Mountain View shelves plan that could displace RV dwellers

A project to add bike lanes in a part of Mountain View that is slated to gain hundreds of new homes looks like it will be put on hold for years, if not indefinitely.

The City Council directed city staff last week to shelve a plan that would put in bike lanes on Terra Bella Avenue after Councilmember Lucas Ramirez raised concerns that the lanes were being used as “a pretext for getting rid of the RVs.”

Terra Bella Avenue lies just south of Highway 101 in an area with a lot of office and industrial buildings. It is one of a handful of streets in Mountain View not covered by city policies prohibiting RV parking. Because it is wide and has no bike lanes, RVs can park for 72 hours before being required to relocate. Putting in bike lanes would trigger the city’s oversized vehicle ban, effectively pushing RVs off the street.

Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour confirmed at the April 14 meeting that oversized vehicles, including inhabited RVs, had drawn the ire of surrounding businesses, with many property owners participating in city outreach meetings about the “potential use and need for bike lanes” in the area.

“There are a number of large property owners and businesses on Terra Bella that have contacted the city with concern about traffic safety, the circulation for their employees coming to and leaving their sites,” Seymour said.

A project to add bike lanes in a part of Mountain View that is slated to gain hundreds of new homes looks like it will be put on hold for years, if not indefinitely.

The City Council directed city staff last week to shelve a plan that would put in bike lanes on Terra Bella Avenue after Council member Lucas Ramirez raised concerns that the lanes were being used as “a pretext for getting rid of the RVs.”

Terra Bella Avenue lies just south of U.S. Highway 101 in an area with a lot of office and industrial buildings. It is one of a handful of streets in Mountain View that is not covered by city ordinances prohibiting RV parking. Because it is wide and has no bike lanes, RVs can park for 72 hours before being required to relocate. Putting in bike lanes would trigger the city’s oversized vehicle ban, effectively pushing RVs off of the street.

Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour confirmed at the April 14 meeting that oversized vehicles, including inhabited RVs, had drawn the ire of surrounding businesses, with many property owners participating in city outreach meetings about the “potential use and need for bike lanes” in the area.

“There are a number of large property owners and businesses on Terra Bella that have contacted the city with concern about traffic safety, the circulation for their employees coming to and leaving their sites,” Seymour said.