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Attachment 4 - Public Comments (1)ATTACHMENT 4 From: Andrew Horwitz <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 12:09 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 for March 1 meeting: Shannon Road Project EXTERNAL SENDER Hello Los Gatos Town Council, I would like my comments and concerns on the Shannon Road project entered into the record. Here are concerns and questions that I have that still have not been answered. 1) Evidence from other bike lane projects that bike ridership actually has increased, especially to schools. We have had the Los Gatos Blvd bike lanes and it would be great to know how much that affected ridership to Fisher, or Blossom Hill Elementary. This project seems to be driven by the belief rather than facts that this change will increase biking to and from school. Has bike ridership to Daves Ave Elementary changed since the new bike lanes were added? 2) Evidence of safety issues and improvement to safety from other projects. There is not currently any documented safety issue on Shannon Road. Reality is that the Town's evidence shows no real bike or car incidents on Shannon Road. And would the addition of speed bumps make the biggest impact? Can we see any evidence to improved safety where buffered bike lanes were added on Los Gatos Blvd and Winchester. 3) Impact to Car and driver safety. Personally, I have witnessed more near missed on Los Gatos Blvd with drivers exiting their car closer to traffic. The new Winchester floating parking spots are confusing and make driving on Winchester less safe. While bike riders are clearly more protected on Winchester. It appears drivers and parked car drivers are more at risk. Are we creating problems for car safety where it does not exist today? 4) The definition of trees. The project has notes only 3-4 trees will be removed for the project. However, our property ( Shannon Road) has 4 trees in front of our house that will need to be removed. Somehow, these did not meet the definition of "trees". I would suspect there are other examples of tree removal that are not in the plan. As many neighbors had highlighted we are losing a significant amount of greenery on the street, and this does not even include likely additional tree removal not in the plan. 5) PGE Utility pole removal scheduling. As we all know and the Town Engineers admitted, PGE is currently unknown in this project schedule. This is a significant timing and cost variable to the project that does appear well understood and should be before committing to any timeline. I fully support making Shannon Road more pedestrian and biker friendly and safe. I, along with my Shannon neighbors, just want to ensure that all costs and benefits are considered. There is currently at least 10 feet of existing road shoulder on each side that could be used to make a much safer environment and maintain the beauty of Shannon Road, use less Town funds and keep the wishes of the Shannon Road residents, tax paying citizens, into account. Thank you, Andy Horwitz Shannon Road From: Keo King <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 1:11 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: public comment number 11 EXTERNAL SENDER I have lived in my house on this cornerhappily for thirty four years. Yes there's more traffic on Shannon. NO. We dont' need and I certainly do not want a physical barrier for bikes and the sweet little school kids that ride them. Yes, there's that idiot with his Lamborghini racing up and down, yes there are kids (not so sweet) with their loud (I'm 60% deaf and I can hear them) music, yes there are the motorcycles that do the Shannon on weekends, but even they do not merit a physical barrier.. NO PHYSICAL BARRIER FOR THE BIKE LANE ON SHANNON. WHAT YOU ARE DOING ALREADY IS BAD ENOUGH. Keo King From: Frank Lawrence <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 2:58 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment - Shannon Road Project EXTERNAL SENDER This is a comment for the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, March 1st, regarding the major re- engineering of Shannon Road between LG Boulevard and Cherry Blossom Road. I attended the in-person meeting held on Shannon Road in January, and the residents were quite clear in the feedback provided to the Town’s representatives that the proposal as then presented was detrimental to the interests of the home owners, and something of an overkill for the benefit expected. The ‘revised’ 65% plan developed as a result of the residents feedback and to be considered by Council on March 1st appears, at best, to be designed to pay minimal lip service to the residents expressed concerns without materially addressing those concerns. As a long-term resident of Shannon Road, I would ask Council to properly review, consider and address the letter of February 27 submitted by Mark Wyss, as representative of the residents desires. Frank Lawrence From: Three Greenthumbs <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 4:09 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 Shannon Road EXTERNAL SENDER Dear Council Members, We support the safety/sidewalk improvements on Shannon Rd, but the concept the town engineering department is proposing is overkill and will disrupt our "cherished neighborhood feel" and as a result, the value of our property. We understand that the town's right of way in front of our property line is a whopping 10 feet and we do not want the engineering department to use all of that space. We, as well as many neighbors on the street, have planted plants in front of our fences/property line to beautify the neighborhood and give us a little privacy. While we recognize we may not be able to keep as much of a buffer in front of our property line as before to accommodate changes, we want to continue to plant at least 4 or 5 feet in front of our fences. Please shorten the width of the bike lanes, sidewalks and remove the unneeded buffers to accommodate more green space. The majority of bikers/walkers on this section of Shannon Road are during the time before school and after school-15 to 20 minutes. The rest of the day there aren't any bicyclists. I know because I am out in my garden every day and have taken note of this. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission refuses to accept that Shannon Road is a residential street and NOT a major throughway like LG Blvd. