Committee directs staff to advance Moffett Boulevard complete-streets design amid grant deadline

The City Council Transportation Committee voted to direct staff to advance the Moffett Boulevard Complete Streets project into final design and to evaluate a handful of community- and BPAC-recommended adjustments, including modest lane‑width reductions, more robust vertical separation for bike lanes, and focused changes at two pinch‑point interchanges.

The committee action follows a staff presentation explaining that the project is funded primarily with a $3,500,000 federal OBAG‑3 construction grant and a local match the city identified when it applied. Staff said design must be approved by Caltrans local assistance and that construction is tentatively targeted for 2026 to meet grant obligation deadlines; funds must be obligated by January 2027. Staff warned that substantial scope changes at this stage could trigger a new federal review and “substantial high risk” of losing grant funding.

City assistant engineer Nancy Chen and principal civil engineer Robert Gonzales led the presentation, outlining the project scope: pavement rehabilitation, mostly continuous six‑foot class 4 protected bike lanes with vertical delineation where space allows, class 2 lanes at pinch points, green conflict markings at driveways and bus stops, and a sidewalk gap closure on the east side between Leon Drive and Stevens Creek Trail. Staff proposed removing approximately 18 on‑street parking spaces adjacent to Willow Park apartments; a parking study in August 2024 recorded a single vehicle during the study period, and staff said off‑street parking is available. Gonzales said the design was scoped to align with the OBAG‑3 grant conditions and to be competitive during award.

The committee heard more than a dozen public comments from users of the corridor and local cycling advocates who pressed staff to consider a road diet, raised curb or raised cycletracks in pinch points, and more durable physical protection than flexible posts. Several commenters who bike the route regularly — including employees who commute to NASA Ames and other nearby employers — described frequent near collisions where motorists merge or turn across the bike lane at high speed, particularly at the SR‑85 and US‑101 ramps and overpass approaches.

Staff told the committee that some BPAC recommendations can be incorporated without materially affecting schedule or grant eligibility: adjusting bike lane geometry at right turns, adding ADA curb ramps and advanced stop bars at intersections, and adding curb cuts linking the Stevens Creek Trail to northbound Moffett. Staff said other options — such as adding a full cycle track or large additional curb infrastructure in pinch points — would be a major scope change with significant schedule, cost and grant risk because they would prompt fresh Caltrans/MTC scrutiny.

Committee members asked about traffic counts, lane widths and the project’s relationship to the city’s Active Transportation Plan and the Moffett Precise Plan. Staff said the project was scoped with counts and priorities from prior planning studies and the 2022 community meeting; design is at roughly 35% and staff expects to complete final design by the end of 2025. Assistant Public Works Director Ed Arango told the committee the design keeps travel lanes at a minimum of 11 feet where Moffett is a truck and bus route; staff said narrowing inner lanes modestly (for example, to 10.5 feet in some locations) is an option to evaluate and would be added to the design review tasks.

The committee motion directs staff to advance final design while evaluating the specific items BPAC raised and the committee’s request to assess inner lane widths and more robust vertical elements; staff will also return to Council with the parking removal proposal later this spring. The motion passed on a roll call: Chair McAllister and Committee member Hicks voted yes; another committee member was absent.

The project timeline described by staff: complete final design in 2025, begin construction in 2026, and obligate federal funds by January 2027 to meet grant requirements. Staff said design coordination with Caltrans local assistance and environmental review required by the grant will begin as the project advances.

Community members and BPAC will continue to provide input during final design, and staff said it will pursue value‑engineering options where feasible while protecting the city’s eligibility for the OBAG‑3 construction grant.