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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-27 Parks & Recreation Commission Agenda PacketPARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting Tuesday, June 27, 2023 Council Chambers & Hybrid 7:00 PM Parks and Recreation Commission meetings will be held as “hybrid” meetings with the option to attend by teleconference/video conference or in person. To maximize public safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can choose to participate from home or attend in person. Information on how the public may observe and participate in the meeting is located at the end of the agenda. Masks are strongly encouraged if attending in person. The meeting will be broadcast on Cable TV Channel 26, live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/cityofpaloalto, and streamed to Midpen Media Center https://midpenmedia.org. Commissioner names, biographies, and archived agendas and report are available at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Community‐Services/Other‐ Services/Commissions/Parks‐and‐Recreation‐Commission. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION CLICK HERE TO JOIN (https://cityofpaloalto.zoom.us/j/99937899745) Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745    Phone: 1(669)900‐6833 PUBLIC COMMENTS Public comments will be accepted both in person and via Zoom for up to three minutes or an amount of time determined by the Chair. All requests to speak will be taken until 5 minutes after the staff’s presentation. Written public comments can be submitted in advance to ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org and will be provided to the Council and available for inspection on the City’s website. Please clearly indicate which agenda item you are referencing in your subject line. PowerPoints, videos, or other media to be presented during public comment are accepted only by email to ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Once received, the  Clerk will have them shared at public comment for the specified item. To uphold strong cybersecurity management practices, USB’s or other physical electronic storage devices are not accepted. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL PUBLIC COMMENT  Members of the public wishing to address the Board on matters wihtin the jurisdiction of the City, bu tnot on this agenda, may do so during the Public Comment period for up to three (3) minutes.  AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS This is the point in the meeting where a vote may be taken to add or change the order of the agenda to improve meeting management. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 12, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)    2.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 24, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)   CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS 3.Department Report – (20 min) BUSINESS ITEMS 4.Palo Alto Recreation Foundation / Friends of Palo Alto Parks Update – Chair Greenfield – Discussion – (40 min) 5.Safe Routes to Schools Update – Jose Palma – Discussion – Attachments – (40 min) 6.Foothills Nature Preserve General Status Update – Daren Anderson – Discussion – Attachment – (60 min) 7.Ad Hoc Committees and Liaison Updates – Chair Greenfield – Discussion – (15 min) COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS OR FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS ADJOURNMENT PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS Members of the Public may provide public comments to teleconference meetings via email, teleconference, or by phone. 1. Written public comments  m a y   b e   s u b m i t t e d   b y   e m a i l   t o ParkRec.Commission@cityofpaloalto.org. 2. Spoken public comments using a computer will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, click on the link below to access a Zoom‐ based meeting. Please read the following instructions carefully. You may download the Zoom client or connect to the meeting in‐ browser. If using your browser, make sure you are using a current, up‐to‐date browser: Chrome 30 , Firefox 27 , Microsoft Edge 12 , Safari 7 . Certain functionality may be disabled in older browsers including Internet Explorer. You may be asked to enter an email address and name. We request that you identify yourself by name as this will be visible online and will be used to notify you that it is your turn to speak. When you wish to speak on an Agenda Item, click on “raise hand.” The Clerk will activate and unmute speakers in turn. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak. When called, please limit your remarks to the time limit allotted. A timer will be shown on the computer to help keep track of your comments. 3. Spoken public comments using a smart phone will be accepted  through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, download the Zoom application onto your phone from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and enter the Meeting ID below. Please follow the instructions B‐E above. 4. Spoken public comments using a phone use the telephone number listed below. When you wish to speak on an agenda item hit *9 on your phone so we know that you wish to speak. You will be asked to provide your first and last name before addressing the Council. You will be advised how long you have to speak. When called please limit your remarks to the agenda item and time limit allotted. CLICK HERE TO JOIN    Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745   Phone:1‐669‐900‐6833 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) It is the policy of the City of Palo Alto to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to all. Persons with disabilities who require materials in an appropriate alternative format or who require auxiliary aids to access City meetings, programs, or services may contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at (650) 329‐2550 (voice) or by emailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Requests for assistance or accommodations must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, program, or service. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONRegular MeetingTuesday, June 27, 2023Council Chambers & Hybrid7:00 PMParks and Recreation Commission meetings will be held as “hybrid” meetings with the option toattend by teleconference/video conference or in person. To maximize public safety while stillmaintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can choose to participatefrom home or attend in person. Information on how the public may observe and participate in themeeting is located at the end of the agenda. Masks are strongly encouraged if attending inperson. The meeting will be broadcast on Cable TV Channel 26, live onYouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/cityofpaloalto, and streamed to Midpen MediaCenter https://midpenmedia.org. Commissioner names, biographies, and archived agendas andreport are available at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Community‐Services/Other‐Services/Commissions/Parks‐and‐Recreation‐Commission.VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION CLICK HERE TO JOIN (https://cityofpaloalto.zoom.us/j/99937899745)Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745    Phone: 1(669)900‐6833PUBLIC COMMENTSPublic comments will be accepted both in person and via Zoom for up to three minutes or anamount of time determined by the Chair. All requests to speak will be taken until 5 minutesafter the staff’s presentation. Written public comments can be submitted in advance toParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org and will be provided to the Council and available forinspection on the City’s website. Please clearly indicate which agenda item you are referencingin your subject line. PowerPoints, videos, or other media to be presented during public comment are accepted only by email to ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Once received, the  Clerk will have them shared at public comment for the specified item. To uphold strong cybersecurity management practices, USB’s or other physical electronic storage devices are not accepted. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL PUBLIC COMMENT  Members of the public wishing to address the Board on matters wihtin the jurisdiction of the City, bu tnot on this agenda, may do so during the Public Comment period for up to three (3) minutes.  AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS This is the point in the meeting where a vote may be taken to add or change the order of the agenda to improve meeting management. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 12, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)    2.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 24, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)   CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS 3.Department Report – (20 min) BUSINESS ITEMS 4.Palo Alto Recreation Foundation / Friends of Palo Alto Parks Update – Chair Greenfield – Discussion – (40 min) 5.Safe Routes to Schools Update – Jose Palma – Discussion – Attachments – (40 min) 6.Foothills Nature Preserve General Status Update – Daren Anderson – Discussion – Attachment – (60 min) 7.Ad Hoc Committees and Liaison Updates – Chair Greenfield – Discussion – (15 min) COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS OR FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS ADJOURNMENT PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS Members of the Public may provide public comments to teleconference meetings via email, teleconference, or by phone. 1. Written public comments  m a y   b e   s u b m i t t e d   b y   e m a i l   t o ParkRec.Commission@cityofpaloalto.org. 2. Spoken public comments using a computer will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, click on the link below to access a Zoom‐ based meeting. Please read the following instructions carefully. You may download the Zoom client or connect to the meeting in‐ browser. If using your browser, make sure you are using a current, up‐to‐date browser: Chrome 30 , Firefox 27 , Microsoft Edge 12 , Safari 7 . Certain functionality may be disabled in older browsers including Internet Explorer. You may be asked to enter an email address and name. We request that you identify yourself by name as this will be visible online and will be used to notify you that it is your turn to speak. When you wish to speak on an Agenda Item, click on “raise hand.” The Clerk will activate and unmute speakers in turn. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak. When called, please limit your remarks to the time limit allotted. A timer will be shown on the computer to help keep track of your comments. 3. Spoken public comments using a smart phone will be accepted  through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, download the Zoom application onto your phone from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and enter the Meeting ID below. Please follow the instructions B‐E above. 4. Spoken public comments using a phone use the telephone number listed below. When you wish to speak on an agenda item hit *9 on your phone so we know that you wish to speak. You will be asked to provide your first and last name before addressing the Council. You will be advised how long you have to speak. When called please limit your remarks to the agenda item and time limit allotted. CLICK HERE TO JOIN    Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745   Phone:1‐669‐900‐6833 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) It is the policy of the City of Palo Alto to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to all. Persons with disabilities who require materials in an appropriate alternative format or who require auxiliary aids to access City meetings, programs, or services may contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at (650) 329‐2550 (voice) or by emailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Requests for assistance or accommodations must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, program, or service. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONRegular MeetingTuesday, June 27, 2023Council Chambers & Hybrid7:00 PMParks and Recreation Commission meetings will be held as “hybrid” meetings with the option toattend by teleconference/video conference or in person. To maximize public safety while stillmaintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can choose to participatefrom home or attend in person. Information on how the public may observe and participate in themeeting is located at the end of the agenda. Masks are strongly encouraged if attending inperson. The meeting will be broadcast on Cable TV Channel 26, live onYouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/cityofpaloalto, and streamed to Midpen MediaCenter https://midpenmedia.org. Commissioner names, biographies, and archived agendas andreport are available at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Community‐Services/Other‐Services/Commissions/Parks‐and‐Recreation‐Commission.VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION CLICK HERE TO JOIN (https://cityofpaloalto.zoom.us/j/99937899745)Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745    Phone: 1(669)900‐6833PUBLIC COMMENTSPublic comments will be accepted both in person and via Zoom for up to three minutes or anamount of time determined by the Chair. All requests to speak will be taken until 5 minutesafter the staff’s presentation. Written public comments can be submitted in advance toParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org and will be provided to the Council and available forinspection on the City’s website. Please clearly indicate which agenda item you are referencingin your subject line.PowerPoints, videos, or other media to be presented during public comment are accepted onlyby email to ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.Once received, the  Clerk will have them shared at public comment for the specified item. Touphold strong cybersecurity management practices, USB’s or other physical electronic storagedevices are not accepted.CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALLPUBLIC COMMENT Members of the public wishing to address the Board on matters wihtin the jurisdiction of the City, bu tnot on this agenda,may do so during the Public Comment period for up to three (3) minutes. