Mountain View starts construction on California Street to reduce lanes

Construction is now underway to add protected bike lanes, high-visibility crosswalks and other safety improvements to a 1.4-mile stretch of California Street in Mountain View. The city plans to reduce driving lanes from two to one in each direction to make room for the additions.

Work began last month on the roughly $6 million pilot project, which will run along California Street from Showers Drive to S. Shoreline Boulevard. The city expects that construction will be completed by the fall.

The city plans to add protected bike lanes along the full length of the project. Either side of the road would include a bike lane, followed by a buffered area, a parking lane and then the driving lane. To provide clear sight lines at driveways and intersections, about 63 out of the current 275 on-street parking spaces will be removed.

The project will also include a “road diet,” removing one lane of vehicle traffic in each direction.

There will now be a single driving lane in each direction, plus a center left-turn lane from Showers Drive to Mariposa Avenue. Between Mariposa and Shoreline, there won’t be a center lane because an existing median with trees will remain in place.

According to the city’s website, the project is meant “to enhance safety, eliminate fatal or severe injury crashes, and increase the number of sustainable trips.” California Street is included on the city’s “high injury network,” which refers to the roads with highest rates of severe injury and fatal crashes.

In addition to the changes to bike and car lanes, the project will include a number of other safety improvements. Among them are high-visibility crosswalks, protected intersections that separate bikes from vehicle traffic and temporary bulb-outs that add protected space at corners.

The city will also add three high-visibility midblock crossings, which will include bulb-outs, refuge islands and enhanced lighting, according to the city. The new crossings will be located between Showers Drive and Ortega Avenue, Ortega Avenue and Rengstorff Avenue, and Rengstorff Avenue and Escuela Avenue.

The new bike lanes will be separated from the parked cars by a five-foot buffered area. The city plans to test out different options to fill this area, including flex posts, small oval-shaped bumps called “armadillos” and planter boxes.

As a pilot program, the city will use certain “non-permanent treatment measures” and will assess the results of the pilot one year after construction is complete, city spokesperson Lenka Wright said.

Installing permanent improvements isn’t currently funded and is expected to be a “significant cost,” Wright added. The city has previously estimated that the permanent build-out could cost $30 million.

During construction of the pilot project, the city has said that some traffic disruptions should be expected, including lane closures.

This story originally appeared in the Mountain View Voice. Zoe Morgan joined the Mountain View Voice in 2021, with a focus on covering local schools, youth and families. Emily Margaretten contributed to the story.