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BPAC recommends Mountain View Active Transportation Plan to council committee, requests stronger policies and measurable metrics
Summary
The Mountain View Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) voted April 29 to recommend the draft Active Transportation Plan to the Council Transportation Committee while asking staff to add more specific policies, standards and performance metrics before final council review in September 2026.
The Mountain View Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee voted unanimously April 29 to forward the draft Mountain View Active Transportation Plan to the Council Transportation Committee, while urging staff to strengthen the document with clearer, actionable policies and measurable outcomes.
BPAC members praised the draft for cataloguing projects and identifying gaps but said the plan does not yet provide enough specific guidance on standards, performance metrics and implementation steps. "We would like to see more specific and actionable policies," Member Stone said when making the motion recommending the plan to the council committee.
The plan, staff said, was developed in three phases: background and existing conditions, scoring and prioritization, and development of recommended projects, programs and policies. A staff presentation listed completed outreach and the plan structure, and noted calendar milestones: the draft was released for public comment in April, staff will brief the Council Transportation Committee on June 16, BPAC will review a final draft on Aug. 26 and the city council is scheduled to consider adoption on Sept. 22, 2026. "The plan will go to city council for review and approval in September 2026," staff told the committee.
Why it matters: the Active Transportation Plan is intended to guide which walking, biking and rolling projects the city pursues and which projects will be prioritized for state and regional grants. BPAC members emphasized that without clearer policy direction and measurable targets, the plan will be less useful as a tool for securing funding and tracking progress.
Public commenters generally supported the plan’s goals but asked for clearer outcome measures. "It would benefit from having some very specific measurable outcomes to assess whether or not all of these great projects are really having the intended ultimate impact on the community," said resident Tracy Chiu. Celia Palmer, a teacher and parent, urged the committee to speed delivery and require yearly progress reports to track project completion and pedestrian safety improvements.
BPAC members repeatedly pressed staff on standards the plan should cite or adopt. Questions covered whether the plan should explicitly reference national design guidance such as NACTO or Caltrans Division 94, what lane widths the city should assume for different street types, and whether the plan should shift to VMT‑based metrics rather than level‑of‑service measures for traffic impacts. Staff said the draft will be revised to reflect comments and that city standards and implementation details will be refined as projects move toward design.
What comes next: staff will incorporate BPAC and public feedback into the version presented to the Council Transportation Committee on June 16 and return a revised plan to BPAC in August for a formal recommendation to council. The council review and possible adoption remains scheduled for Sept. 22, 2026.
Notes: Motion to forward the plan with a request for stronger policy, metrics and standards language was introduced by Member Stone and seconded; the committee recorded a unanimous endorsement to transmit comments to the Council Transportation Committee.