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONSThis is the point in the meeting where a vote may be taken to add or change the order of the agenda to improve meetingmanagement.APPROVAL OF MINUTES1.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 12, 2023, Parks and Recreation CommissionSpecial Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)   2.Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 24, 2023, Parks and Recreation CommissionSpecial Meeting ‐ Action ‐ Attachment ‐(5 min)  CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS3.Department Report – (20 min)BUSINESS ITEMS4.Palo Alto Recreation Foundation / Friends of Palo Alto Parks Update – Chair Greenfield –Discussion – (40 min)5.Safe Routes to Schools Update – Jose Palma – Discussion – Attachments – (40 min)6.Foothills Nature Preserve General Status Update – Daren Anderson – Discussion –Attachment – (60 min)7.Ad Hoc Committees and Liaison Updates – Chair Greenfield – Discussion – (15 min) COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS OR FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS ADJOURNMENT PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS Members of the Public may provide public comments to teleconference meetings via email, teleconference, or by phone. 1. Written public comments  m a y   b e   s u b m i t t e d   b y   e m a i l   t o ParkRec.Commission@cityofpaloalto.org. 2. Spoken public comments using a computer will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, click on the link below to access a Zoom‐ based meeting. Please read the following instructions carefully. You may download the Zoom client or connect to the meeting in‐ browser. If using your browser, make sure you are using a current, up‐to‐date browser: Chrome 30 , Firefox 27 , Microsoft Edge 12 , Safari 7 . Certain functionality may be disabled in older browsers including Internet Explorer. You may be asked to enter an email address and name. We request that you identify yourself by name as this will be visible online and will be used to notify you that it is your turn to speak. When you wish to speak on an Agenda Item, click on “raise hand.” The Clerk will activate and unmute speakers in turn. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak. When called, please limit your remarks to the time limit allotted. A timer will be shown on the computer to help keep track of your comments. 3. Spoken public comments using a smart phone will be accepted  through the teleconference meeting. To address the Council, download the Zoom application onto your phone from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and enter the Meeting ID below. Please follow the instructions B‐E above. 4. Spoken public comments using a phone use the telephone number listed below. When you wish to speak on an agenda item hit *9 on your phone so we know that you wish to speak. You will be asked to provide your first and last name before addressing the Council. You will be advised how long you have to speak. When called please limit your remarks to the agenda item and time limit allotted. CLICK HERE TO JOIN    Meeting ID: 999 3789 9745   Phone:1‐669‐900‐6833 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) It is the policy of the City of Palo Alto to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to all. Persons with disabilities who require materials in an appropriate alternative format or who require auxiliary aids to access City meetings, programs, or services may contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at (650) 329‐2550 (voice) or by emailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Requests for assistance or accommodations must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, program, or service. DRAFT DRAFT 1 1 2 3 MINUTES 4 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 5 SPECIAL MEETING 6 May 12, 2023 7 In-Person & Virtual Conference 8 Palo Alto, California 9 10 Commissioners Present: Chair Greenfield; Commissioners Amanda Brown, Anne Cribbs, 11 Nellis Freeman, Shani Kleinhaus, Joy Oche, and Bing Wei 12 Commissioners Absent: 13 Others Present: 14 Staff Present: Daren Anderson, Lam Do, Javod Ghods, Peter Jensen 15 CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL 16 Chair Greenfield called the meeting to order and asked for a roll call. 17 PUBLIC COMMENT 18 Andres Mediavilla commented on behalf of a group of neighbors that live by the 19 Timothy Hopkins Creekside Park asking for a solution to remove an individual, who is a 20 convicted felon for assault and arson, who has been camping there for over a year. The 21 police and fire department have been called in the past but cannot legally remove this 22 individual and he has refused to leave. He asked the Commission to review an email he 23 had sent previously with attachments of the police reports and issues the neighbors had 24 encountered with the individual. 25 Graham McNicoll, resident of the community by the Timothy Hopkins Creekside Park, 26 stated he is also affected by the transient individual in the park. He added that the man 27 yells, is racially abusive, swears and threatens violence making the park unusable. He 28 makes fires and cuts trees down in the park. He asked the Commission to find a solution. 29 Suzi Emanuele-Manbeck, resident of the community by the Timothy Hopkins Creekside 30 Park, agreed with Mr. Mediavilla and Mr. McNicoll adding that the individual has other 31 campers that stay with him who have been encroaching on the property they live on, 32 peeping in their windows and urinating in the walkway. She stated the community feels 33 threatened and unsafe. She also asked the Commission to find a solution. 34 1     Packet Pg. 4     DRAFT DRAFT 2 AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS 1 Chair Greenfield introduced and welcomed Commissioner Bing Wei to the Commission. 2 He gave an outline of the agenda for the meeting. He asked everyone to look at their 3 profile on the Parks and Recreation website and add or update their photo and bios, if 4 needed. He stated all the existing Commissioner terms will end on March 31 in either 5 2025 or 2026 so this group will work together for at least the next 2 years which will 6 allow for flexibility in terms of when they reorganize and elect a new Chair and Vice 7 Chair. He stated that City Council may rearrange some of the appointment timeline. The 8 next retreat will be in the next 11 or 12 months. He stated he would be referring to the 9 new workplan, liaison and ad-hocs as the FY24 workplan, etc. aligning with the City of 10 Palo Alto’s fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 30. Reference to the previous workplan 11 would be called calendar year ‘22/fiscal year ‘23 plan, which is hybrid because it was an 12 extended term being run through December 13 to May 31. 13 BUSINESS 14 1. Review CY22/FY23 Parks and Recreation Commission Priorities and 15 Accomplishments – Vice Chair Brown - Discussion 16 Vice Chair Brown presented a slideshow starting with the three major priorities that were 17 identified at the CY22/FY23 work session and the progresses and accomplishments 18 completed toward these issues. 19 2. Establish Priorities for FY24 - Chair Greenfield – Action 20 Chair Greenfield presented slides outlining the purpose and duties of the Parks and 21 Recreation Commission and slides outlining the Master Plan including its roadmap, 22 principles, goals, periodic review on Policies 2.G and 6.A and an Action Plan which 23 covered a comprehensive view of the Master Plan projects and programs. He presented a 24 slide showing an example of the actual Action Plan Spreadsheet layout. 25 Commissioner Anne Cribbs asked where the Action Plan Spreadsheet was located. 26 Chair Greenfield answered that it will be attached to the Agenda. 27 Commissioner Wei queried how often the Action Plan will be updated. 28 Chair Greenfield answered the document was created in 2017 and has not been updated. 29 It has been attached to the Master Plan which has not been updated. An update to the 30 Master Plan would require City Council approval. He asked if the Action Plan is for the 31 Commission to update or if Council oversight will be needed. 32 1     Packet Pg. 5     DRAFT DRAFT 3 Commissioner Kleinhaus stated there have been a lot of changes and some that were 1 impacted by COVID and that priorities might have changed since then. The surveys that 2 were the baseline for the plans and action items were done in 2015. She stated the plan 3 needed updates. 4 Commissioner Wei questioned if they should add things that come up such as the three 5 public comments addressing their neighborhood park. 6 Chair Greenfield stated that was outside the purview of the Parks Commission and 7 should be discussed with the Staff. He stated if there is public comment to an item that is 8 not on the agenda, typically the Commission is not permitted to comment on it but it may 9 lead to a future agenda item. 10 Commissioner Wei asked how to bring those comments to the Staff or City Council. 11 Chair Greenfield answered that at the end of the meeting there would be an opportunity 12 to talk about future agendas and that would be a good time to bring those comments up. 13 He next presented slides highlighting the Master Plan prioritization process and a future 14 project evaluation. 15 Commissioner Kleinhaus commented there have been many discussions about balancing 16 all the projects with the ecological impact and how to look at the project and consider 17 ecological implications, benefits or potential impacts that are not beneficial and how to 18 juggle that. She stated relying on the environmental review process to identify problems 19 is not sufficient. She suggested adding a box for that to the Master Plan future project 20 evaluation. 21 Chair Greenfield stated that he did not see financial and staff resources included on the 22 Master Plan prioritization process slide. 23 Commissioner Kleinhaus commented she did not know if that belonged there or not but 24 that they needed to speak for nature. 25 Commissioner Joy Oche questioned if that could go under “expressed need” on the 26 future project evaluation. 27 Commissioner Wei questioned if there was a consultant available to seek advice. 28 Chair Greenfield stated reaching out to the people that started this Master Plan and that 29 having a consultant to assist with this would require funding. 30 Commissioner Cribbs inquired if the Commission’s intent was to change the Master Plan 31 or explain where the Master Plan was at a particular time and then move on in their 32 agenda to look at their priorities as they aligned. 33 1     Packet Pg. 6     DRAFT DRAFT 4 Chair Greenfield stated as they looked at creating their priorities from a bottom up 1 approach, they will look at City Council’s priorities but also focus first on the projects 2 they deem as priorities and see how they fit in and align with City Council. 3 Commissioner Kleinhaus stated sometimes there are opportunities that are not going 4 through Council. 5 Chair Greenfield read through the review process steps. He next presented a slide 6 outlining the Master Plan Review suggested priorities. 7 Commissioner Cribbs stated looking at the Master Plan is good and that there are things 8 clearly missing because the world has changed so creating a separate list of the things 9 that are missing would be useful. 10 Chair Greenfield stated the top priority would be to review and update the Action Plan 11 and the biggest near-term priority would be to look to see how to use the Action Plan in 12 conjunction with the next CIP process. They will talk with Staff to figure out the 13 timeframe on that. They will look at the Master Plan and identify what is missing and 14 what they need to make better use of, figure out how to move forward with the CIP 15 process and scope out the secondary priorities. He stated they should have an annual 16 checklist of things they should be doing. 17 Commissioner Freeman asked if the Workplan should be part of the checklist. 18 Chair Greenfield answered they have been working toward that and part of the 19 evaluation of the Action Plan was deciding if it is something that makes sense moving 20 forward. The vision was that the Action Plan would be easier to adapt on an annual basis 21 than the Master Plan. 22 Commissioner Kleinhaus commented that making citywide surveys available would be 23 helpful in looking at whether what they have in the plan reflects the sentiments 24 expressed. 