12 Attachment 3 - Public Comments Received 1101 am 9-30-19 through 1100 am 10-1-19From: Kim Vrijen <kim_vrijen@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2019 10:59 AM
To: Experience LG <ExperienceLG@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: One Way and Parklets
Hello -
I am writing to express my interest in having the parklets and one-way traffic on N Santa Cruz become
permanent additions. I like the one-way traffic for several reasons. First, I like that it is easier to find
parking. Before, you had to choose which direction to approach downtown in the hope that you would
choose correctly and find an open space on your side of the street. Inevitably, the only spaces would be
facing the opposite direction and, by the time you drove around the block, the space would be
gone. Second, once you find a space, it is much easier to park. Pulling in to the angled spots is much
faster than backing into the spaces on the side. Finally, as a pedestrian, it is much safer to cross the
road. All cars are coming from one direction and there is only one car at a time to worry about. This
makes it much easier and safer to cross the road. I also like the idea of the parklets and expect the
permanent versions will be pleasant places to sit. I would love to have more outside dining options in
LG. I am not sure how quickly permanent parklets would happen, but one idea is for Holiday time, you
could allow outdoor pop-ups either all the time or for the weekends in December. One parklet could be
an outdoor hot chocolate stand. Downtown LG would have a Christmas market feel which would,
hopefully, attract more people to the downtown area.
Thank you for all the time you invest to make Los Gatos a fantastic place to live,
Km
ATTACHMENT 3
From: REDEMPTION <shopredemption@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2019 10:01 AM
To: Experience LG <ExperienceLG@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: One way and parklet pilot
To the Town
My name is David MacGregor and my wife Tammy and I own Redemption, a California based retail store
located at 25 N Santa Cruz. We have been open at this location just over a year, as well as having our
first location in Campbell that we opened in 2015. I am also a recent sign on to the Chamber of
Commerce board, where I am one of the only retail representatives.
It is our view that the One way and Parklet program has had a positive effect on the downtown, and we
hope that this is the first step towards wider sidewalks in the Downtown proper, as that would be our
ultimate best scenario. We would even like to see the program extend past the October deadline and
into the holiday season in order to gain more data. It is also my understanding that the general feeling
among downtown merchants about the program is a positive one.
The overwhelming feedback we have received from our frequent daily discussions with customers
however, is that the design and aesthetic of the parklets leave a lot to be desired. I believe that this
feeling is echoed by the merchants. If it is feasible to extend the parklet program then, it would be
extremely beneficial to the overall excitement and acceptance by the merchants and visitors alike to
revisit the design and layout of the parklets. Now that there is some data on how they’ve been used, it
could be useful to focus the program on only the parklets that were most used, and work on making
them more appealing visually. The program is a good idea, we feel it just needs some area focus and
increased aesthetic appeal.
Warm regards
Tammy and David
REDEMP☥ION
+1 (408) 628 4877
241a E Campbell Ave
Campbell, CA 95008
+1 (408) 402 3888
25 N Santa Cruz Ave
Los Gatos, CA 95030
From: Maria Ristow <ristows@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2019 9:13 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Matt Morley <MMorley@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: One-Way Pilot on Santa Cruz Avenue
In my opinion, Santa Cruz Avenue should primarily accommodate active and outdoor use of the
space. Two-way car and bike traffic flow with additional sitting, recreating and dining space (through
the use right now of parklets) seem to me to be the best use of the limited space. Ultimately, the
sidewalks should be widened on each side of the street for all or much of the stretch between Highway
9 and Main Street, reducing or eliminating on-street parking.
We know that when people really want to come downtown, parking is NOT a top issue. They figure it
out. We have large crowds regularly at Jazz in the Plazz, Music in the Park, and most recently, Eat Drink
Play Los Gatos. Somehow people get to town and if they drive, they find a place to store their cars. Of
all the ways we can make Los Gatos more vibrant and welcoming, parking is not the primary issue.
The parking study underway is already showing that we can improve parking issues through better use
of the space we have with directing signage, encouraging employees to park a bit further away, and
possibly partnering with banks and other businesses to share underutilized private lots. I would like to
have Dixon Consulting look at the impact of further reducing or eliminating parking on Santa Cruz to see
if this is possible.
The only justification for keeping Santa Cruz Avenue one-way would be to retain the angle
parking. While a driversnumber of prefer angle parking to parallel, there is usually ample parking in the
lots behind the businesses, which is easy to pull in and out. The angle parking, as others have pointed
out, create a larger visual blockage of the shops and sidewalks than the parallel parking. It is the
opposite of a pedestrian-friendly feel. The parking study should give us ways to improve parking
allocation and utilization without turning Santa Cruz Avenue into another parking lot.
The downsides of the one-way configuration include greatly increased traffic impacts on University
Avenue and increased traffic on Tait and Massol Avenues, all residential streets. Santa Cruz Avenue is
our main downtown street and that is where the cars coming to town should be traveling, at the nice
friendly speed of 15mph.
Regarding bike traffic, the one-way makes cycling downtown more difficult. For northbound cyclists,
there is no good option. University is more crowded with cars, and drivers are not patient with cyclists
who must take the lane. I regularly observed cyclists traveling the wrong way on the Santa Cruz or
riding on the sidewalks. For southbound cyclists, the bike lane is little improvement, as it only exist for a
couple of blocks.
