1
Willow
Glen
Neighborhood
Association
P.
O. Box 7706,
San
Jose CA 95150
408/294-WGNA
August
20, 2009
To:
John Brazil, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program
Department
of Transportation City of San Jose
200
East Santa Clara Street
San
Jose, California 95113
Re:
Bike Plan for San Jose
Dear
Mr. Brazil,
Positions:
I.
Develop these key bicycle commutes first: WGNA
strongly supports placing 1) Lincoln
Ave.,
2) Minnesota/Alma to Senter Rd. and 3) Willow to Senter Rd. high on the list of first-tocomplete
bike
lanes. These are key links to large parks to the east, County Hospital and
Los
Gatos
Creek trail to the west and the Diridon / Downtown
area to the north.
II.
Protect parking for residents and business: Members
of the Willow Glen community
and
WGNA board understand that portions of these three planned primary bicycle
routes present
special
challenges in protecting currently available on-street parking for residents and
businesses.
At
choke points with limit room for three traffic lanes, on-street parking AND safe
bike lanes, we
urge
San Jose Department of Transportation to protect existing residential and
business on-street
parking
wherever possible.
Background
and Discussion:
The
Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) and the WGNA Public Safety
and
Transportation
(PS&T) Committee appreciate and support San Jose
Department of Transportation
(DOT)
and Staff efforts to move San Jose toward being a Great Bicycle-Friendly
City.
For
San Jose to be a World Class City by 2040, residents of the core city and
surrounding
neighborhoods
must have the opportunity to move about carbon free. Safe, user-friendly
bike
routes
will provide that pathway to a sustainable energy efficient
City.
Densification,
smart planning and public transportation will play a major role. Bike
and
pedestrian
mobility are essential to realizing that vision as well.
We
recognize that Federal, State and Regional funds will become available over the
next five to
ten
years to support healthy low-carbon transportation solutions for large
metropolitan areas.
With
thousands of new residents planned in the high density Diridon, Midtown and Tamien
Transit
Oriented Development (TOD) projects, these new safe bike routes will play
an
increasingly
important role in San Jose’s Smart Growth planning of a green sustainable
city.
Closing
comment:
The
Willow Glen Neighborhood Association appreciates the great work in planning for
the City
of
the future and looks forward to working with the Mayor, Council and Department
of
Transportation
to make this vision a reality for all of San Jose for generations to
come.
Sincerely,
David
D. Dearborn,
Public
Safety and Transportation Committee
First
Vice President
Willow
Glen Neighborhood Association
cc:
Honorable
Mayor
Councilmember
Pierluigi Oliverio
Councilmember
Madison Nguyen
James
R. Helmer, Director of
Transportation
Office
of the City Clerk, San Jose, CA cityclerk@sanjoseca.gov