25 Chair Greenfield stated when the Master Plan was getting created, there was a binder 26 notebook given to each of the Commissioners and a digital copy containing all the 27 resources that were gathered throughout the process and they were looking to locate 28 these. 29 Commissioner Kleinhaus stated she had the surveys. 30 Chair Greenfield asked her to forward that information to the Commission. 31 1     Packet Pg. 7     DRAFT DRAFT 5 Commissioner Cribbs stated it would be great if they could all see a copy of what was on 1 the Action Plan and check off what they have done and that she would love to hear what 2 the Staff thinks about the usefulness of the Action Plan at some point. 3 Mr. Anderson stated they had other methodologies for tracking those things that have 4 been successful but that does not mean that this would not be better. He was all for re-5 examining the Action Plan and going with it through their partners in Public Works 6 Engineering. He also believed the program piece needed fresh perspective. 7 Commissioner Cribbs questioned if he recommended they allocate money to have 8 consultants to do this. 9 Mr. Anderson stated his answer would be to do it with Staff and the peers. 10 Chair Greenfield next presented a slide listing Staff Priorities for managing CY23/FY24 11 CIPs. 12 Mr. Anderson gave explanations and progress of the priorities listed on that slide. He 13 stated there are a lot of projects for their small Staff and some of them might have to be 14 moved to the FY25 Capital Plan. 15 Commissioner Cribbs asked if there is any way to know a projected timeline on these. 16 Mr. Anderson answered a lot of them were out of their control and a projected timeline 17 would just be a guess. 18 Commissioner Freeman commented there should be “living timeline” for the 19 Commission and the public. 20 Mr. Anderson agreed that the public and Commission have a right to know what is 21 planned but that if he puts a timeline out there and they miss it, people get upset with 22 him. He stated they can do that but it will have to be known that it is slippery and can 23 move a lot. 24 Commissioner Freeman said that if they had a timeline, they could provide qualifications 25 of why things were not happening. 26 Commissioner Kleinhaus said instead of a timeline providing a general status at each 27 meeting would be helpful. 28 Mr. Anderson stated he would be happy to provide a snapshot of where they are at. He 29 provided explanation of the next slide which was a continuation of the Staff CY23/FY24 30 priorities. 31 1     Packet Pg. 8     DRAFT DRAFT 6 Commissioner Oche asked how hiring hourly coaches for recreational programs ties in 1 with the public programs. 2 Mr. Anderson answered that the recreational programs are the public programs but the 3 number of offerings they can have are limited to how many coaches they can recruit. 4 Commissioner Wei asked if the vacant positions were due to lack of talent or 5 commitment. 6 Mr. Anderson stated he did not know the answer about the lack of coaches. The division 7 manager position was more of a cost-saving thing as he moved from that position to the 8 assistant director position and the division manager position just stayed vacant and they 9 made do with the number of Staff they had. 10 Chair Greenfield felt a lot of factors played into the lack of coaches such as it being part-11 time work, not at the best time of day for availability and low compensation. 12 Commissioner Wei suggested using students for coaches. 13 Mr. Anderson agreed and stated they had to get creative. He stated Vice Mayor Stone 14 suggested reaching out to the senior community to fill those roles. 15 Commissioner Oche questioned if there was specific criteria for the coaching positions. 16 Mr. Anderson stated there were certain levels of experience needed for some parts. 17 Chair Greenfield next provided explanation of a slide outlining PRC’s alignment with 18 City Council’s priorities for the calendar year and changes were made in the wording of 19 the FY24 Parks and Recreation Priorities after discussion. 20 Commissioner Kleinhaus made the motion to accept the new Parks and Recreation 21 Commission Priorities. Commissioner Freeman seconded the motion. The motion passed 22 by a 7-0 roll call vote. 23 3. Establish and Assign Parks and Recreation Commission Ad Hoc Committee and 24 Liaison Roles – Chair Greenfield – Action 25 Chair Greenfield shared a slide outlining and discussing the existing Parks and 26 Recreation Commission Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Roles from the past year and 27 plans and changes moving forward for the next year. The following changes were made 28 to the Parks and Recreation Commission Ad Hoc Committees for FY24: 29 • Recreation Projects changed to reflect only Wellness Center/Gym. 30 1     Packet Pg. 9     DRAFT DRAFT 7 • CIP Review folded into the Master Plan Review. 1 • Funding Opportunities changed to Grant Opportunities. 2 • Website Refresh moved to Liaison. 3 • Playing Field Policy and Projects Ad Hoc was added. 4 • Recreation Program Review Ad Hoc was added. 5 • Racquet Court Policy moved to Liaison. 6 • Urban Forestry moved to Liaison. 7 The following Liaison Roles changes were made: 8 • Baylands Tide Gate and Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan were 9 merged. 10 • Field Users was removed. 11 • Racquet Sports was added. 12 • Side Walk Vendor Policy was removed. 13 • Skate Park was added. 14 • Sustainability and Biodiversity was changed to reflect only Sustainability. 15 • Urban Forestry was added. 16 • Ventura Plan was removed. 17 • Age-Friendly City was added. 18 • Website was added. 19 Chair Greenfield discussed how many members each Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison 20 would require. He then inquired which area each member was interested in serving on. 21 • Commissioner Wei agreed to serve on Recreation Program Review and Grant 22 Opportunities Ad Hoc and Baylands and Youth Council Liaison. 23 1     Packet Pg. 10     DRAFT DRAFT 8 • Commissioner Oche agreed to serve on Recreation Program Review, Wellness 1 Center/Gym and Grant Opportunities Ad Hoc and Age-Friendly City, 2 Sustainability and Youth Council Liaison. 3 • Commissioner Kleinhaus agreed to serve on Master Plan Review and Bicycle/ E-4 Bike Access Policy Ad Hoc and Baylands and Foothills Nature Preserve Liaison. 5 • Commissioner Freeman agreed to serve on Bicycle/ E-Bike Access Policy, 6 Wellness Center/Gym and Playing Field Policy and Projects Ad Hoc and 7 Cubberley, Golf/First Tee, Park Amenities, Racquet Sports and PAUSD/City 8 Liaison. 9 • Commissioner Cribbs agreed to serve on Playing Field Policy and Projects and 10 Grant Opportunities Ad Hoc and Aquatics, Cubberley, Dog Parks, Funding 11 Partners, Racquet Sports and Skate Park Liaison. 12 • Vice Chair Brown agreed to serve on Master Plan Review and Park Dedication 13 Ad Hoc and Community Gardens, Dog Parks and Website Liaison. 14 • Chair Greenfield agreed to serve on Master Plan Review, Park Dedication and 15 Playing Field policy and Projects Ad Hoc and Foothills Nature Preserve, 16 Hawthorns (MidPen) Area Planning, Safe Routes and Urban Forestry Liaison. 17 Commissioner Cribbs made the motion to accept the Parks and Recreation Commission 18 Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Roles assignments. Vice Chair Brown seconded the 19 motion. The motion passed by a 7-0 roll call vote. 20 4. Develop FY24 Calendar Year Workplan – Chair Greenfield – Action 21 Chair Greenfield stated they would not get to the work plan item. 22 COMMISSIONER/BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, 23 ANNOUNCEMENTS OR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 24 25 Chair Greenfield announced each of the Ad Hoc Committees should plan to meet 26 between that time and the May meeting as necessary to bring a draft report plan ready to 27 be approved at the next meeting. 28 Mr. Anderson reiterated the Staff will email out the current draft of the template for the 29 Workplan. Each Ad Hoc will write in their Workplan item and email it to Staff. They 30 need to have those by 1 p.m. on May 17, 2023. 31 32 1     Packet Pg. 11     DRAFT DRAFT 9 ADJOURNMENT 1 2 Meeting adjourned at 4:10PM 3 1     Packet Pg. 12     DRAFT DRAFT 1 1 2 3 MINUTES 4 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 5 SPECIAL MEETING 6 May 24, 2023 7 In-Person & Virtual Conference 8 Palo Alto, California 9 10 Commissioners Present: Chair Greenfield; Vice Chair Brown; Commissioners Anne Cribbs, 11 Nellis Freeman, Shani Kleinhaus, Joy Oche, and Bing Wei 12 Commissioners Absent: 13 Others Present: 14 Staff Present: Daren Anderson, Lam Do 15 CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL 16 Chair Greenfield called the meeting to order and requested the roll be called. 17 Lam Do, called roll, and noted seven were present. 18 PUBLIC COMMENT 19 There were no public comments. 20 AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS 21 There were none. 22 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 23 1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the May 2, 2023, Parks and Recreation 24 Commission Special Meeting 25 Chair Greenfield asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Freeman 26 moved to approve the minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Oche. The motion passed, 6-27 0, by roll call vote with Commissioner Wei abstaining. 28 CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS 29 2. Department Report 30 2     Packet Pg. 13     DRAFT DRAFT 2 Daren Anderson, Assistant Director of Community Services, provided a PowerPoint 1 presentation and addressed recruitment, recreation programs and events, project updates, 2 and capital improvement projects. As soon as he received updates, he would provide the 3 Commission with additional information related to the Cubberley Field Restrooms 4 Project. On June 19, the purchase of the restrooms would be before Council for approval. 5 He explained that there had been challenges with bidding processes. 6 Chair Greenfield loved the new PowerPoint format and assumed it would be posted in the 7 agenda every month. 8 Commissioner Cribbs asked how long it would take to do a parking study for the skate 9 park and if studying traffic when leagues were not in session made a difference. 10 Mr. Anderson indicated he had never done such a study but Planning staff thought it 11 would be relatively quick. He thought it would be a month or two. He would know more 12 when the contractor was onboarded, and he would update the Commission. He was not 13 sure if studying traffic when leagues were not in session made a difference, and he would 14 let the Commission know as he learned more. 15 Commissioner Freeman requested more information concerning bidding on various 16 projects and asked what changes were being considered to make that a better process. 17 Mr. Anderson commented that the bidding process was multifaceted and voiced some of 18 the problems with it. More staff time had been dedicated to the process, and it seemed to 19 be progressing a little quicker. There had been struggles related to the end-result bidders, 20 either not enough bids or high bids, and construction costs had increased. 21 Commissioner Wei inquired if Ad Hoc commissioners should attend the Baylands 22 boardwalk piling repair project meeting in June. 23 Mr. Anderson thought it would be staff only, that it would be a kickoff meeting, and there 24 would be subsequent meetings, which there could be a conversation related to the Ad Hoc 25 commissioners’ attendance. 26 Commissioner Oche wanted to know who tracked the programs for Enjoy! online, how 27 many programs there were, and the process in the event of a long wait list. 28 Mr. Anderson would connect Commissioner Oche to Cayla Koga, Community Services, to 29 address her questions. 30 Chair Greenfield was concerned how representative and accurate the parking study would 31 be, and he looked forward to getting more information. He requested that there be 32 feedback to the Commission or the Ad Hoc before going forward. He was interested in 33 the Commission receiving more information related to doing outreach for the chili 34 2     Packet Pg. 14     DRAFT DRAFT 3 cookoff to include a list of participants over the last five years. He looked forward to 1 getting more information regarding the West Bayshore Project and park dedication and 2 asked what item was needed before proceeding with dedication. He queried as to the 3 impact to users of Boulware Park related to the construction and how communication of 4 the construction would be presented to residents. 5 Mr. Anderson would verify and connect Chair Greenfield via email. He did not yet know 6 what was needed before proceeding with the park dedication and noted that it was not 7 ready as of his last conversation with the Attorney’s office, Planning, and Real Estate. He 8 would know more about the staging of Boulware Park construction once the contractor 9 was on board and there was a preconstruction meeting. He believed there would be a 10 contract soon, and he would let the Commission know a date as soon as he knew. He 11 thought communication of the construction would be through signage at the park, updates 12 to the City website, and direct outreach to residents. He noted that Peter Jensen, City 13 Landscape Architect, had done public outreach, and emails could be sent to all the 14 participants. 