Letters to the editor

The current city proposal simply increases the visibility of the existing crosswalk by adding flashing yellow lights. And the fact that a resident of the neighborhood (Jardin Drive) apparently does not realize that there is a crosswalk there is precisely the reason why this is so important.

K. Shankari

S. Shoreline Boulevard

Regarding the North Bayshore plan

Members of the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning strongly support the vision of the draft North Bayshore Precise Plan. It provides the framework for walkable and bikeable mixed-use development including up to 9,850 housing units.

The Transportation Impact Analysis does point to the challenge of building all 9,850 housing units and staying within the three gateway traffic limits. In order to maximize the amount of housing in North Bayshore, MVCSP asks City Council members to support the following:

• Increase the internalization rate — that is, the number of trips with origins and destinations in North Bayshore — from 27 percent to 35 percent. Future development applicants should have the incentive to maximize housing by adopting policies to increase the number of individuals who live and work in North Bayshore.

• Approve the current average of 0.6 parking space per housing unit in the draft Precise Plan. In order to have a car-light North Bayshore, the transportation analysis points to the strong correlation of parking standards and vehicle trip generation. We are supportive of a phased approach where the first 1,500 housing units have a higher parking standard, but the total average should be 0.6 parking spaces per unit

• Adopt a performance standard for residential single-occupant vehicles leaving North Bayshore of 60 percent. The current analysis assumes that 77 percent of trips leaving North Bayshore are single-occupant vehicles. A reduction from 77 percent to 60 percent would reduce the amount of traffic generated.

MVCSP members would like to ensure that there is a minimum of 7,000 housing units in the adopted North Bayshore Precise Plan. The three family-oriented neighborhoods proposed in the draft North Bayshore Precise Plan are extremely important, and we support the current mix of housing unit sizes from micro-units to three-bedroom units. There is an important need to have sufficient housing to support a park, retail services, and, ideally, a grocery store.

In order to maximize housing in North Bayshore, MVCSP asks the City Council to approve a policy that supports a bridge-crossing across Stevens Creek at Charleston. The EIR confirms that this can be accomplished with less-than-significant environmental impacts, and it provides the opportunity for improved circulation and increased housing.

Finally, the mix of strategies and policies that would maximize housing in North Bayshore is very complex and cannot be simplified to the binary choice presented in the staff report (Table 3). We encourage council members to discuss policies and strategies that can maximize housing in North Bayshore and then settle on the maximum number of housing units that they feel is justified by the analysis.

Cliff Chambers

Midrock Corners

(On behalf of MVCSP)

Thanks, community, for

May Day support

Thank you to the Mountain View community for your ardent support of this year's May Day march. The marchers included diverse ages, backgrounds, educational levels and incomes. They ended their march at the city plaza.

We were honored with the words and presence of the honorable and compassionate Mayor Ken Rosenberg and our intelligent and fearless chief of police, Max Bosel. Both expressed their passionate and firm commitment to social justice.

There were other speakers as well, all with messages of hope. I was encouraged, inspired and moved by all their words and extremely grateful to be a part of this community.

Thank you, Mountain View community, for your courageous and heartfelt support for the march on May Day 2017.

Marilu Delgado

Azalea Way

President, Mountain View Community in Action Team.