 meetings with Woo Jae + Suyesh and most
of the impacted residents actively called into several online Zoom meeting
updates. The Shannon neighborhood group also was able to meet face-to-
face with Matt Morley/Suyesh/WooJae to further discuss this in a Q&A
session.
• At first, there were a lot of different opinions among the affected
Shannon residents, but we all got together quickly to agree upon
a unified response in order to make it easier for all concerned.
• The impacted Shannon residents unanimously chose option #1 and
made a few additional requests that were forwarded to the town council
members + the PPW department. We all felt that option #1 was the best compromise between improving pedestrian/biker safety and optimizing the
town's budget while minimizing the impact on the Shannon Road
properties.
• Aside from a few advances on deleting the green bollards and other
minor points, our overall collective feedback on the preferred option
#1 seemed to fall on deaf ears. Despite all our pleas, option #3 was unfortunately approved by the council. Honestly, given the fact that we
received minimal (if any) feedback on all our concerns, it really felt that the
decision to push option #3 had already been pre-determined by a few in
power, ahead of time.
Some pertinent observations:
• Did you know that starting at the Presbyterian Church (16575 Shannon
Rd) and finishing at Ann-Arbor Drive, a perfectly good, working combination
of a sidewalk and bike lane already exists? why not continue the same
sidewalk/bike lane format for the west side of Shannon vs. the extreme,
costly, and unnecessary solution being considered today (option#3)? Doing
so would make the entire length of Shannon Rd consistent, safer, and less
intrusive on the property owner, and probably would limit expenses by a
great deal. It is a win-win.
• Also, I have heard rumors that some claimed that the neighborhood had
conflicting requests and was not unified; hence the PPW key stakeholders
had to make the final recommendation. That could not be further from the
truth. Our Shannon Road group response was succinct and unanimous.
In conclusion:
Our Shannon neighborhood is a vibrant residential and exceptional part of
Los Gatos. We all want safer roads for pedestrians and bikers alike, but we deserve and respectfully request that the council members consider an
alternate, less extreme, and costly proposal in order to better balance the
intent of improving safety while not jeopardizing the serene quality of
our residential neighborhood with over-the-top road/bike lane/sidewalk
changes.
Yes, we need safer pedestrian/biker streets and bike lanes, but do we really need a 3’ buffer in addition to 7-10’ sidewalks? What we need is a simple
(yet effective) 5’ sidewalk and ~3’ bike lane. That’s it.
At the risk of repeating myself, the current Shannon Road Pedestrian and
Bikeway Improvement initiative as currently approved (option #3)
is extreme in its design and fiscally irresponsible.
Thank you for listening, and your consideration to make our town safer
while protecting its unique character and beauty.
Regards,
Mark Bony
16675 Shannon Road
32 yrs. + Los Gatos resident
From: Peter Binkley <>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 2:45 PM
To: Rob Moore <RMoore@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes
<MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Nicolle Burnham
<NBurnham@losgatosca.gov>; James Watson <JWatson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Shannon Road Bike and Pedestrian Improvement Project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hello, Below are my comments for the upcoming Town Council meeting with regards to the Shannon Rd. Pedestrian and Bikeway improvement project.
I am a bike commuter and home owner living within the proposed project area. I walk my children to school every day along this stretch of road, and ride my bike to and from work along it as well. I support the construction of a curb/gutter, and of pedestrian/bike paths along Shannon
Rd., but the project as planned excludes a planting strip and/or room for trees and instead incorporates an abundance of asphalt surface that will be marked of as "buffer." I propose these buffers be shrunk and/or removed where possible, in order to make room for planting/beautification (tree planting also offers much needed shade, sequesters CO2, and cools the vicinity).
I find these proposed wide bike lane buffers unsightly and believe they will only serve to discourage me and my family from walking/riding. I would rather drive then walk through an industrial feeling area. Aesthetics count for a lot when considering mode of transport.
The original Connect Los Gatos Master Plan shows a Class 1 Bikeway along this stretch of road, which I think would be a beautiful and well informed approach to remodeling this road. I have been at every community meeting re Shannon Rd traffic calming project and the ped/bike improvement project, and do not feel it was ever adequately addressed why the Class 1 bikeway (as planned by the town!) was rejected
without community discussion. If we can't do a class 1 bikeway as originally proposed, then I would think we could at least attempt to capture the intent of that plan, which is for a beautiful and scenic walk/bike route, incorporating planting strips on either side of the sidewalk. As planned it
will look like an airport tarmac, not at all desirable to the walkers and bikers among us. As a case in point, when the Winchester Rd remodel was complete, I stopped biking to work along that route when I commute to El Camino Hospital LG-solely because it is unsightly. Nowadays I bike to work on the creek trail, which I think is not what the town intended and so was an unintended consequence of overlooking the importance of
aesthetics when designing a roadway. The wide asphalt expanse as drawn is unsightly and will only discourage walking and riding. Please eliminate and/or shrink buffer zones on this plan in favor of planting
some trees and saving space for homeowners to landscape. The buffer only needed between the bike lane and the moving traffic, never between the bike and parked cars or worse yet, between the bike and curb! With a nice wide bike lane, a 2 foot buffer is
more than comfortable as far as safety perception goes, and as we know the little kids
will be up on the sidewalk, not down on the roadway. Thank you for your time and consideration,
Peter Binkley, MD
Emergency Medicine Good Samaritan and El Camino Hospitals Safe Routes To School Volunteer, Blossom Hill Elementary School