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission is pushing its bike agenda onto the entire neighborhood regardless of the overwhelming feedback against the way it is being implemented. We are all for bike safety improvements, but the latest proposal is excessive. Please vote no on the Shannon Road Bikeway and Pedestrian improvements and send it back to the engineers' office to come up with a simple plan ie: a 5-foot sidewalk, 3-foot bike lane, some parking, and NO buffers. Thank you, Mark and Sheila Bony Shannon Road From: Kim Vrijen <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 6:34 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 - Please include PROTECTED bike lanes on Shannon EXTERNAL SENDER Hello - I am writing to you to urge you to keep the bike lanes on Shannon Road protected. I have been monitoring the project and was very happy with the original plan to have protected bike lanes on this stretch of Shannon. As you know, many students use this road to bike to school. Fisher has a large number of students on bicycles and all bikers from the east side of town come in via Shannon. In fact, the 2016 town council traffic study states "Shannon Road shares a strong bond with Fisher Middle School as a preferred walking and bicycling route for students." and "The majority of students traveling by foot or bike to Fisher School travel down Shannon Road to Roberts Road." As someone who has biked this road many times with my children, I feel protected bike lanes are critical to this project. It feels so much safer to bike on a protected lane versus on a bike lane on the street. Students also bike along this stretch for Blossom Hill Elementary and Van Meter. I believe that more parents will be comfortable biking their younger students to elementary school if the bike lane is protected. Given how many residents would benefit from a protected bike lane, I hope that you will implement protected bike lanes on Shannon. Thank you, Kim Vrijen Marchmont Drive, Los Gatos 95032 From: Ned Finkle <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 5:37 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public comment - Shannon Road project EXTERNAL SENDER This is a comment for the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, March 1st, regarding the major re- engineering of Shannon Road between LG Boulevard and Cherry Blossom Road. I have attended the various meetings and participated in many discussions amongst the neighbors on the road. The neighbors are unified in their continued request to moderate & adjust the current " 65% plan". The neighbors all want more green space and feel the buffers in the bike lane need to be reduced & moved to green space. If speed bumps were introduced and the traffic slows to 15-20 mph (like has been done successfully on East Shannon) the need for the 2ft x 2 space barriers on each side of the bike lane diminishes. I have lived on the road for roughly 50 years (parents home on Ann Arbor and 3 decades on Shannon in my house). I have raised 3 children here and like the neighbors have an intimate feel for the road issues and what could work. All of the neighbors are asking the town council to revisit the green space (add more) and to reduce the buffers to make the road more visually appealing and to detract from speeding (the real problem). We are all united that in giving feedback to you that the proposal presented was detrimental to the interests of the home owners, and an overkill for the benefit expected. As a long-term resident of Shannon Road & Los Gatos I would politely ask Council to thoughtfully review, consider and address the letter of February 27 submitted by Mark Wyss, as proxy for the residents desires. Ned Finkle From: Sridevi Sheth <> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 8:26 PM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 - Shannon Road Project EXTERNAL SENDER Hi All, This is a comment for the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, March 1st, regarding the major re- engineering of Shannon Road between LG Boulevard and Cherry Blossom Road. The ‘revised’ 65% plan developed as a result of the residents feedback and to be considered by Council on March 1st appears, at best, to be designed to pay minimal lip service to the residents expressed concerns without materially addressing those concerns. My concerns are the changes being proposed match none of the requests of the Shannon Residents. I myself live on Shannon, and not once have noticed a significant increase in people biking up and down to warrant such a significant change in our roads to accomodate for designated bike lanes. In fact, all of Shannon Road is No Parking only during the day, to allow for bikers to bike up and down safely. We have not touched on the fact that PG&E will need to get involved in this projects in order to accommodate the current proposal enough. The amount of cost for this is better put to use in adding green spaces and more nature to Shannon. Who will cover the costs of cutting into people's property to accommodate this? Has anyone spoken to a Shannon resident willing to tear up their front yards for this project? We are not looking to turn Shannon Road into a commercial street. There is not enough traffic on this road to warrant the changes proposed. As a long-term resident of Shannon Road, I would ask Council to properly review, consider and address the letter of February 27 submitted by Mark Wyss, as representative of the residents desires. -- Thanks, Sri Sheth From: Varun Sivakumar <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 3:56 AM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Cc: pooj <pooja10@gmail.com> Subject: Shannon Rd project EXTERNAL SENDER Hello, in advance of the next town meeting, we wanted to add that we are in full support of the comments & feedback provided by our neighbors on Shannon. We would like to see more greenery added to the project & reduce/remove the buffers. Thanks Varun & Pooja Shannon Rd From: Peter Binkley <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 9:12 AM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public comment for today's Town Council Meeting. Agenda Item #11 EXTERNAL SENDER Dear Town Council, This comment is in regards to the Shannon Rd Pedestrian and Bikeway improvement project. I am a Shannon Rd home owner living