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All:
DavePricewroteaneditorialonMonday,7/16,thatincludedthisbit:
Inadditiontogatheringtrafficdatabeforeandafterthetrial,wealsoneedtoquantifywhatvitality/vibrancymeans
andwhatitcosts.Todothat,wemustunderstandandquantifythecurrenteconomicsituationandsetquantifiable
goalsfortheplannedimprovements.Otherwise,thecitywillspend$2.4million(andgrowing)whilepossiblydrivingout
someexistingbusinesses.
WayneMartinpostedthefollowingathttp://paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=26011.
Letspursuethisissueofrevitalizingthebusinessdistrict.Onfacevalue,thismightseemlikeaworthwhilethingforaCityto
wanttodoprovidingthatitknewwhattodotoachievethissortofrevitalization.
ButhowmanyCityCouncilmembershaveeverrevitalizedabusiness,muchlessawholebusinessdistrict?Iftheanswerisnone
whatmakesany/alloftheircommentsmeaningful?Evenwiththeirendorsement,willanyofthemberesponsibleinanywayif
thebusinessclimateonthisshortstreetsegmentdoesnotwildlyimprove?
Pushingthispointjustalittle,didanyoneontheCouncilaskanymeaningfulquestions,suchas:
o)HowdoestheCitydefinevibrant,intermsofmeasurableeconomicactivity?
o)Howmanypeopleutilizethisbusinessdistricttoday?
o)Howmanypeoplewillutilizethisbusinessdistrictaftertheprojectiscompleted.
o)Howmanybusinessareinthisbusinessdistricttoday?
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o)HowmanybusinessesdoesStaffbelievewillbedrawntotheBusinessDistrictbecauseofthisstreetreconfiguration?
o)Howbigisthecurrenteconomicbase,intermsofdollars?
o)Howbigwilltheeconomicbasebe,afterthestreetconfiguration,intermsofdollars?
o)HowmuchmoneydoestheCityreceivetodayfromsalestaxesinthisdistrict?
o)HowmuchwilltheCityreceivedafterthereconfiguration?
Waynesquestionsprovideagoodbeginningforbeforeandaftermeasurements.Ihopethesewillbeaddressedatthe
July23
rd
meeting.
Thankyou,
PatMarriott
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Betten, Zariah
From: Yazdy, Shahla
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:52 AM
To: Betten, Zariah
Subject: FW: From Mollie Stone's Market requesting a painted line test
Cal Ave letter
Shahl a Yazdy
Transportation Engineer
City of Palo Alto
650.617.3151
From: David Bennet t [ mailt o: dbmollie@gmail.com]
Sent : Wednesday, July 18, 2012 6: 15 AM
To: Yazdy, Shahla
Subj ect : From Mollie St one's Market request ing a paint ed line t est
Hello Shahia,
Do any of the other projects mentioned in the frequently asked questions have a supermarket that survived this
lane reducing project at the end of a dead end street? Are all the other projects mentioned thru streets? If so, I
will contact the other supermarket operators to see how it affected their business over time.
We are the property owner and our own tenant. Please explain to the public the risk of losing the supermarket to
enhance the benefits for bikes and restaurant seating. I would encourage the City of Palo Alto to do a test with
painted lines in the street as part of this process.
When we began to operate our market here in 1990 we and subsequently purchased the property, we never
dreamed the access for the grocery store would be limited in favor of bicycles, pedestrians, farmers markets and
restaurants.
This letter may be self serving, as our property has been selected for additional housing in Palo Alto, but for
now, we do wish to continue operating our market. The survival of our business does not depend on only local
residents. We need customers from much further away.
David Bennett
Owner
Mollie Stone's Markets
On Jul 17, 2012, at 3:12 PM, "Yazdy, Shahla" <Shahla.Yazdy@CityofPaloAlto.org> wrote:
Interested Resident, Merchant, and or Property Owner,
The Director of Planning and Community Environment has asked that staff provide you with the
attached copy of a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses related to the
California Avenue Streetscape Project in advance of next Mondays City Council meeting. The
staff report and attachments for the meeting will be available on the Citys website at the end of
the day on Wednesday, July 19
th
, at: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/agendas/council.asp.
2
Thank you.
Shahl a Yazdy
Transportation Engineer
City of Palo Alto
650.617.3151
<Cal Av FAQ's. July 2012_Final.pdf>
1
Betten, Zariah
From: Yazdy, Shahla
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:52 AM
To: Betten, Zariah
Subject: FW: Reconfiguring California Avenue Try Before We Buy
Cal Ave
Shahl a Yazdy
Transportation Engineer
City of Palo Alto
650.617.3151
From: Robert Moss [ mailt o: bmoss33@at t .net ]
Sent : Tuesday, July 17, 2012 5: 00 PM
To: Council, Cit y
Cc: Williams, Curt is; Yazdy, Shahla
Subj ect : Reconfiguring California Avenue Try Before We Buy
MayorYehandCouncilmembersJuly17,2012
ReconfiguringCaliforniaAvenueTryBeforeWeBuy
TheproposalstoreconfigureCaliforniaAvenuebywideningsidewalks,improvinglandscapingandreducing
trafficlanesfromfourtotwowasrecommendedforapprovalbythePlanningandTransportationCommission
withsomeclarificationsrequested.Thisprojecthasbeenunderconsiderationforalmostthreeyearsandstill
hassomemajorissuesthatmustberesolvedbeforeanypermanentchangesaremadetoCaliforniaAvenue.
