NEWS
MPBTA Transportation Newsletter
Volume 3 - Issue 7, July 2010 [pdf file]
MPBTA Update
August 2010
Public Bike Share Demonstration in Redwood City
Curious to see what public bike share might look like? City of Redwood City, County of San Mateo, and Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance are sponsoring a bike share demonstration and presentation in downtown Redwood City Friday, August 20th, from 12 pm to 8 pm. The presentation will be from 2 pm to 3 pm at the County Center Building, in Redwood City. As Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and San Fracisco look to start public bike share programs get an idea of what the concept can look and feel like.
Bay Trail Between Mountain View and Sunnyvale to Open
After almost 2 years of waiting, the Bay Trail between Mountain View and Sunnyvale has plans to open to the public in September. The Bay Trail covers over 500-miles of shore with plans to connect all nine Bay Area counties, link 47 cities, and cross the major toll bridges. Approximately 290 miles of the trail have been completed. Now the section between Mountain View and Sunnyvale can be added to that numbers.
For the last 2 years, the section that runs behind NASA/Ames and Moffett Field, has been under development. After environmental concerns were addressed for the natural habitat, the organizations connected to the land had process access of the land through their own systems. Now that clearance has been given, bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to continue from Moutain View Shoreline area into the Baylands area of Sunnyvale. This provides a great opportunity for bike commuters to safely move between the lower Peninsula and South Bay.
July 2010
5th Annual Tour de Moffett Park
The 5th Annual Tour de Moffett Park was a great success! This year over 180 bicyclist from MPBTA member companies participated in the lunch-time rides. Sponsored by Moffett Park Business & Transportation Association, NetApp and Lockheed Martin enjoyed the beautiful day with a 7 mile ride that took them around the Moffett Park area, out through Baylands Park, onto the San Tomas Aquino trail, and back over the Borregas Bike/Ped bridge. Lunch and vendors, such as The Sports Basement, VeloGirls, Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, rounded out the rest of the event. At the end of the event a raffle awarded many prizes to the participants and the Tour de Moffett Park trophy, which recognizes the highest percentage of participants from a company, went to NetApp.
Thank you goes out to NetApp and NetApp employees for their generous support of the event.
June 2010
National Dump the Pump,
Thursday - June 17th
Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) the 2010 National Dump the Pump Day is a day that encourages people to ride public transportation and save money, instead of driving a car. Started in June 2006 when gas prices were $3 per gallon, this national day emphasizes that public transportation is a great travel option that also helps people save money.
Public transportation in the United States is a crucial part of the solution to the nation’s economic, energy, and environmental challenges. Increasing numbers of people are using public transportation and local communities are expanding public transit services.
Public Transportation Saves Fuel, Reduces Congestion
* Access to bus and rail lines reduces driving by 4,400 miles per household annually.
* Americans living in areas served by public transportation save 646 million hours in travel time and 398 million gallons of fuel annually in congestion reduction alone.
* Without public transportation, congestion costs would have been an additional $13.7 billion.
Public Transportation Saves Money
* The average household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing.
* Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, a necessary alternative to driving.
* Households that are likely to use public transportation on a given day save over $8,400 every year.
Public Transportation Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
* One person that switches to public transit can reduce their daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds, or more than 4,800 pounds in a year.
* A single commuter switching his/her commute to public transportation can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10% and up to 30% if he/she eliminates a second car.
Ride VTA on Dump the Pump Day and start your commitment to our environment. For your free trip plan call (408) 321-2300.
May 2010
Annual Bike to Work Day
The San Francisco Bay Area's 16th Annual Bike to Work Day will take place on Thursday, May 13th, 2010. Bike to Work Day is the premier bicycling event taking place in all of Northern California with all nine bay Area counties participating in the celebration. The event is just one day of many events taking place in May as part of National Bike Month.
8th Annual Bike to Work Lunch & Ride Extravaganza
Moffett Park Business & Transportation Association and Juniper Networks sponsor The 8th Annual Bike to Work Lunch & Ride Extravaganza May 11th, 2010.
Take part in a 6-mile ride around the Moffett Park area
- Enjoy lunch provided by Juniper Networks
- Visit vendors who will be on site with bike related wares
- Put your name in the raffle to win fun prizes
To take part and enjoy lunch register at BTWextravaganza@mpbta.org
March 2010
Mathilda Avenue Over U.S. 101 Closed for Repairs, Monday, March 15
U.S. 101 northbund will be subject to full, weeknight closures between March 15 and May 28, 2010. The full freeway closures will begin at midnight on Monday through Thursday and re-open at 4:00 am. On Friday, full freeway closures will begin at 9:00 pm and open at 4am on Monday.
Motorist should expect intermittent full freeway night closures and occasional Mathilda Avenue overcrossing night closures throughout the duration of this project. Work is scheduled to be completed in May 2010, weather permitting.
Detours:
Motorists traveling southbound on U.S. 101 to southbound Mathilda Avenue can access the off-ramp througout the duration of this project
- Motorists traveling northbound on U.S. 101 to northbound Mathilda Avenue can access the off-ramp throughout the duration of this project
February, 2010
Mathilda Avenue Over U.S. 101 Repairs
Caltrans will begin to repair the Mathilda Avenue overcrossing that was damaged last September when a big rig traveling on northbound U.S. 101 struck and damaged five concrete girders. The work is scheduled during the week of February 22, weather permitting.
K-rail concrete barriers were installed and temporary striping applied in prepartation of the project. The Mathilda Ave Bridge overcrossing currently has two lanes open on the northbound lanes and two lanes open on the southbound lanes. All ramps are open this week prior to the start of the project next week.
U.S. 101 northbound will be subject to full, weeknight closures between February and May, 2010. There are no scheduled Saturday and Sunday night closures. The full freeway closures will begin at midnight on weeknights and 11 p.m. on Fridays and will re-open at 5 a.m. each morning.
U.S. 101 southbound lanes will will remain open during the repairs.
There will be various lane and ramp closures both day and night during this repair project. Advance warning changeable message signs will be in place to assist motorisits traveling through the area. Flaggers will direct traffic during construction on the Mathilda Bridge overcrossing and during the full freeway closures. CHP will be on site to assist with traffic enforcement. Motorists should expect delays.
Work is scheduled to be completed in May 2010, weather permitting.
Sunnyvale Study Issue Ranking Results
City Council has completed their 2010 Study Issues/Budget Issues Workshop. These rankings will become the priority list of issues Council will study through the current year.
For many years the City’s study issues process has provided both City Council and City staff with a valuable planning and management tool. Through this process, Council sets priorities for studying policy issues. The process also allows staff to balance the work required to thoroughly “study” an issue with the work required to deliver ongoing City services.
The top ranked study issues that are of interest to the MPBTA are:
Reliable Electrical Power Options - The study issue would consider options to provide a better, more reliable power system in the City of Sunnyvale.
Impacts of Traffic Calming Devices on Cyclists - The study issue will review impacts of the different calming devices on cyclists, as well as recommend design and operational alterations to establish traffic calming devices that are more bicyclist friendly.