I think we learned many things from the one-way pilot program, and I remain supportive of the Town
Council and staff for exploring a variety of options at once. Now I advocate returning to two-way traffic
movement for the entire length of Santa Cruz Avenue and focus on parklets and sidewalk space. We
have business-sponsored parklets coming in, and I’m looking forward to more outdoor dining. I have
one request for the Town regarding parklets. It would be great to retain one town-controlled parklet,
with the piano and chess board and seats, in front of a retail shop, somewhere close to the middle of
Santa Cruz Avenue. It should meet the design standards of the permanent parklets going in. It was fun
this summer to have more people-oriented activity along the street.
Thank you for experimenting, measuring and evaluating. Sometimes we need to actually test something
out to understand it.
Maria Ristow
85 Broadway
From: Maria Ristow <ristows@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 4:07 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Matt Morley <MMorley@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: One-way pilot comments from cyclists
I am passing along input from some bike club members regarding the Santa Cruz Avenue One-Way Pilot
program. Maria Ristow
A cyclist who is riding north from, say, Lexington Reservoir, needs a way to get through Los Gatos and
onto Highway 9 to head toward Saratoga and points north. We need a way to make that left turn onto
Highway 9 at a light, because otherwise we won't be able to do it. If the city wants us to use University
Avenue instead of Santa Cruz Avenue, fine, but since University is narrow, we're going to have to take
the lane and that will delay motorists. I have absolutely no problem taking the lane, and will do it
without a second thought, but Los Gatos needs to think whether it wants the cyclists who come off the
trail down from Lexington to ride on University, or whether they have some other plan that cyclists will
find just as good.
-- Anne Paulson
Hi Maria,
For me, it makes no difference - I always avoid biking on Santa Cruz Avenue.
My preferred biking routes are:
from home to downtown: LG Blvd/E Main, sometimes using Bella Vista
to home skirting downtown and the Hwy 17 crossing: Tait/W Main/E Main/LG Blvd
For what it's worth, I avoid driving through downtown on Santa Cruz Avenue, too. I find it too slow and
chaotic with all the pedestrian crossings.
- Pat
Hello, Maria, I don’t ride in Los Gatos so can’t comment on this
situation but thought I’d toss this note into the mix: I’ve ridden in
cities and towns in Belgium where any one-way street provides two-way
access for cyclists. That is, it’s one-way for cars, two-way for
cyclists. This tends to encourage people to ride their bikes rather than
drive—in fact I think in some places there are lots of one-way streets
specifically to tilt the advantage to cycling.
Likely you know this already but your questions brought it to my mind.
Thank you for your work in this area! - l.
Hi Maria,
I actually don't ride on Santa Cruz southbound, and I ride University instead (actually I didn't know they
turned it into a one way street). I typically ride on Main Street, as it becomes Los Gatos Blvd, so I can go
on Kennedy. I only do this so I can avoid cycling on Hwy 9, to get through the freeway overpass, which
can be troublesome with car traffic merging in and out of onramp/offramps. If I had to ride
Northbound, I would use University as an alternative, but I would not like it if University became a one-
way street northbound (as I wouldn't want to ride Santa Cruz southbound as my only route into
downtown). Hope this make sense.
Thanks.
Ron
Biking from Main Street to Highway 9 is terrible now. University is crowded and cars are not patient
with cyclists who have to take the lane. In the early morning I will just ride on the sidewalk up Santa
Cruz. In the afternoons I cut through the parking lots. I don't like either of these options, but they are
better than trying to deal with all the angry car drivers on University. L.
From: Garnetta Annable <garnetta_annable@hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 2:07 PM
To: Matt Morley <MMorley@losgatosca.gov>; Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>; Steven
Leonardis <SLeonardis@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: ristows@comcast.net
Subject: Impact on bicyclists - Santa Cruz Ave Changes
We business patrons and visitors to Los Gatos but not Los Gatos Town residents. Our visits
include cycling through Los Gatos 2 to 3 times a week as part of our exercise routine.
Regarding Santa Cruz Ave (SC) impacts on cyclist, previously from Main, we cycled SC north to
Hwy 9. SC was the preferred route because the roadway at intersection of SC and Hwy 9 is
flat. Also, the turn lane traffic light timing is set well to allow adequate time for the le ft turn
West on to Hwy 9. Forcing north bound motorist and cyclist on to University has created
dangerous and frustrating experience for both. The dangerous situation is primarily making a
westbound left off or University. At the intersection of University and Hwy 9 the roadway is
inclined significantly. From a stopped position, it takes cyclists longer to push off and navigate
the incline whether turning left or continuing straight. This creates danger for the cyclist and
frustration for motorists. Our current work around the intersection problem is problematic
also. Currently we make a left turn west from University onto Bachman to reach SC. It is
dangerous because of the increased traffic on University caused by the SC diversion, lack of
bicycle route signage, and no traffic light or stop signs at the intersection of Bachman with
University.
If LG decides to maintain the SC changes permanently, the timing for lights at the intersection
of University and Hwy 9 need to be significantly increased for west bound left turns and
crossing Hwy 9 for cyclists. Also a bicycle lane or bicycle route signage painted large on
University would create more awareness of types of traffic and be safer.
I hope these comments will be helpful to you and council as you review and determine your
next steps.
Garnetta Annable
951 Dry Creek Road
Campbell, CA
(408) 371-9210