15 Commissioner Cribbs thought the Commission should think about entering the chili 16 cookoff next year. 17 Chair Greenfield stated the Commission participating in the cookoff could present a 18 conflict of interest if Park commissioners were to judge the cookoff. 19 BUSINESS 20 3. Parks and Recreation Commission Work Plan – Chair Greenfield – Action 21 Chair Greenfield declared there were two parts to this item – confirming the results of 22 last year’s work plan and addressing the FY24 work plan. 23 PUBLIC COMMENT 24 There were no public comments. 25 Chair Greenfield noted that there would be one vote at the end of the discussion and 26 everything to be voted on would be compiled into the draft work plan, which staff would 27 display and update as the meeting progressed. He went through the slides of the 28 accomplishments of the prior year and asked the Commission to address each work plan 29 item if there were comments or questions. He asked if there was any feedback in terms 30 of the length of the Accomplishment section and if there was opportunity to address that. 31 He requested it be sent to the Chair and Vice Chair to review on behalf of the 32 Commission. 33 2     Packet Pg. 15     DRAFT DRAFT 4 Daren Anderson, Assistant Director of Community Services, did not yet have feedback 1 in terms of the length of the Accomplishment section. He had reached out to the Clerk’s 2 office but had not heard back. He thought there were minor changes made to make it fit. 3 There would possibly be opportunity to review in between the time it would be 4 submitted to the Clerk’s office and it going live. 5 Commissioner Wei questioned if there was a solution approved by City Council related 6 to E-bikes. 7 Chair Greenfield answered that the Commission had recommended a specific E-bike 8 policy, which was adopted by City Council. City Council requested there be further 9 investigation on some items, which would be covered in the Bicycle E-bike Work Plan 10 item for this year. He detailed there were seven projects/goals/items on the work plan, 11 and the Ad Hocs had submitted updates, which were in the packet. He asked for 12 clarification of the track changes. He asked if what was included in the packet was 13 submitted to staff before May 17. 14 Mr. Anderson noted that a motion that had not been approved by Council was 15 inadvertently included and had been track-change removed with the approval of the Ad 16 Hoc after consultation with them. What was included in the packet was submitted to staff 17 before May 17, and the changes were that of staff and the Ad Hoc for the Bicycle/E-bike 18 Access Policy. 19 Discussion ensued as to how to proceed with the conversations, and it was determined 20 that the Commission would start with the Master Plan – Project/Goal 3. 21 Chair Greenfield thought the nomenclature for the timeline should be standardized to be 22 consistent and that the most accurate would be to use FY24 as the timeline or specific 23 quarters within it. He requested that resources requiring staff time be standardized using 24 low, moderate, and high. 25 Commissioner Freeman asked if staff would make the determination of staff time being 26 high, medium, and low. 27 Chair Greenfield thought staff would have the final say related to staff time. 28 Commissioner Wei requested the normal benchmark for staff time, if two hours was 29 considered low. 30 Mr. Anderson expressed that staff time would be variable depending on the item. He 31 suggested the Commission and staff come up with an estimate, and staff would do their 32 best. 33 2     Packet Pg. 16     DRAFT DRAFT 5 Chair Greenfield asked how staff would specify needed resources for Project/Goal 3. He 1 requested standardized formatting with consistent use of bullets, spacing, etc., and 2 consistent use of City Council versus Council, PRC as opposed to Commission, etc. He 3 would leave it to staff to edit the document. 4 Mr. Anderson indicated that Project/Goal 3 would need moderate staff time. 5 Commissioner Freeman questioned, concerning the timeline, how something being 6 worked on for 2023 that might fall into 2024 would be defined and if a quarter related to 7 when a project/goal would be completed. He asked how items without an end date would 8 be identified. 9 Chair Greenfield remarked that FY24 would start on July 1, and a quarter would relate to 10 when a project/goal would be completed. He inquired if the timeline was for completion 11 or for action, which would include completion, and he thought it could be interpreted 12 however one wanted. Something done throughout the entire year would be FY24 and if it 13 was something to be completed sooner, quarters could be added in it. Regarding items 14 without a specific end date, work plan items must be very specific in the task and 15 timeline for completion, so they could remain Ad Hoc committees as opposed to 16 standing committees. He outlined the high priorities of Project/Goal 3. The resources 17 needed would be reflected as low-to-moderate staff time. 18 Commissioner Kleinhaus inquired if potential deficient areas in programs, policies, etc., 19 were captured. 20 Vice Chair Brown noted that the purpose of the high-level review of the implementation 21 of the plan was to capture deficiencies. 22 Chair Greenfield thought potential deficiencies were covered in the lower priority items. 23 He expected that each project and program in the Master Plan would be addressed. 24 Commissioner Oche thought the detailed status review would be high priority. She asked 25 if lower priorities would be addressed after addressing the higher priorities and how this 26 aligned with review of the recreation programs. 27 Chair Greenfield noted that lower priority items would be outlined in terms of the scope 28 of the more detailed review to be done. He noted that the lower priority items were not 29 being addressed at this meeting but were included to provide insight. He noted this was a 30 high-level work plan item. He suggested formatting to add Phase 1 to the beginning of 31 the High Priority section and Phase 2 before the Comprehensive Parks Master Plan. The 32 timeline for Phase 1 items was the next six months, sooner if possible. To make the 33 intent of the item clearer, maybe Phase 2 should include something to the effect that a 34 2     Packet Pg. 17     DRAFT DRAFT 6 new Work Plan item would outline a Comprehensive Parks Master Plan review. He 1 suggested adding Master Plan Policy to 2.G and 6.A in the document. 2 Commissioner Cribbs inquired if the review of the Master Plan should be the first goal, 3 which was an overarching way to look at the work being done this year. 4 Chair Greenfield thought review of the Master Plan should be the first goal. 5 Commissioner Freeman provided an overview of the Master Plan. 6 Commissioner Kleinhaus noted the focus was to implement what City Council directed, 7 which she outlined. 8 Commissioner Wei queried if the Commission had a right to implement an E-bike speed 9 limit and if the City sponsoring pilot bikes could reduce staff time. 10 Chair Greenfield answered that the Commission would make a recommendation using 11 the best resources available. Sponsoring pilot bikes was outside the scope of this item. 12 Commissioner Freeman specified there was a responsibility to work with staff to ensure 13 signage would be easily understood. There could be input from the public or other 14 agencies, such as PABAC, related to rack locations and trail restrictions especially as 15 technology changed. What other communities were doing could be considered to add 16 value to measuring success of the project. 17 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked if there was monitoring of E-bike technology and if there 18 should be something related to following trends of use in open spaces. 19 Commissioner Freeman inquired if monitoring would be by rangers and the public. 20 Chair Greenfield thought E-bike policy should be monitored in addition to technology. 21 Mr. Anderson felt it was reasonable to monitor policy and technology. 22 Commissioner Kleinhaus wanted science to be used in the monitoring process. 23 Chair Greenfield thought there should be a specific bicycle policy recommendation. 24 Commissioner Wei wondered how wildlife would be monitored and if the quantity of E-25 bikes could cause problems. 26 Commissioner Freeman noted that over time there could be more bikes than pedestrians. 27 Commissioner Kleinhaus replied that assessing impacts should be in terms of biological 28 impacts and safety issues. She indicated that existing scientific studies found that 29 2     Packet Pg. 18     DRAFT DRAFT 7 biological resources were affected by volume access, not by the type of technology, and 1 she did not know how that should be addressed. It was important to her to have the 2 words “science” and “impacts” in the document, and she wanted information from new 3 studies to be considered. 4 Chair Greenfield wanted to be aware of impact studies done. He asked if evolving E-bike 5 technology and impact analysis should be monitored. 6 Vice Chair Brown suggested the document state there would be continued monitoring of 7 E-bike-related issues or topics with examples listed. 8 Commissioner Kleinhaus suggested that it read bicycle and E-bike access issues would 9 continue to be monitored, like the title received from City Council. 10 Commissioner Wei asked if bicycles were the focus or if horse access was being 11 considered. She asked if bike access should be considered a high priority versus a low 12 priority. 13 Chair Greenfield noted it was primarily E-bike related but policy for bicycle and E-bike 14 was being considered, so it was included. He thought it was reasonable to put Council 15 directives as high priorities and the other items as the low priorities. 16 Discussion ensued regarding technology, science, and environmental and usage impacts 17 evolving and monitoring of technology and potential environmental impacts. 18 Commissioner Oche asked if developing signage included the wording and content. 19 Chair Greenfield noted that developing signage was broad. He suggested language for 20 the Bicycle/E-bike Policy Access and Resources Needed sections and suggested 21 including Master Plan policies 1.G.2 and 2.A.7 in the State Mandated/Council Approved 22 box. He did not know if policy and access should address areas permitting E-bikes where 23 they were not currently permitted, which was a controversial issue within the 24 community, and if E-bikes should be permitted where bicycles were permitted. 25 Commissioner Wei questioned if community education should be a priority. 26 Chair Greenfield replied that a lower priority item could be outreach of bicycle/E-bike 27 policies. 28 Commissioner Kleinhaus thought that would add to staff time. 29 Chair Greenfield noted that the signage issue was being addressed. He asked if the 30 websites had been updated and inquired if the Ad Hoc should assist in reviewing 31 2     Packet Pg. 19     DRAFT DRAFT 8 bicycle/E-bike policy, communication, and outreach in conjunction with the other work 1 the Ad Hoc was doing. 2 Mr. Anderson acknowledged that the websites had been updated. Staff had developed the 3 signage, and they would present it to the Ad Hoc and PABAC. 4 Discussion ensued related to continued monitoring of E-bike policy communication and 5 outreach to improve the effectiveness of communication to the community. 6 Commissioner Cribbs wanted to have a discussion concerning grants. 7 Commissioner Oche noted that addressing grants would help determine next steps. They 8 hoped for at least one grant and to access volunteer grant writers and thought a 9 perspective on how to move forward with a grant would be helpful. She wanted to open 10 the opportunity for interns who might want to help. They were looking for available 11 resources that were not being leveraged now. She commented that there had been 12 discussion related to projects that needed grants, which needed to be focused on. 13 Commissioner Wei noted that there had been a discussion and the goal was to try to 14 reduce staff’s time, bandwidth, and/or additional responsibility. If there were existing 15 spreadsheets, etc., they could use it to establish a grant writing process. 16 Vice Chair Brown thought the grant process being a cost benefit should be considered, 17 and staff time needed to be considered for administration of the grant. She believed the 18 Ad Hoc was to work with staff to determine if a grant should be pursued and, if so, then 19 attain help in writing the grant. 20 Commissioner Cribbs would be happy to remove obtaining a grant from the Measures of 21 Success section and to focus on whether a grant would be important. 22 Chair Greenfield suggested that a top-level goal be to determine how to increase funding 23 for park, open space, and recreation programs and projects. 24 Commissioner Wei noted that they were trying to identify a past process or list of 25 existing grants to use as a foundation. She queried if there was a list of grants in the last 26 year. 27 Commissioner Kleinhaus explained that it could be helpful to look at grants in 28 partnership with other departments and potentially outside agencies. 29 Mr. Anderson stated he could assemble a list of past grants. 