The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition proclaimed the unanimous approval of the El Camino Real Streetscape Plan by the Mountain View City Council on October 1st as their “win of the week.” The four mile stretch of El Camino Real through Mountain View is a key transportation corridor for residents and visitors, connecting major shopping and civic destinations with freeways, neighborhood and arterial streets, and transit stops.
Building off of the 2014 El Camino Real Precise Plan, the Streetscape Plan focuses on public improvement design standards to create a more pedestrian, bicycle and transit friendly boulevard environment. Recommendations include Class IV protected bikeways achieved through the removal of on-street parking, improved pedestrian experience through wider sidewalks and improved crossings, and protected intersections for pedestrians and cyclists.
The Streetscape Plan also helps to visually define the character of El Camino Real as a unique ‘neighborhood’ within the City of Mountain View through design standards that are a nod to the historic bronze bells found along the “Royal Road”. Because El Camino Real is a State of California facility and primary Bus Rapid Transit route, the Callander Associates team worked with Caltrans and the VTA to develop support for these improvements, which include improved transit service through bus bulbs and floating bus boarding islands.
The transformation of El Camino Real from highway into the long envisioned “Grand Boulevard” continues to move one step closer to fruition and is truly exciting to see!
