This evening at the online meeting starting at 6pm, the City of Santa Clara Planning Commission will be considering a Specific Plan for the El Camino Real Corridor, which has been in the works for several years. The plan offers major big advances for walking, bicycling and transit.
The plan calls for prioritizing transit over vehicles, with speed improvements along the corridor to provide reliable transit service and encourage ridership. Bus stops would provide high quality shelters, benches, and real-time travel information.
For people walking and bicycling, the plan calls for major improvements including wider sidewalks, better crosswalks, street trees, and protected bike lanes. The plan envisions safer trail intersections, as well as better bike and pedestrian connections on cross streets and Activity Centers at major intersections, where large blocks would be subdivided to create new connections.
The plan has thoughtful designs considering the safety and convenience of people walking, bicycling and using the bus – and how these users will interact safely. Bus boarding islands will implemented incorporating the cycle track to minimize potential conflicts between cyclists, buses, and transit users.
Travel lanes would be narrowed for more moderate-speed, safer driving. These improvements would be implemented gradually over time. Space would be provided by removing on street car parking as parcels redevelop and buildings are built with onsite parking.
Taking advantage of the improvements to sustainable transportation, new developments would be required to provide amenities such as transit passes and ample bike parking, and would be able to provide less car parking than Santa Clara’s traditionally high requirements which anticipated that all residents would drive.
You can comment on this plan tonight, Monday May 10 starting at 6 pm.
Use the following link to join the webinar on May 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm:
- Via Zoom: https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/91729202898
- Webinar ID: 917 2920 2898
- Phone: 1(669) 900-6833