30 Chair Greenfield suggested adding to the Beneficial Impacts section that obtaining new 31 grants would increase funding for programs and projects. 32 2     Packet Pg. 20     DRAFT DRAFT 9 Commissioner Freeman suggested adding language indicating that obtaining a new grant 1 would increase funding for programs and projects critical to PRC community service. 2 Commissioner Kleinhaus indicated that was implied. 3 Discussion ensued regarding the content of the Beneficial Impacts, the Resources 4 Needed, the High Priority, the Low priority, and the Measure of Success sections. 5 Commissioner Oche questioned if all projects or programs were eligible for grants. She 6 wanted there to be a focus on what the grants would be used for and examples of 7 successful grant applications to see if those partnerships could be continued. 8 Chair Greenfield stated projects or programs being eligible for grants would depend on 9 the grant. 10 Mr. Anderson thought staff could provide a list of 10 projects or programs that lacked 11 funding, and which could benefit from grants. He noted for successful grant applications, 12 it may be helpful to look beyond Community Services, and he suggested partnerships 13 that could be leveraged. 14 Discussion continued regarding the content of the High Priority, the State 15 Mandated/Local Law/Council Approved, the Low Priority, and the Measure of Success 16 sections. 17 Vice Chair Brown spoke of Project/Goal 4, which was to consider potential sites to be 18 dedicated to parkland and to address best practices in future review of potential sites. 19 Chair Greenfield asked how much staff time would be needed. 20 Mr. Anderson stated staff time would be low. 21 Commissioner Kleinhaus explained why she suggested the Beneficial Impacts section 22 read increase “dedicated” parkland. She asked if this would include opportunities to buy 23 land or create a new park where there was not one. 24 Chair Greenfield answered that it could potentially include opportunities to buy land or 25 create a new park where there was not one. 26 Discussion arose regarding seeking new parkland opportunities, which was addressed in 27 the Comprehensive Plan or the Park Master Plan. 28 Commissioner Freeman declared the goals, resources, and timeline of Project 5. 29 2     Packet Pg. 21     DRAFT DRAFT 10 Chair Greenfield clarified that the Commission was considering the recommendation on 1 the synthetic turf replacement strategy, which the timeline was Q1-2. He indicated that 2 the timeline for the next item should be Q3-4, which would be review of the Field 3 Reservation Policy, which was addressed in the Master Plan under Programs 1.F.1, 4 2.A.3, and 2.C.3. He suggested language for the Resources Needed section. 5 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked what was done with the replaced turf. 6 Mr. Anderson expressed that the replaced turf was recycled or donated to other 7 communities. 8 Commissioner Cribbs inquired if some of the stakeholders could help fund the fields 9 through grant opportunities. She found that there was scientific evidence that synthetic 10 turf was harmful to the environment, not recyclable, and posed harmful health impacts. 11 Chair Greenfield confirmed that there were grant opportunities but thought it was outside 12 the scope of this work plan item. 13 Commissioner Wei inquired if the field could be changed to natural materials. 14 Commissioner Freeman indicated that existing technologies could be evaluated. 15 Chair Greenfield declared that the strategy for replacing a synthetic turf field was to be 16 reviewed, including the materials process, which could be natural. He noted that 17 synthetic turf fields were important in terms of field hours available to the community. 18 He voiced that health impacts needed to be considered. 19 Commissioner Kleinhaus asked if the lifespan of a material would be evaluated. 20 Chair Greenfield thought part of the process needed to include confirmation that the right 21 materials would be used, which he was sure staff would evaluate. 22 Commissioner Kleinhaus hoped there would be something about sustainability. 23 Chair Greenfield noted that could still come under optimum, and the Ad Hoc’s 24 recommendations would come before the Commission for review and recommendation 25 to staff. 26 Chair Greenfield opined that it might make sense to place Project 6 in the Project 2 27 position as it had direct tie-ins with the Master Plan. 28 Commissioner Oche discussed Project 6 being a new goal and believed it to be a 29 prerequisite for the Master Plan Goal as it addressed gaps discussed at the annual retreat. 30 2     Packet Pg. 22     DRAFT DRAFT 11 She hoped it would also provide or expand more program offerings and provide better 1 program communication to residents. 2 Commissioner Wei had observed that a lot of people were unaware of existing programs 3 and that there was oversubscription to current programs. They thought to leverage the 4 increase in population and new immigrants in the City to call for more volunteer teachers 5 for new programs, which were not in the Enjoy! catalog and use it to leverage the 6 excitement of new programs to attract new funding and grants and to look at 7 affordability and inclusivity for all. 8 Commissioner Freeman asked for information related to the financial and social impact 9 to Palo Alto residents. 10 Commissioner Oche answered that the financial part would leverage on partners and 11 residents who could volunteer for free programs. 12 Commissioner Wei discussed the social impacts of residents offering skillsets. 13 Commissioner Kleinhaus thought financial and social impacts needed to be reduced. She 14 understood that this would provide affordable, equitable, and inclusive recreation 15 opportunities and would involve the community in offering programming that they were 16 interested in. 17 Commissioner Wei confirmed that this would involve the community offering 18 programming. She provided examples of possible offerings that could provide a solution 19 to the oversubscription problem. 20 Discussion ensued regarding the language of Project 6. 21 Chair Greenfield was not sure the goal discussed at the retreat addressed affordable, 22 equitable, and inclusive recreation opportunities, though it was a great goal. He was 23 concerned with the tie-in with the Master Plan review. Given a comprehensive review of 24 all programs and projects would be done, he understood that the Ad Hoc was created to 25 do something more objective as a foundational step to work in parallel with the Master 26 Plan Review Ad Hoc. 27 Commissioner Wei asked if the goal should be modified to work in parallel with the 28 Master Plan. They intended to do the gap analysis and pass it on to the Master Plan team 29 for input. 30 Mr. Anderson thought the goal was to analyze current programs for the Master Plan, 31 which would then be passed on to the group working on the Master Plan. 32 2     Packet Pg. 23     DRAFT DRAFT 12 Chair Greenfield was concerned that the gap analysis was complicated because the gaps 1 needing assessment needed to be addressed and some gaps were easier to asses than 2 others. In terms of categorizing the offerings, he wanted oversold programs and waiting 3 lists to be included. He did not know if there were available metrics to assess how 4 quickly programs reached capacity. 5 Discussion ensued regarding content and language of Project 6 Recreation Program 6 Review. 7 Commissioner Wei asked if they should develop the gap analysis after the Commission 8 had the overall strategy and guidelines. 9 Chair Greenfield thought development the gap analysis should occur after the 10 Commission had the overall strategy and guidelines. 11 Commissioner Oche did not interpret it to mean the gap analysis should occur after the 12 Commission had the overall strategy and guidelines. She remarked that programs were 13 filled very quickly. 14 Chair Greenfield specified that existing programs should be assessed for capacity and 15 availability. A challenge for the Ad Hoc in compiling the data would be finding broad 16 metrics to use for assessment. 17 Commissioner Wei asked how to go about finding such metrics. 18 Chair Greenfield did not know how to find the metrics and indicated there should be a 19 conversation with staff. The gap analysis would not be top priority and might not be part 20 of the goal until there was a new Master Plan goal. He did not expect the complete 21 Master Plan review to be done this fiscal year, but a process should be established. 22 Discussion ensued regarding language and content of the High Priority section. 23 Commissioner Kleinhaus believed the request to the Ad Hoc was to look at the Enjoy! 24 catalog and determine where more resources were needed. 25 Chair Greenfield thought a lower priority could be to identify gaps and potential 26 solutions, but not a complete gap analysis. He thought metrics needed to be identified 27 and gathered moving forward. 28 Commissioner Freeman did not think gaps could be identified without data to support it. 29 Commissioner Wei liked the data approach and asked if there was data over the last 12 to 30 24 months. 31 2     Packet Pg. 24     DRAFT DRAFT 13 Commissioner Freeman believed there needed to be data covering more than 24 months. 1 Mr. Anderson was not positive how much data there was. He noted that staff did track 2 some data. 3 Commissioner Wei noted that the Enjoy! catalog was time sensitive and thought that it 4 should start there and then expand to other programs. 5 Chair Greenfield noted that a lower priority goal could be to consider new programs to 6 be included the next Enjoy! catalog. 7 Vice Chair Brown thought members of the Commission were talking about two different 8 types of gap analysis – one being high level and tying in with the Master Plan and the 9 other addressing operational gaps, funding, and staffing. She implied that more 10 affordable and more accessible programs could be considered, which would be 11 decoupled from the Master Plan. She wondered if this should be more standalone and not 12 tied in so much with the Master Plan and instead just evaluate the Enjoy! catalog for 13 solutions in terms of affordability, accessibility, and programs not offered. As part of the 14 work plan, she suggested speaking with staff and the community concerning bottlenecks 15 and challenges as well as contacting other agencies for information regarding problems 16 they may have faced and finding out how they had addressed them. 17 Commissioner Wei thought assessing the Enjoy! catalog was a good starting point. She 18 asked if there was past precedence of a process to increase the programs for the Enjoy! 19 catalog. 20 Mr. Anderson commented there was a precedence of a process to increase the programs 21 for the Enjoy! catalog among staff. He was not aware of there being collaboration with 22 the PRC. He did not know if staff had gone to the depth being proposed now. 23 Chair Greenfield thought the focus should be on a recreation program review, and it 24 could be decided if it would be predominantly the Enjoy! catalog but not limited to the 25 Enjoy! catalog. 26 Mr. Anderson recommended the review be broader than the Enjoy! catalog but with the 27 Enjoy! catalog being the main area of focus. 28 Commissioner Wei asked if looking at the Enjoy! catalog would be Phase 1 and if Phase 29 2 would be looking at the broader picture. 30 Mr. Anderson indicated both could be done at the same time. 31 Chair Greenfield questioned the staff time to support this. 32 2     Packet Pg. 25     DRAFT DRAFT 14 Mr. Anderson anticipated it would require quite a bit of time, to include Recreation staff 1 and possibly other parts of CSD and would involve moderate staff resources. He detailed 2 why he thought it was worth doing. 3 Commissioner Freeman asked if the needed data existed or if there had been an ongoing 4 process to expand the programs or a process to make sure the right programs were being 5 offered. He asked if at some point the PRC or the Ad Hoc would be able to provide 6 statistics on number of programs, people enrolled, and the wait lists. 7 Mr. Anderson expressed there had been ongoing assessment by staff on a lot of the 8 programs but doing a systemic and holistic study would require a lot of time even if data 9 had already been gathered. He envisioned the Ad Hoc condensing the number of 10 programs, people enrolled, and the wait list into a report, which staff could contribute to. 11 Chair Greenfield indicated that the Master Plan included a lot of specific directives in 12 terms of annual and regular reviews of programs and community outreach. 13 Commissioner Wei queried if the Enjoy! website automatically generated data when 14 people subscribed. 15 Mr. Anderson replied that he was less involved in the website, but every quarter there 16 were reports of the number of people on wait lists, which was from the online program. 17 Chair Greenfield thought it was reasonable to do a review of existing recreation 18 programs and to focus on identifying gaps in the Enjoy! catalog with a limited focus. He 19 inquired if it was reasonable for the Ad Hoc to take on the categorization of the offerings 20 as currently specified in the document or if the Master Plan Ad Hoc could possibly 21 change the directive. He thought identifying gaps could occur after the secondary part of 22 the review. 23 Commissioner Wei thought with staff’s help with the data and analysis, that 24 categorization of the offerings could be done. There needed to be a meeting to see what 25 already existed. 