within the project area. I am a bike commuter with kids who walk, bike, or scooter to Blossom Hill school. I am an Emergency Physician and I understand the importance of safety measures. The project in its current iteration lacks adequate green space/planting strips and especially trees. There is adequate width of town right-of-way to allow for a planting strip between the sidewalk and curb (aka a detached sidewalk). On the south side of the road, I suggest eliminating the bike lane buffer between the bike lane and parking spaces. This is not an area where people are entering and exiting cars frequently, since there are no surrounding business, and to sacrifice a critical shade canopy in favor of a nearly useless buffer between a bike lane and static object is unjustified. If we want to encourage more residents to walk, bike, and roll to school and work, we MUST consider the aesthetics of the project, and trees and planting strips are the solution. Trees provide critical shade for walkers and bikers without obstructing visibility or compromising safety. Thank you for your consideration and dedication to this important project, Peter Binkley, MD Shannon Rd. Los Gatos, CA. From: Wendy Riggs <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 9:35 AM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 - Shannon Road Project - Keep protected bike lanes EXTERNAL SENDER Council Members - Shannon Road is used by 100's of Los Gatos students everyday, biking and walking to/from Fisher Middle School, Blossom Hill School, Van Meter Elementary, Los Gatos High School and Hillbrook school. The improvements to the roadway developed by the PPW department are intended to increase the safety of these students. The addition of sidewalks and protected bike lanes will make this a much safer situation for our students. As we continue to advocate for all Town members to use more active modes of transportation, it is important that we engineer our roadways to enable this to be done safely. Please approve the project as currently presented. Thank you, Wendy Riggs SR2S Coordinator, LGMS lgsaferoutes.org From: Ryan Rosenberg <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 9:26 AM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Public Comment Item #11 EXTERNAL SENDER Dear Los Gatos Town Council, I urge you to reject option 3 and re-consider option 1. Option 3 implements a Winchester-style road on a neighborhood street. I feel that is the wrong direction for Shannon Road, and the wrong direction for our town. Let’s keep our neighborhood streets local. This plan (as proposed) is opposed by all the residents (as far as I can tell). The overall project is not opposed; the idea of buffered bike lanes and wide sidewalks are. Why? Because these extra wide bike lanes and wide sidewalks come at the cost of aesthetics. And they come at the cost of green space. How things look is core to our town and matters to all our town citizens no matter where they live. Aesthetics matter on every project. Safety is essential, but option 3 goes beyond safety. There has been no evidence presented that our street needs this particular design. Indeed there are already many elements planned (adding speed bumps, removing parking, and adding a dedicated bike lane) that will improve safety. Instead the stated goal is to encourage biking. While this is an important goal it must be balanced across the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and residents. In this particular case I feel balance is not being maintained. This project may end up a bit of a “bridge to nowhere”. We are singling out a single block - but every connecting block has, and will likely remain, more neighborhood stye. In summary: this plan sets a direction - turning our neighborhood streets into major thoroughfares - that I doubt many in town want to see. Thank you for your consideration. And many thanks for your service to our town. Best regards, Ryan Rosenberg From: Ryan Rosenberg <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 9:28 AM To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Comments on Item #11 from another resident EXTERNAL SENDER Dear Clerk, A Shannon Road resident sent me this email. I believe he may have been confused about the process for submitting his comments. Is it possible for me to submit this for him? Best regards, Ryan Hi Ryan It’s Glenn Lyles at Shannon and I’m without a computer and hope the following can somehow be included in the Shannon Road Project discussion at the Town Council Mtg. 1. The project is likely being pushed through due to deadlines of the Fed. grant and likely is under funded when you take into account driveways and extra curbs caused by the planter strips and dealing with drainage. 2. Speed bumps…when the last bump is placed in front of our house it will have a significant impact on reducing speeding vehicle trying to catch the Los Gatos Blvd green light and safety of student. 3. Bike lanes are way way over designed. Keep to existing white stripping and pavements markings. 4. Do away with planter strips and use additional space for street parking under existing hours and days. 5. Keep to 5 foot standards sidewalks. Glenn Lyles From: Danielle Ratliff <> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 10:00 AM To: Suyesh Shrestha <SShrestha@losgatosca.gov> Cc: WooJae Kim <WKim@losgatosca.gov> Subject: RE: Shannon Road Pedestrian & Bikeway Improvements - Webpage Update EXTERNAL SENDER Thank you for sharing these revisions, I still think the bike lanes and buffers are a bit exaggerated and don’t need that much space and, DO NOT NEED the buffers. By doing this you are making the street less safe for EVERYONE. Also, parking is a major issue, there is already limited parking, we need to keep parking for residents as well as guests, what ado we do if guests come over? Where do they park? Deliveries? Etc.. Would you want this in your neighborhood? Also, our home Shannon Rd. has 2 units on the property. We use the regular driveway and part of our front yard as a sperate parking/driveway area. We NEED to keep additional parking space and additional driveway entrance at the front of our property. How will you make sure this is implemented? Please think of those who actually live here and the impact you are putting on the neighborhood and residents. Thank you for your time, Danielle Ratliff Shannon Rd (front house) (personal email)