San Jose DOT Proposing Lincoln Avenue Road Diet in Willow Glen (Mountain View: 2015, neighborhood)

[darkeconomist]

WGNA Meeting: Road Diet

The proposed road diet would shrink Lincoln Avenue to two lanes, from four, convert some parking spaces to restaurant patios, and add bike lanes in each direction in downtown Willow Glen.

From my point of view, it seems like a great way to protect pedestrians while simultaneously choking businesses. Win-win. /sarcasm

More seriously, this would drastically change the way the residents interact with one of the best attractions in the city, and I think it's important more people know what's being considered.

[bobby_guz_man]

This is interesting. I think the road diet is fine, but do they need patios? I mean, right now the sidewalk is pretty damn large and a lot of restaurants already have outside patios. Bike lanes are OK, that's fine. Most of the parking are in the back so there are always other roads you can use to get to the parking.

This would make Lincoln the same as Castro Street in Mt View, 1 lane each direction. It'll be fine I think.

[ketch89]

+1 to the Castro Street comparison. Castro Street used to be 4 lanes also, it was reduced to 2 in 1989. Needless to say, it's now a much nicer place to be. These changes will be fantastic!

[NickB1967]

Ack. Luddite mentality. Lincoln Avenue, like it or not, connects one part of San Jose with another.

Of course, had Bird Avenue been extended with four lanes to connect with Almaden Expressway, then Lincoln could have been bypassed and it could have been turned into a two lane Main Street, sidewalk cafes and all.

Or if Cherry Avenue had been extended with four lanes to connect with Race Street, likewise.

But the traffic blockers didn't want *those* either back in the day.

[darkeconomist]

It's important to keep in mind context. A four-lane pass-through, eg Meridian, is very different from something much slower, like Lincoln Avenue.

To me, the question that must be asked for every project is "Is this the best solution, long-term, available to us for this problem?" If the primary problem is pedestrian safety, there are other, less drastic yet effective solutions. If the goal is to promote bicycles, then this needs to be part of a move to prioritize cycling along the full length of Lincoln, else it's yuppies feeling good about promoting cycling for photogenic yuppie families without actually changing the status quo.

The comparison to Castro Street isn't apples to apples. MV has a parking garage and it, along with the surface parking, is accessible by side streets from Shoreline, taking the pressure off Castro Street. For the WG plan to make sense without hurting businesses, the parking accessible from Minnesota and from Willow would both need to be bolstered to compensate for the loss of on-street parking on Lincoln and the reduced access to the lots mid-way on Lincoln.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by darkeconomist

It's important to keep in mind context. A four-lane pass-through, eg Meridian, is very different from something much slower, like Lincoln Avenue.

To me, the question that must be asked for every project is "Is this the best solution, long-term, available to us for this problem?" If the primary problem is pedestrian safety, there are other, less drastic yet effective solutions. If the goal is to promote bicycles, then this needs to be part of a move to prioritize cycling along the full length of Lincoln, else it's yuppies feeling good about promoting cycling for photogenic yuppie families without actually changing the status quo.

The comparison to Castro Street isn't apples to apples. MV has a parking garage and it, along with the surface parking, is accessible by side streets from Shoreline, taking the pressure off Castro Street. For the WG plan to make sense without hurting businesses, the parking accessible from Minnesota and from Willow would both need to be bolstered to compensate for the loss of on-street parking on Lincoln and the reduced access to the lots mid-way on Lincoln.

That'll be up to Willow Glen folks. Are they ready to make their Main Street a "destination", like Castro or Pruneyard or The Row? Or do they just want to keep it "neighborhoody"? A parking garage would be nice but the residents around there would probably fight it tooth and nail.

I thought they DO have a parking garage on WG downtown? I thought I saw one....

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

That'll be up to Willow Glen folks. Are they ready to make their Main Street a "destination", like Castro or Pruneyard or The Row? Or do they just want to keep it "neighborhoody"? A parking garage would be nice but the residents around there would probably fight it tooth and nail.

I thought they DO have a parking garage on WG downtown? I thought I saw one....

There is a parking garage that was built as part of the Willow Glen Town Square, but the second level is small. They could build a parking garage behind some buildings where there are currently surface lots, but I'm not sure who would pay for it, my guess is that businesses are not lacking shoppers to want more parking built. As for not building parking, I'm guessing people living on nearby streets are probably not that happy about shoppers going there to park, so I can't imagine them opposing parking.

[darkeconomist]

From the Merc:

Plans are for the trial and data collection period to take place in March, April and May of 2015, with project installation set for October 2015, assuming the test run proves successful and the city council approves the plan.

And right as the weather turns nice and people want to get out again. Basically, 3 months of total chaos on Lincoln.

On the bright side, though he supports the idea, councilman Oliverio seems pragmatic:

The funneling [test period] allows us to understand, if you're going to move travel lanes, the impact on the area. We would measure the real impact. You could do an EIR, but it doesn't tell the merchants or residents what will really happen until we do it.

[sonarrat]

It would be great for people who live in the immediate area and terrible for the weekenders from all around the Silicon Valley who want to come there for a nice atmosphere and experience. Mountain View has a network of navigable side streets, a large parking garage, and a major rail station to keep the pressure off the roads. Willow Glen has none of that. If I had to bypass the downtown via Almaden/Vine and Willow Street to park then walk several blocks back to Minnesota, I wouldn't bother.

[bigdumbgod]

The western side of the downtown WG drag has parking behind the businesses that is weirdly broken up, whereas a few fences and barriers could be be removed to make it a seamless lot from Minnesota to Willow St., which would negate the need for many cars to use Lincoln Avenue.