June 24, 2016 San Jose Mayor Liccardo andSan Jose City Council MembersJim Ortbal San Jose, Director of Transportation Subject: San Jose City Council Meeting June 28, 2016,Agenda Item 6.1Lincoln Avenue Pilot Project Report - Request for 45 Day DeferralThe Willow Glen Neighborhood Association Board met Thursday evening June 23, 2016 and briefly discussed our 2016-17 Board Committee Work plans for our Public Safety and Transportation Committee. Research and develop recommendations about valid safety improvements, traffic design, signage and device mitigations needed to be addressed for neighborhoods impacted by Lincoln Ave Road Diet Board as was done for Bird Avenue near Ernesto Galarza Elementary School. Recommendations will be forwarded to Mayor, City Council and Transportation Department staff for funding and implementation.Neighborhood residents attending June 23, 2016 Board meeting asked if 2015-16 past Board had adhered to WGNA bylaws stating “…the right of members to have timely notice, be informed about and have an opportunity to address Board at public WGNA meetings about any WGNA proposed activities, position papers and actions prior to Board vote..” to approve the Road Diet Position Papers per WGNA as California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. There was no properly noticed, public July 2015 Board meeting with members having an opportunity to address Board before Board vote as required in our bylaws. WGNA Road Diet Position Paper signed by past President to support Road Diet Position Paper, dated July 13, 2015 is invalid and should be removed from Agenda Item 6.1 Memorandum LINCOLN AVENUE ROADWAY DATE: June 6, 2016 CONFIGURATION PILOT PROJECT - Attachment J Therefore, WGNA Board voted to request Mayor Liccardo and San Jose City Council members - Approve a 45 day Council Agenda Deferral of Agenda Item 6.1 The 45 day deferral will enable WGNA at our public Board meeting to discuss with our member and community what should be WGNA Board’s Road Diet position. We will also be able to develop recommendations about valid safety improvements; traffic design; signage; and device mitigations that needs to be addressed for neighborhoods and small businesses impacted by Lincoln Ave Road Diet. By-Laws and Policies WILLOW GLEN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BY-LAWS ARTICLE I: NAME The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation organized under California Corporations Code and U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Section 501(c)(4), as amended, Section 2. VALUES. WGNA’s Purpose and Values embrace the principles and spirit of non-partisan, open, honest, transparent, fair, positive governance in full public view of our members and general public. Members have the right to be treated fairly and with respect, their privacy respected, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, abuse, and personal attack.Board will uphold these rights and respect between members and community and the right of members to have timely notice, be informed about and have an opportunity to address Board at public WGNA meetings about any WGNA proposed activities, position papers and actions prior to Board vote. WGNA represents all members and does not endorse candidates for political office, political parties, or divisive issues. [Signature] Richard Zappelli President 2016-2017 Willow Glen Neighborhood Association [Signature] Jeff Stanley 1st Vice President 2016-2017 Willow Glen Neighborhood Association [Note: The position paper was originally posted by Stakeholders for a Safe Green Village on SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2016 on behalf of Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA). The new WGNA 2016-2017 Board of Directors did not have access to the WGNA proprietary media at that time. Stakeholders for a Safe Green Village is not affiliated with WGNA. This position paper has also been recorded by the City Clerk of the City of San Jose and was delivered prior to vote on June 28, 2016 for the Agenda Item 6.1, Lincoln Avenue Pilot Project Report.]

As previously noted, the Department of Transportation has requested that WGNA submit a position (pro, con, neutral) on the Lincoln Avenue Road Diet project following a three-month trial period. Last week, our board of directors voted 9-0-1 (1 abstention) to support the road diet, based on eight months of community and member feedback, an historically robust study of traffic data by city staff, and various surveys and petitions circulated online and elsewhere. Please click here to read our full position letter, which was submitted to the Department of Transportation today. Any questions, comments, or concerns should be sent via email to [email protected]. For a little reference, you can also read this position paper from 2011 supporting a lane reduction and other traffic calming measures on Lincoln Avenue as part of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan Update. This letter was signed by a committee of Willow Glen neighborhood leaders, many of whom continue to advocate for expanded safety on Lincoln. We look forward to seeing how this project develops, and we will keep you informed of further opportunities for you to make your voice heard.

By now, you may have heard that the Willow Glen Business Association has formally recommended that the Department of Transportation end the road diet trial and restore Lincoln Avenue to four lanes. The DOT has stipulated that opposition to the road diet from either WGBA or WGNA would cause them to not recommend to the City Council that it be made permanent. For our part, the WGNA Board of Directors has spent the past few months considering online and offline feedback from residents, parents, drivers, bikers, and pedestrians, in addition to hundreds of comments received at three road diet community meetings, our own annual meeting, and through the Road Diet Working Group. We have yet to issue a formal recommendation, and since road diet feedback has been nearly evenly split, we may not take a position at all. Regardless of either organization's decision, this matter may still appear before the City Council in the September/October time frame (check here for council meeting dates and agendas: http://sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=3549). They have the final word on whether to make the road diet permanent. We will continue to keep you apprised of opportunities for making your voices heard. Thank you for engaging with us on this important issue for our community.

To collect additional feedback from the public on the Lincoln Avenue Road Diet, WGNA conducted a survey via Survey Monkey — a reputable online survey company — from June 2 through June 15 (14 days total). This survey collected over 1,100 responses. You can review the results in this PowerPoint presentation. With regards to the final and most significant question from the survey, please see as follows: Question: OVERALL, do you believe the Road Diet Trial has improved Lincoln Avenue and should become permanent? Respondents: 1,131 Strongly Agree - 452 - 39.96% Agree - 118 - 10.43% No Opinion - 51 - 4.51% Disagree - 114 - 10.08%  Strongly Disagree - 396 - 35.01% These results are not scientific and are only intended to gauge the overall pulse of the community on this issue.* We plan to share the results from this survey at the next Road Diet Community Meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, June 18th, at 6:30pm in the Willow Glen High School Cafeteria (2001 Cottle Avenue). We hope to see you then and there. Continue reading

Thanks very much to everyone who's contributed their thoughts, concerns, recommendations, and honest opinions to a dialogue with the City of San José's Department of Transportation about the upcoming road diet trial on Lincoln Avenue. In order to ensure transparency, the Road Diet Working Group is committed to posting the comments we've received through our Google webform and Gmail account, with names redacted. Each of these comments has been read and considered by every member of the working group. Comments through 12/04/14 Comments through 12/22/14

The Lincoln Avenue Road Diet Working Group had its second meeting on Thursday, December 4, 2014. This meeting featured an in-depth conversation with representatives from the City of San José's Department of Transportation to address a variety of questions, comments, and concerns from working group members and our constituents regarding the upcoming road diet trial. You can click here to view the minutes from this meeting. Please email the RDWG at [email protected] with any questions or comments on these minutes. The RDWG is committed to an open and transparent process that produces the best possible result for all involved.