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Draft East Campbell Avenue plan recommends continuous bike lanes, keeps left-turn pockets; businesses warn about lost curb parking
Summary
Consultants presented a preferred alternative for East Campbell Avenue that adds continuous Class II bike lanes, narrows travel lanes to create space for multimodal facilities and retains left-turn pockets; staff said the proposal would remove eight curb parking spaces near one shopping center and require limited right-of-way dedications upon future redevelopment.
City consultants presented a corridor-level update to the 2007 East Campbell Avenue master plan and proposed a preferred alternative that would add continuous Class II bike lanes from Railway Avenue to Bascom Avenue while retaining existing left-turn pockets in the western segment.
"We are proposing new bike lanes continuous through the corridor," consultant John Katiotti said, describing a preferred cross-section that narrows interior travel lanes to about 10 feet and preserves outer lanes for transit operations while creating a five-foot bike lane where feasible. The plan divides the corridor into three segments; the most constrained western segment (Railway to Poplar) will require careful curb alignment and, in one block, removal of eight curbside parking spaces on the north side to fit the bike lane.
Staff said the removed curb parking near the Lloyd Center was analyzed against an alternative that would shift the roadway and preserve those spaces on the north side, but concluded the alternate would create offset alignments and sight-line/safety issues; staff therefore recommended retaining parking on the development frontage to the south and removing the north-side curb parking. The plan also proposes a combined Page/Gilman signal with protected left phases to reduce pedestrian/vehicle conflicts at a complex, offset intersection.
Commissioners and property owners pressed staff on facility protection and operational impacts. Commissioners asked whether flex posts or bollards could be installed; staff said segment one is so space-constrained that two additional feet would be required to add physical delineators, though buffered lanes and flexible delineators could be implemented where the cross-section allows. Staff also said the Los Gatos Creek bridge and recent bridge widening provide sufficient width for the proposed lanes without a bridge replacement at this time.
Property owners asked for parking utilization studies and proposed alternate alignments; staff said they conducted outreach with property owners, will present the plan to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission and aim to return to council in August with a recommended design for adoption. No formal decision was required at the May 26 hearing; the item was presented for feedback and informational purposes.