26 Chair Greenfield offered suggestions related to the content and language of the High and 27 Low Priority items. 28 Commissioner Wei questioned the process for reaching out to the community, if staff 29 could help do a survey, and if community outreach should be listed as a high priority. 30 Mr. Anderson acknowledged that surveys were an option, and a focused email outreach 31 to program participants and front desk at community centers were possibilities. 32 2     Packet Pg. 26     DRAFT DRAFT 15 Chair Greenfield was concerned that listing community outreach as a high priority may 1 overlap what the Master Plan Ad Hoc might be recommending. In the bigger picture, 2 different types of community outreach and feedback needed to be investigated as a whole 3 for the Master Plan. There may be a way to include some community outreach, but he 4 thought it would have complexity and staff impact. 5 Vice Chair Brown thought the high priority section could include working with the 6 community and staff to assess current program offerings, which would provide flexibility 7 for as-needed community engagement efforts. 8 Chair Greenfield was concerned that would be more than staff could support. 9 Discussion ensued concerning content and language of the Measure of Success, the State 10 Mandated/Local Law/Council Approved, the Beneficial Impacts, and the Goals sections. 11 Chair Greenfield directed the conversation to Project/Goal 7 and suggested language for 12 the item. 13 Discussion arose related to content, language, and formatting of the Beneficial Impacts, 14 Resources Needed, High Priority, Low Priority, Measure of Success, and Council-15 Directed Policy Update sections. 16 Vice Chair Brown proposed renumbering the Project/Goals as Master Plan first, 17 Recreation Program Overview second, Wellness Center third, E-bike fourth, Playing 18 Fields fifth, Park Dedication sixth, and Grant Opportunities seventh, and the 19 Commission agreed. 20 Chair Greenfield motioned to recommend the Work Plan, including everything in the 21 document with the specified edits and with the prior year accomplishments. Seconded by 22 Commissioner Cribbs. The motion passed 7-0, by roll call vote. 23 4. Ad Hoc Committees and Liaison Updates – Chair Greenfield – Discussion 24 Chair Greenfield noted that all Ad Hoc committees had met, and he thanked them for 25 their work. 26 Commissioner Cribbs stated that Daren Anderson, Assistant Director of Community 27 Services, had made a nice presentation related to the skate park as part of the Staff 28 Report. She noted that Sam Kaplinsky had also sent some drawings, which she asked 29 Mr. Anderson to share with the Commission. 30 PUBLIC COMMENT 31 There were no public comments. 32 2     Packet Pg. 27     DRAFT DRAFT 16 Chair Greenfield requested the list of Ad Hoc and Liaison groups be displayed. He 1 provided an update on Park Dedication and announced that the Park Dedication Ad Hoc 2 would consider a strip of land near San Antonio and Alma as being a potential area of 3 park dedication. He voiced that Commissioner Cribbs had asked to be part of the 4 Wellness Center Gym Ad Hoc Committee and that the Ad Hoc Committee be renamed 5 as Recreation Wellness Center. He noted that those changes would be made, and that 6 Commissioner Cribbs would join the Ad Hoc. He stated that Commissioner Oche had 7 requested withdrawing from the Grant Opportunities Ad Hoc, which was currently a 8 three-person Ad Hoc, and originally it was outlined to be a two-person Ad Hoc, so he 9 was satisfied with that. He remarked that it was a good time to finalize all Ad Hoc and 10 Liaison roles. He asked if there were final thoughts on joining or participating in a two-11 person Ad Hoc. They would look to make these final moving forward. 12 Commissioner Oche asked if there was a minimum number of Ad Hocs a person could 13 participate in. 14 Chair Greenfield clarified that the minimum was to make sure the Commission had 15 everything covered. 16 COMMISSIONER/BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, 17 ANNOUNCEMENTS OR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 18 19 Daren Anderson, Assistant Director of Community Services, declared that next month’s 20 agenda may include the Tree Protection Ordinance and that the possible park dedication 21 of the Greer site 2850 West Bayshore easement was tentative. He had nothing else ready 22 for next month. 23 Chair Greenfield did not think it was likely that next month’s agenda would include the 24 Tree Protection Ordinance. He thought City Council would have a presentation on the 25 Tree Protection Ordinance next month. He inquired if there would be a Park 26 Improvement Ordinance and/or a Foothills update. The Commission was expecting a 27 general update on the nature preserve from the managing ranger. 28 Mr. Anderson did not recall there being a Park Improvement Ordinance for next month. 29 Regarding the Foothills update, he expressed that the improvement plan would not be 30 ready by next month. In the interim, visitation could be discussed, and Mike Warner, 31 Supervising Park Ranger, could introduce himself and answer questions. 32 Chair Greenfield noted that could be discussed based on how far out the Foothills 33 Improvement Plan would be. 34 Commissioner Kleinhaus inquired if there was visibility or influence on the scope of the 35 Improvement Plan. 36 2     Packet Pg. 28     DRAFT DRAFT 17 Mr. Anderson answered that that CIP had been submitted, so there was not much to alter 1 the main focus, which was a pedestrian pathway, fencing, and parking lot improvements. 2 He explained what was meant by parking lot improvements, which would not include 3 additional parking. 4 Commissioner Cribbs suggested the Recreation Foundation and the Friends of the Parks 5 speak to the Commission about their programs since grants and fundraising were being 6 discussed. She specified that Grassroots Ecology was doing wonderful things and 7 suggested hearing from them. 8 Chair Greenfield would explore the Recreation Foundation and the Friends of the Parks 9 speaking to the Commission. He specified that Grassroots had been before the 10 Commission about a year ago. 11 Commissioner Kleinhaus spoke of pictures she had taken on the back side of Los 12 Trancos, which got a response from the CDFW, especially concerning an endangered 13 species, and she asked if there was an effort to remove oats and invasive species from 14 that location. She requested an update on work being done in the less frequented areas on 15 the back side of Los Trancos. 16 Chair Greenfield declared that question was beyond future agenda items. He suggested 17 Commissioner Kleinhaus send Mr. Anderson a detailed email request. He would look 18 into the foundations speaking to the Commission in the next calendar year. 19 ADJOURNMENT 20 21 Meeting adjourned at 10:40 P.M. 22 2     Packet Pg. 29     Item No. 3. Page 1 of 16 CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT From: City Manager Report Type: Study Session Lead Department: Transportation Meeting Date: April 24, 2023 TITLE Study Session: Safe Routes to School Annual Report for 2021-2022; CEQA status – not a project. RECOMMENDATION This 2021-2022 Annual Report for the Safe Routes to School Partnership is informational to facilitate the study session discussion for Safe Routes to School. No action by Council will be taken. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2021-2022 Safe Routes School (SRTS) Annual Report provides the outcomes of the fourth year of the Five-Year Plan for the SRTS Partnership between the City of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), and the Palo Alto Council of PTAs (PTAC). This report describes Partnership activities during the re-opening of schools to accommodate parent needs, PAUSD campus access restrictions, and education program adjustments. In addition, the report describes the results of the initial deployment of a new community outreach tool. BACKGROUND For more than 50 years, the City of Palo Alto, PAUSD, and the PTA have maintained a child transportation safety-focused collaboration in Palo Alto, meeting monthly as the City/School Transportation Safety Committee (CSTSC). In 2006, this collaboration adopted a National Consensus Statement relying on a ‘5-E’ (Encouragement, Education, Engineering, Enforcement, and Evaluation) injury prevention framework to support safe, healthy, and active school commutes. In 2016, the Partnership adopted a sixth ‘E’ for Equity to align with national standards ensuring that SRTS Partners provide additional resources to support the needs of under- resourced or under-represented families. Additionally, the SRTS Partnership approved a Five-Year Work Plan in 2017. While the Five-Year Work Plan objectives remain somewhat fixed from year to year, the strategies to achieve the goals change each year based on priorities set by program partners (Refer to Attachment A for 5     Packet Pg. 30     Item No. 3. Page 2 of 16 the Five-Year Work Plan). Progress on the Five-Year Work Plan goals and strategies depends on the Safe Routes to School Partnership’s funding and capacity and may be subject to change as demand or resources dictate. In 2020, at the recommendation of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the term “Enforcement” was replaced with the word “Engagement” to support a more community- focused approach to supporting transportation safety and compliance with existing regulations. ANALYSIS Pandemic Impacts on Education Programming The return to in-person teaching in the Fall of 2021 brought many challenges for the SRTS program. The SRTS team, housed in the City’s Office of Transportation (OOT), determined to find ways to adapt and ensure education could continue virtually and in person. Due to the pandemic, PAUSD limited campus access points to reduce cohort mixing and Covid exposure. Doing so changed how families planned their routes to and from school. In addition, it appears that some parents believed that driving their children to school in a vehicle was a way to reduce exposure to Covid. Parents, families, and others who chose to walk or bike to school therefore noticed more parents driving. Additionally, due to the limited campus access points, many students could not store their bikes conveniently as bike racks were no longer at every campus access point. Due to these changes, the SRTS team received many back-to-school, bike, and pedestrian safety requests that showed parents were paying attention and valuing transportation safety and education. SRTS staff and PAUSD staff conducted walk and bike audits during the re-opening period to help improve biking and walking to and on campus. The pandemic also impacted a core component of the SRTS partnership - parent volunteers. With high levels of parent fear of exposure to the virus and PAUSD regulations limiting campus visitors, SRTS staff moved Bike Rodeo Education to the Spring of 2022. Additionally, the SRTS program delivered 6th Grade education in the fall through online courses and Kindergarten and 1st Grade pedestrian lessons via zoom in the spring to reduce coronavirus exposure concerns. Spring Bike Rodeos and Consultant Assistance Although Fall reopening was challenging, PAUSD parents noticed the value and impact of in- school training and education. After announcing the Spring bike rodeos, the SRTS team prepared for the new wave of nervous parent volunteers eager to bring back this cherished tradition for third graders. Although we had to re-plan, the Fall pause in programming gave the SRTS staff a chance to debut a new rodeo scheduling software that made rodeo scheduling easier for everyone. Additional spring highlights included events like the 8th grade Getting to High School, the Adaptive Cycling Rodeo pilot event for secondary students, and middle school biking events rescheduled 5     Packet Pg. 31     Item No. 3. Page 3 of 16 from the fall. Relaunching these events required the short-term support and assistance by a contractor funded by the 2016 Measure Bicycle and Pedestrian Education and Encouragement Program. With such support, staff had the capacity to implement all other activities, including Bike Rodeo events in the Spring. The contractor helped with the following seven tasks: 1. Blacktop set-up and oversight of the third lesson (bike rodeo) of PAUSD’s Third Grade Bicycle Life Skills Curriculum for 12 elementary schools 2. Scheduling, coordinating and facilitating monthly City/School Transportation Committee Meetings 3. Coordinating 5 secondary school Spring Bike Safety events 4. Coordinating one Safe Routes to School exceptional needs secondary school summer event 5. Distributing summer and fall Safe Routes to School Suggested Route Maps 6. Assisting with secondary school Back to School event coordination 7. Completing other Education and Encouragement grant tasks such as data collection and reporting Due to pandemic budget constraints, the Measure B funds were used to partially support 0.5 FTE of our SRTS team to conduct an SRTS outreach pilot. Information regarding the use of those funds is presented in the next section. Mobile Information Kiosk E-Bike (MIKE) Pilot During the pandemic, OOT identified a need to expand community engagement efforts to support student, family, and community safety education and piloted an on-the-ground pedestrian and bicycle community