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Committee accepts Safe Routes to School report after questions about safety data and longer-term trends
Summary
The City Transportation Committee moved the Safe Routes to School final report as part of its consent calendar after members asked staff to add safety metrics, longer time‑series data and clearer participation counts; staff said training (including scooters) is provided by Safe Moves and will return with clarifications if requested.
The Mountain View City Transportation Committee accepted the Safe Routes to School final report as part of its consent calendar and discussed gaps in how the report presents safety evidence and trends.
Council Member Hicks said she supported accepting the report but asked staff to add more safety reporting and multi‑year trend data, noting the report’s tables covered only one or two years. "I thought the highlight would be on safety, but there's actually no safety data in it," Hicks said. She also asked for raw participation counts in addition to percentages to make figures easier to interpret.
Staff and representatives from the consultant team explained the program delivery. A staff representative said Safe Moves provides the bike rodeos and pedestrian trainings and that schools provide permission slips for student participation. Staff clarified that every public elementary and middle school participated this year, and that the "98%" phrasing in the report referred to student participation accounting, not school participation. The consultant confirmed scooter training is included in the bike rodeos.
Committee members pressed for follow up on e‑bike education for high schools, and staff described a three‑part outreach strategy: collecting counts of e‑bike usage, offering webinar‑style trainings adaptable to large high‑school populations, and distributing flyers and materials in coordination with the police department. "We certainly will work with them on the education side of things," the consultant said.
The report remained a consent item and the committee approved the consent calendar unanimously. Members requested that, if the item is elevated to a later meeting or to council, staff include clearer safety metrics and multi‑year comparisons to show mode‑shift trends rather than single‑year changes.
Next steps: staff will incorporate committee comments into the record and provide clarifications in future materials or briefings for the committee or council.
