Politics & Government

Council: Let's Study 'Google' Bridge Some More

Mountain View's City Council sets ambitious transportation management goals to reduce congestion to North Bayshore, but continues to worry about Stevens Creek bridge's impact on wildlife and serenity of trail.

With a straw vote of 3 votes in favor and 4 against, the Mountain View City Council instructed city staff on Tuesday not to proceed with the environmental review of the new bridge connection across Stevens Creek.

Instead, council members wanted staff to return with a work plan to study the necessity of the bridge at all, the possibility of moving the bridge to a different location and alternatives traffic management options.

"I could support a bridge if it were south of La Avenida," said Councilman John McAlister. "Otherwise I can't support it."

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Google first proposed the idea for building the private bridge as a to tranport employees from Googleplex to the company's new 1.2 million square feet Planetary Ventures research park on Moffett Field. However, NASA Ames also has 3 million square feet of planned development—that includes 1,900 units of housing—and could serve as a better connection into North Bayshore.

City staff estimates that between 800 and 1,200 vehicles would travel over the proposed bridge daily, at a rate of about 50 an hour, since the bridge could be used to funnel traffic off Highway 101 into North Bayshore via the Moffett Boulevard exit. These transit figures concerned several council members.

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"I'm not in favor of the bridge," said Councilwoman Ronit Bryant, calling the project "a bridge of convenience."

"We can't continue growing transit endlessly and still have what we have there," she said about the wildlife and natural park experience of the trail.

Councilwoman Margaret Abe-Koga felt that a bridge would disturb the peace and quiet of the trail, attributes worth preserving as the city continues to grow. "What are we giving up for this convenience?" she said suggesting that staff find alternatives. She noted that if the bridge were to serve as a conduit for all of this traffic, perhaps the city should pay for and manage the bridge—instead leaving the bridge private.

Councilman Jac Siegel highlighted the city's $20 million investment and 20 year time frame to build the trail in the first place in addition to its impact on wildlife and humans. "I don't want to give it up," he said.

Kasperzak, who with Mayor John Inks and Vice Mayor Chris Clark vote for an einvironmental review, reminded council of their public safety obligations to the Bayview area of NASA Ames, particularly with the imminent increase of Google office space and the residential projects of NASA's partners. "We still have to get a fire engine across there," he said.

In the end, council remain trepidatious about the bridge over the creek; however, they encouraged staff to moved forward on other ambitious goals:

  • Some of these include sticking with the 2030 General Plan scenario of 36,400 morning commuters trip for the 10.7 million square feet of expected development, and not surpassing that.
  • Have staff study the idea of paid parking—with different tiers that consider company-size.
  • Encourage a reduction of single occupancy vehicles (SOV) to 13,800 and lower by 2030, by improving other forms of access to North Bayshore such as carpooling, shuttle, bicycling and public transportation.

One major decision was the council's support of a Transportation Management Association (TMA), which would bring together the city and North Bayshore property owners and businesses, to coordinate, fund and implement strategies of traffic mitigation in North Bayshore.

What do you think Mountain View? Bridge or no bridge? Paid-parking or no paid-parking? Share in comments!

More on Mountain View Patch:

  • Mountain View's Ted Olson Stands Up for Gay Marriage
  • NASA Ames Wins Environmental Award
  • Bike Sharing Program Coming to the Peninsula
  • Vapors at Google's Whisman Campus Hazardous to Employee Health

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