engagement strategy. Supported by Measure B Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Education and Encouragement funds, the SRTS team used an electric cargo bike, loaded with SRTS education material, to provide mobile, pop-up education and encouragement stations at parks, schools, and community centers. Though COVID variant waves impacted the deployment frequency of the Mobile Information Kiosk E-Bike (MIKE) Pilot, the SRTS team was able to set up and engage with many Palo Alto students, families, and residents who did not know about the Safe Routes program. Staff set up 17 pop-up information sessions, interacted with approximately 200 people, and provided 110 giveaways (e.g., VTA bicycle maps and bike lights). The SRTS team discussed topics such as suggested bike routes, proper helmet wearing, and the importance of signaling when making turns on a bike. Essentially, this program brought Covid-safe face-to-face office hours to hundreds of community members. Unexpectedly, through this interaction, staff met PAUSD parents who ended up doing extraordinary things with the materials distributed. For example, at Mitchell Park, Hoover parent Ashley Tseng received a Hoover Elementary Walk and Roll Map that she turned into a board game with her son to help students learn how to use the map. Subsequently, Ashley became more 5     Packet Pg. 32     Item No. 3. Page 4 of 16 involved by volunteering to be a Transportation Safety Representative (TSR) for Hoover Elementary and an active member of the City/School Transportation Safety Committee (CSTSC). A comprehensive table of 2021-22 SRTS activities organized by the Six Es is provided below. Table 1: Safe Routes to School Program Activities, 2021-2022 DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER OF LEADERSHIP) DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES ENCOURAGEMENT Bi-Monthly City School Transportation Safety Committee Meetings CPA SRTS, PTA, Palo Alto Police Department, PAUSD, Community Participants Community Meetings •Ten, 2-hour meetings •Approx. 20 participants per meeting Bi-Monthly City School Transportation Safety Committee Planning Meetings CPA SRTS, PTA, PAPD, PAUSD, Agenda-setting meetings to support CSTSC •Eight 1-hour meetings 08/26/21 Safe Routes PTA TSR Volunteer Orientation PTA, CPA SRTS 2.5-hour training for incoming Safe Routes to School TSRs •11 participants October 2021 New Principal Orientation CPA SRTS, PAUSD SRTS information session for new principals •Nixon October 2021 & April 2022 Fall & Spring Walk and Roll to School Events PTA, PAUSD, CPA SRTS Green transportation encouragement events to support the return to school •3 events were held at elementary schools. 08/12/21 Silicon Valley Bike Coalition Annual Bike Summit CPA SRTS, SVBC Participation in a panel of 3 presenters sharing SRTS reopening experience •15-minute Sharing Roads and Shifting Modes: Safe Routes “Pandemic Edition” presentation 02/27/22 Black History Month Celebration Ride PTA Community bike ride supported by El Carmelo and Escondido TSRs that honored historic achievements of Black Palo Altans and East Palo •30 participants 5     Packet Pg. 33     Item No. 3. Page 5 of 16 Altans. March – May 2022 Bicycle Life Skills Curriculum CPA, SRTS, PAUSD, PAPD, Stanford, PAMF, Bike Mobile Three-lesson bicycle safety training for all PAUSD 3rd graders •Approx. 4.5 hours of bike safety education per student •706 students April 2021 Middle & High School Back-to- School Events PTA, PAUSD, CPA SRTS Commute planning, bike index information, bike checkups, helmet fitting, bike blender, and two pilot climate change events with Museum of Tomorrow •Five 2-3 hour events EDUCATION Ongoing Spare the Air Youth Meetings Metropolitan Transportation Commission, City, Regional Providers Sharing best practices in SRTS programs across the Bay Area •1 quarterly meeting Fall Sixth-Eighth Grade Back to School Bicycle Safety Lesson Online PAUSD, CPA SRTS Bicycle safety online education provided to all PAUSD 6-8 grade students •2330 students 2/7-2/25/22 K-1 Pedestrian Safety Lesson CPA SRTS, PAUSD 30-minute online pedestrian safety education classroom lessons •Supported 1332 students 2/8-3/3/22 Second Grade Pedestrian Safety Education CPA SRTS, PAUSD 12 classroom combined based 60-minute pedestrian safety field trip •Supported 665 students 4/12-5/13/22 Fifth Grade Bicycle Safety Refresher CPA SRTS, PAUSD 12 45-minute grade-based presentations (with combined classes) for all 5th graders entering middle school. •Supported 707 students 6/1/21 Middle School Bike Skills WheelKids Bicycle Club CPA SRTS Adjusted for COVID •Three 4.5- hour classes •35 students 5     Packet Pg. 34     Item No. 3. Page 6 of 16 •Approx. 35 parents February 2022 Bike Rodeo Captain Training CPA, PTA Prepare Bike Rodeo Captains for Bike Rodeo event coordination at their school •12 trainings May 2022 Walk & Roll Map Updated CPA, PTA 17 maps had edits made that included language consistency. •Posted on the SRTS website ENGINEERING Ongoing SRTS Requested Observations CPA SRTS, PTA SRTS team conducted observations of on- or off-campus circulation •Greene •Fletcher •JLS Ongoing 2012 Bicycle + Pedestrian Transportation Plan Projects Transportation staff, Public Works staff Improvements identified by the community to enhance walking and bicycling •Ongoing design feedback •CSTSC input Ongoing South Palo Alto Bikeway Support Transportation and Public Works staff Projects on school routes arising from VERBS grant analysis and from PAUSD or PTA requests •Ongoing design feedback •CSTSC input •Education/ outreach assistance Ongoing Palo Alto 311 Service Requests CPA SRTS Requests for improvements on school routes submitted by the community •6 completed requests Ongoing Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PABAC) Support CPA SRTS Monthly reports of SRTS activities and collision data shared with PABAC advisory committee •10 CSTSC minutes reports shared monthly with PABAC ENGAGEMENT/ENFORCEMENT* Ongoing Monthly Collision Reporting PAPD Juvenile bicycle and pedestrian collision data shared monthly •42 collisions 5     Packet Pg. 35     Item No. 3. Page 7 of 16 with Safe Routes/Transport ation staff Ongoing Traffic Law Enforcement PAPD Juvenile bicycle and pedestrian traffic citations are shared monthly with Safe Routes/Transport ation staff. No traffic citations were given. •0 juvenile citations/warnings Ongoing Juvenile Traffic Safety Diversion Program PAPD, Traffic Safe Communities Network of Santa Clara County Traffic School for youth with on- bike citations were not held. •0 juvenile diversion classes Ongoing Adult Crossing Guards PAPD Crossing guards for elementary and middle school students at qualifying intersections •33 crossing guards EVALUATION Ongoing SRTS Data Providers Network Regional Meetings Santa Clara Dept. of Public Health, City SRTS Providers Sharing of County resources and best practices •Three 2-hour meetings Fall Parked Bicycle Counts PTA, CPA SRTS Counts of parked bicycles at all PAUSD schools. •See Table 3 EQUITY Spring Helmet Giveaways CPA SRTS, Santa Clara County Department of Health Ongoing coordination •37 bike helmets were distributed at Spring Bike Rodeo for students that did not show up with helmets. Ongoing Materials Translation CPA SRTS Translation of SRTS Communication materials into Spanish •Two translations April – May 2022 Spring Bike Repair VeloFix, Bike Mobile PTA, CPA SRTS Free school-based bicycle repair clinics funded through the City of Palo Alto. Extra •20 bikes repaired at secondary schools 5     Packet Pg. 36     Item No. 3. Page 8 of 16 Source: Office of Transportation, March 2023 Program Evaluation As shown in Table 2, the 2021-22 education programs reached approximately 5,852 students or roughly the same number of students educated in a normal year. Table 2: 2021-2022 Safe Routes to School Core Education Program Reach PROGRAM NUMBER OF LESSONS/ ASSEMBLIES/ZOOM LESSONS NUMBER OF PAUSD STUDENTS TAUGHT K-1st Grade compulsory Zoom Pedestrian Safety for Distance Learning 20 1332 2nd Grade Pedestrian Safety Education 12 665 3rd Grade Bicycle Life Skills Curriculum 12 706 5th Grade compulsory Bike Safety Refresher 12 707 6-8 grade compulsory online "Back to School Bike Safety Education" Lessons N/A 2,420 Second Summer Exceptional Needs Adaptive Cycling Event * 1 22 Total for Core Education Programs 56 5,852 Source: Office of Transportation, March 2023 * Denotes in-person activity, all other classes were held online In addition to post-program surveys of teachers, administrators, and volunteers, the Partnership collects data to estimate levels of school commute alternative mode use. Tables 3 and 4 present yearly alternative mode share/shift calculated by using bike rack counts and classroom travel tallies each fall. Bike rack metrics are administered by PTA volunteers counting the number of parked bikes at their school. Graphs of the secondary school bike count data can be found in Attachment B. Table 3: 2021 Parked Bicycle Counts at PAUSD Schools School Type 2021 Parked Bikes % Biking % pt. + or – since 2016-17 Elementary 590 14% -2 Middle 1,216 53% +4 High 1,680 43% +3 Total 3486 34% +1 repair costs are funded by PTA. 5     Packet Pg. 37     Item No. 3. Page 9 of 16 Source: Office of Transportation, March 2023 Classroom travel tallies are administered by teachers through a show of student hands. In 2016- 17, new online data gathering methods for the classroom travel tally helped expand the program’s capacity to conduct travel tallies at the secondary level. The City has a goal of reaching a mean district response rate of 70%. The mean tally response rate was 49% in the first year of this effort; this year the mean district response rate was 67%. Table 4 shows the travel mode percentages aggregated by school type for the current school year. Table 4: 2021-2022 PAUSD Classroom Tally of Mode to School Walk Scooter Skate (%) Bike (%) Carpool (%) Transit (%) Drive (%) Resp. Rate (%) Alt. Transp. Mode (%) Alt. Mode Shift + or – since 2016-17 (%) Elem. 26 16 3 3 52 73 50 +2 Middle 14 53 3 2 27 66 80 -3 High 9 50 6 2 33 63 75 +2 Average 16 40 4 2 37 67 68 0 Source: Office of Transportation, March 2023 Data Interpretation Weather variations, data collection date, absenteeism, classroom tally participation rates, school-based special events, volunteer-based calculation errors, pandemic-impacted distance learning, and whether bicycles are left in the rack or removed during the school day affects the validity of these results. The change in Alternative Transportation Mode numbers appears mixed with an overall flat trend in walking and biking on average. However, driving appears to be increasing district wide. Looking at the historical trend, elementary school parents in 2021 were driving at the same rate as in 2016, erasing the progress made since the peak year of 2019. Most concerning, driving numbers in middle and high school were higher in 2021 than in 2016. The SRTS team suspects the following causes of increased driving to school: •The lack of city shuttle service and reduced PAUSD bussing •Driving habits developed during the pandemic •Campus access points limited due to security concerns •Disruption to the normal SRTS education schedule •Reduced PTA volunteer capacity, especially for secondary school programming 5     Packet Pg. 38     Item No. 3. Page 10 of 16 The SRTS team looks forward to working through the Partnership to address these causes to reduce driving. Potential focus areas to address these causes include the following: •Returning to in-person SRTS programming for elementary students •Supporting PTA volunteer recruitment •Reviewing campus access points and security protocols Adopted SRTS Objectives, 2018-2022 The 2019-20 Five-Year Work Plan as reviewed and accepted at the April 19, 2019, City School Transportation Safety Committee (CSTSC) continued serving as a roadmap for the program’s development, as the need for staff to triage pandemic impacts delayed the Team’s capacity to achieve Year 4 strategies for achieving the goals listed below. Detailed Year 1-4 Safe Routes to School Partnership yearly and ongoing strategies are shared in Attachment A. 1. Adopt and institutionalize key SRTS practices and policies across the Partnership and gather best practices from elsewhere 2. Provide, continue, and enhance school- and community-based SRTS education programs, materials, and communications 3. Expand and enhance SRTS events, encouragement programs, and materials to communicate the value of SRTS to parents, students, and the community 4. Gather data to assess and improve SRTS program outcomes 5. Engineer routes to school to develop more safe and efficient networks for families choosing active transportation 6. Increase awareness and engagement between City Departments and the community to advance awareness of the SRTS mission, goals, and strategies 7. Commit to an equitable distribution of SRTS resources to encourage broad SRTS community participation 2021-22 City/PAUSD/PTA Safe Routes to School Partnership 5 Year Plan Year 4 Strategies Year 4 Strategies Fully Completed S-1.2 Including Youth as the Fourth Partner of the PA SRTS Partnership S-2.1 Enhance High School youth outreach S-2.2 Enhance SRTS online educational materials and resource library S-3.2 Pilot one Winter Walk and Roll event S-3.3 Conduct two local family cycling events S-4.1 Complete Year 3 Strategy to distribute a PAUSD parent survey S-4.2 Develop a behavior change-focused