Thebiggestiswhetherthelanereductionwillhaveanynegativeimpactsontraffic,parking,orcommercial
viabilityofbusinesses.Theonlywaytoreallyseetheimpactoflanereductionsistotestitfirstandtodelay
permanentchangesuntilthetestiscomplete.
ImprovingandupgradingtheCaliforniaAvenuebusinessdistricthasbeenatopicofdiscussionfor
years.CAADAconsideredthesituationmorethanfouryearsagoanddecidedthatthebestapproachwas
wideningsidewalks,addinglandscapingandtrees,allowingrestaurantstoexpandseatingontothewidened
sidewalks,andimprovingtransittoandfromthearea.Theytooktheirproposalstocitystaffand
councilmembersresultinginaseriesofmeetingsofthePTCandCounciltodevelopplansforimprovements.
Manybusinessandpropertyownersbecameupsetwhentheylearnedoftheseplansastheydidntfeelthat
theyhadbeenconsultedorthattheirconcernswerebeingheard.NeverthelesstheCAADAproposalswere
acceptedasthedesireofpropertyownersandbusinessesalongCaliforniaAvenueandadoptedbystaff.
Gettingthe$1,175,200grantfromVTAformodifyingCaliforniaAvenuesolidifiedthestaffpositionthatthis
wasafunctionalanddesirablechangetothestreet.
Infactmanybusinessownerswerenotonboardwiththechange.Theyfeltleftoutofthediscussionsand
decisionmakingbyCAADAandstaff.Letters,fullpageadsinlocalpapers,andcommentsatPlanning
CommissionandCouncilmeetingsbymanybusinessownersintheCaliforniaAvenueareamakeitclearthat
theyfeelignoredandthattheirveryrealconcernswerearbitrarilydismissed.Planningcommissioners
acknowledgedthisinadequatetreatmentofbusinesseswhentheyrecommendedatrialofthelanereduction
beforeitisfinalized.Thisisveryreasonableandwillsomewhataddresstheconcernsofthemanypeoplethat
doubtreducingCaliforniaAvenuefromfourtotwolaneswonthavenegativeimpacts.
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ImprovingtheappearanceandlandscapingofCaliforniaAvenueisarelativelyminorcontroversy.Everyone
agreesthatstreetimprovementswouldbenice.Themajorissueistrafficimpacts,andhowmuchsidewalk
wideningandmodificationisacceptablebeforenegativetrafficimpactsoccur.Staffraisedlegitimateconcerns
thatatrialofthelanereductionwontbefullyaccuratesincethesidewalkandlandscapechangeswontbe
includedandcantbeevaluated.Thatiscorrect,butnotamajorimpedimenttothetrafficimpactstudy.A
trialthatsimulateswideningsidewalkswithtemporarybollardsorparkingbumpersandrestripingthestreet
torepresenttheproposedtwolaneconfigurationshouldallowtrafficandbusinessimpactstobe
determined.Thewidersidewalkareacouldaccommodaterentedpottedtreesandplantstorepresent
upgradedlandscaping.Restaurantscouldbeallowedtoplacetablesoutdoorsinthewidersidewalks,and
locationofloadingzonescouldbeverifiedasadequateortroublesome.
TrafficimpactscanbequantifiedbytakingbeforeandaftertrafficcountsonCalifornia,Cambridge,Grant,
Sherman,Sheridan,Ash,BirchandPark.Measuretraveltimesbothwaysalongthesestreets,andreport
accidentsonthosestreetssince2005andduringthetest.Ifproblemssuchaswrongloadingarealocation,
increaseinaccidentsinaspecificarea,orcongestionatintersectionsareidentifiedduringthetest
modificationscanbemadeandtheimpactofthechangesevaluated.Thetrialshouldlastatleast6months,
probablylongersothatseasonaltrafficvariationsareaccountedfor.
Impactsonbusinessescanbeestimatedbyaskingparticipatingbusinessestocompareincomepreandpost
trial.Amorequantitativeevaluationwouldbesalestaxrevenuesbeforeandafterduringthesametime
periods.Whilethiswontgivedataonserviceorientedbusinessesitwillgivevaliddataonretailstore
impacts.
UnfortunatelythetrialwontshowtheimpactsofdevelopmentsduetothedesignationofCaliforniaAvenue
withinmileoftheCalTrainstationasouronlyPreferredDevelopmentArea,butthosechangesprobably
wontbesignificantuntil2014orlater.Howeverthebaselinedataontrafficflowandretailsalescanbeused
toevaluatetheimpactsoffuturedevelopmentsintheCaliforniaAvenuePDAwhencomparedwithcurrent
conditionswithfourlanesfortrafficandthetwolanesimulationbeforesignificantdevelopmentoccursinthe
area.
PleaseadopttherecommendationofthePlanningCommissionanddozensofbusinessesintheCalifornia
Avenueareaandapproveatrafficstudythatincludessimulationforwidenedsidewalks,loadingzone
locations,andlanereductionfromfourtotwolanes.Itshouldlastatleastsixmonths,butaoneyeartrialwill
givedataoverthenormalrangeofbusinessandshoppingactivity.
Yourssincerely,
BobMoss
4010OrmeSt.
6504932178