This evening at 6:30pm, Mountain View City Council’s transportation committee will be discussing a study of higher-capacity transit connections to North Bayshore.   Mountain View is already planning to add a dedicated lane for shuttles on Shoreline connecting the Caltrain/Light Rail station to North Bayshore; the study is for a next-generation system to accommodate the area’s growth, which is being planned include housing as well as growth by the major employers in the area.

While there have been earlier discussions focusing on “podcars”,  the study will look at “automated guideway technologies”, defined more broadly, “so as to not presuppose or preclude any particular transportation technology from consideration”.    The staff report defines the scope of technologies to consider include systems that are “elevated or at-grade, move on rubber tires, steel wheels, rails, or cables, and they can be powered by onboard batteries, electricity, or another energy source. The use of the word guideway within the AGT term is also intended to be very general to mean a separated roadway, path, or other facility that vehicles can travel on or within.”

It’s not clear what role these consultants and vendors, focusing on one part of the spectrum of technologies, will play in conducting the study.

If you’re interested and can attend, the meeting will be held in the Plaza Conference room (next to Council Chambers) at City Hall, 500 Castro Street in Mountain View.

If you have thoughts but can’t attend, the members of the committee are Council Members Kasperzak, Siegel, and Inks, with contact info here: http://www.mountainview.gov/council/roster/default.asp