SRTS infographic S-5.1 Complete two site assessments 5     Packet Pg. 39     Item No. 3. Page 11 of 16 S-6.2 Ensure that relevant transportation concept plans, updated Pedestrian Bicycle Plans and proposed community engagement strategies are reviewed by the CTSTSC S-7.2 Increase SRTS outreach to students with special needs and other disabilities by conducting a minimum of one SRTS presentation Year 4 Strategies Partly Completed S-1.1 Hold two PAUSD/City/PTA Partnership meetings to reinitiate PAUSD SRTS policy implementation and renew Partnership Consensus Statement S-3.1 Ensure updated, standardized SRTS language is included in all PAUSD websites and parent handbooks S-7.1 Complete Year 3 Strategy to Work with PAUSD Family Engagement Specialists to develop an Equity Action Plan Year 4 Strategies Not Completed (mainly due to pandemic-related social distancing barriers) S-6.1 Work with the Community Services Department to administer a bicycle facility Needs Assessment i.e. “Safe Routes to Parks” Summary Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Completed: 71% Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Fully or Partly Completed: 93% Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Not Completed: 7% Policy Implications This program is consistent with key transportation goals in the City’s Comprehensive Plan 2030, including creating a sustainable transportation system, reducing congestion, and providing a safe environment for all road users. Specific policies and programs include: •Policy T-1.16: Promote personal transportation vehicles as an alternative to cars (e.g. bicycles, skateboards, roller blades) to get to work, school, shopping, recreational facilities and transit stops. •Program T-1.16.4: Participate in local and regional encouragement events such as Palo Alto Walk and Rolls, Bike to Work Day, and Bike Palo Alto! that encourage a culture of bicycling and walking as alternative to single-occupant vehicle trips. •Policy T1.19: Provide facilities that encourage and support bicycling and walking. 5     Packet Pg. 40     Item No. 3. Page 12 of 16 •Program T1.19.2: Prioritize investment for enhanced pedestrian access and bicycle use within Palo Alto and to/from surrounding communities, including by incorporating improvements from related city plans, for example the 2012 Palo Alto Bicycle + Pedestrian Transportation Plan and the Parks, Trails & Open Space master Plan, as amended, into the Capital Improvements Program. •Policy T-2.7: Work with the PAUSD to resolve traffic congestion issues associated with student drop-off and pick-up. Address pedestrian and bicycle access, circulation and related issues such as coordinating bell schedules on City rights-of-way adjacent to schools and on PAUSD property. •Program T6.1.1: Follow the principles of the Safe Routes to Schools program to implement traffic safety measures that focus on safe routes to work, shopping, downtown, community services, parks, and schools including all designated school commute corridors. •Program T6.1.2: Develop, distribute, and aggressively promote maps and apps showing safe routes to work, shopping, community services, parks and schools within Palo Alto in collaboration with stakeholders, including PAUSD, major employers, TMA's, local businesses and community organizations. •Policy T-6.2: Pursue the goal of zero severe injuries and roadway fatalities on Palo Alto city streets. •Policy T-6.4: Continue the Safe Routes to School partnership with PAUSD and the Palo Alto Council of PTAs. •Policy T-6.5: Support PAUSD adoption of standard Safe Routes to School policies and regulations that address the five E's of education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation. •Program T6.6.2: Continue to provide educational programs for children and adults, in partnership with community-based educational organizations, to promote safe walking and the safe use of bicycles, including the City-sponsored bicycle education programs in the public schools and the bicycle traffic school program for juveniles. 5     Packet Pg. 41     Item No. 3. Page 13 of 16 •Program T6.6.3: Work with PAUSD and employers to promote roadway safety for all users, including motorized alternatives to cars and bikes such as mopeds and e-bikes, through educational programs for children and adults. Timeline The Safe Routes to School Partnership supports an ongoing, year-round program which includes both engineering and programmatic elements. A timeline of recently completed and upcoming infrastructure projects that reduce risk to students is included in Table 5. Table 5: SRTS Infrastructure Project Timelines PROJECT SCHOOL ROUTES TO BE IMPROVED COMPLETION DATE OR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION START Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway, Phase 0 Palo Alto HS Completed April 2016 Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue High- visibility Crosswalks Walter Hays Completed April 2016 Georgia Ave High-visibility Crosswalk and Curb Extension Fletcher MS Gunn HS Completed Summer 2016 Los Robles Avenue Bikeway Enhancements Briones Fletcher MS Gunn HS Completed Summer 2016 Park Boulevard Bicycle Boulevard Early Implementation (Stanford Avenue to Cambridge Avenue) Greene MS Palo Alto HS Completed Summer 2016 Middlefield Road and North California Avenue Complete Street Project Greene MS Palo Alto HS Completed Fall 2016 Garland Drive Sharrows Greene MS Completed Winter 2017 Overcrossing/Undercrossing Improvements Greene MS Palo Alto HS Completed August 2017 Arastradero Road at Donald Drive Spot Safety Improvements Fletcher MS Completed September 2017 Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue Traffic Circle Trial Walter Hays Completed September 2017 Colorado Avenue at Sandra Place Spot Safety Improvements Ohlone Completed July 2018 Channing Avenue and St Francis Drive Enhanced Bikeway Duveneck Completed Summer 2018 5     Packet Pg. 42     Item No. 3. Page 14 of 16 PROJECT SCHOOL ROUTES TO BE IMPROVED COMPLETION DATE OR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION START Ross Road Bicycle Boulevard El Carmelo Ohlone Palo Verde Greene MS Gunn HS Palo Alto HS Completed November 2019; Adjustments November 2020 & late 2021 Amarillo Avenue-Moreno Avenue Bicycle Boulevard El Carmelo Ohlone Palo Verde Completed November 2019; Adjustments November 2020 Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project Phase 1 and 2 Barron Park Briones Hoover Fairmeadow JLS MS Fletcher MS Gunn HS Completed November 2020 Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project Phase 3 Barron Park Briones Hoover Fairmeadow JLS MS Fletcher MS Gunn HS Completion estimated for Spring 2023 Churchill Avenue Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Improvement Project Palo Alto HS Construction starts Summer 2023 Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway, Phase 1 Palo Alto HS Construction starts Winter 2024 Embarcadero Road Bicycle Lanes Palo Alto HS Construction starts Fall 2023 Crescent Park Traffic Calming Duveneck ES Greene MS Palo Alto HS Currently evaluating pilot installations California Avenue Car-Free Street Greene MS Palo Alto HS Currently developing design scope East Meadow Drive and Fabian Way Enhanced Bikeway (as part of South Palo Alto Bikeways Project) Fairmeadow Hoover Palo Verde JLS MS Gunn HS On hold pending construction grant funding Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Extension (East Meadow Drive to San Antonio Road) Fairmeadow Hoover JLS MS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update 5     Packet Pg. 43     Item No. 3. Page 15 of 16 PROJECT SCHOOL ROUTES TO BE IMPROVED COMPLETION DATE OR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION START Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Upgrade (Menlo Park City Limits to East Meadow Road) Addison El Carmelo JLS MS Greene MS Palo Alto HS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update Louis Road-Montrose Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Fairmeadow JLS MS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update Maybell Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Briones Fletcher MS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update Park Boulevard-Wilkie Way Bicycle Boulevard Barron Park Briones Fletcher MS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update Stanford Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Barron Park Briones Fletcher MS Gunn HS On hold pending Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update Source: Office of Transportation, March 2023 FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT The 2021-22 Safe Routes to School (PL-00026) capital budget was $104,000. This capital improvement project (CIP) allows for strategic investments in school route safety infrastructure, such as crosswalks, pedestrian flashing beacons, improved signage, and street markings. Staff consisted of two (2) full-time coordinators for a total of two (2) FTEs (full time equivalent). Safe Routes to School infrastructure projects are financed through a variety of means, including the Safe Routes to School (PL-00026), Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Implementation (PL-04010), and Street Maintenance (PE-86070) CIPs as well as through several grant programs. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The Safe Routes to School Partnership is a collaborative program. According to the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2), collaborative programs allow for "partnership with members of the public to identify problems and develop solutions." SRTS partners include OOT and Police Department staff, PTA Transportation Safety Representatives at each PAUSD school, student representatives, PTAC representatives, school principals, and PAUSD staff in Sustainability, Facilities, and Administration. The program is supported by monthly City/School Transportation Safety Committee meetings, a Five-Year Plan that is developed and adopted by SRTS stakeholders to further the mission of the Partnership, and yearly reports to the City/School Liaison Committee and City Council. Safe 5     Packet Pg. 44     Item No. 3. Page 16 of 16 Routes staff work directly with PTA and PAUSD leaders as well as with other stakeholders in the community to further the Partnership's goals. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This agenda item is a study session only and is not a “project” requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: SRTS Five-Year Plan Attachment B: Secondary School Bike Count Data APPROVED BY: Philip Kamhi, Transportation Director Report #: {{item.custom_tracking_number}} 5     Packet Pg. 45     O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7 Adopt and institutionalize key SRTS practices and policies across the Partnership and gather best practices from elsewhere Provide, continue and enhance school and community- based SRTS education programs, materials and communications Expand and enhance SRTS events and encouragement programs and materials to communicate the value of SRTS to parents, students and the community Gather data to assess and improve SRTS program outcomes Engineer routes to school to develop a more safe and efficient network for families choosing active transportation Increase awareness & engagement between City Departments and the community to advance awareness of the SRTS mission, goals & strategies Commit to an equitable distribution of SRTS resources to encourage broad SRTS community participation S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 Work toward PAUSD SRTS policy adoption Build out two Stanford service learning education, evaluation & enforcement projects Expand Youth for Environmental Sustainability Conf. Participation Develop SRTS Public Service Announcements Increase Spanish and Mandarin materials Develop SRTS educational posters Participate in countywide SRTS data pilot Integrate Statewide Traffic System (SWITRS) data into SRTS Pilot online travel tally Complete two site assessments and update Walk and Roll Maps Update City Comprehensive Plan policies This goal was not developed S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 Develop a PAUSD SRTS policy to sustain ongoing commitment from PAUSD Explore optional and compulsory SRTS high school education programs Develop a communications plan outline Develop a public list of carpooling resources Develop a PAUSD parent survey to evaluate participant demographics and identify challenges to more active transportation Complete two site assessments with updated Walk and Roll Maps for Palo Verde and Gunn H.S. Create an enforcement strategy to reflect changing staffing levels by shifting traffic enforcement role to patrol officers Conduct a bike repair class with student input Promote safer routes for East Palo Alto PAUSD student bicyclists S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 Develop school report cards summarizing travel mode split, SR2S activities undertaken, and the level of green travel status Implement optional and compulsory SRTS high education programs Develop fact-based and consistent Safe Routes to School messages that can be used on social media Administer a PAUSD parent survey to evaluate participant demographics and identify challenges to more active transportation Complete two site assessments with updated Walk and Roll Maps for Palo Verde and Gunn H.S. Work with PAPD/City to promote the Bike Index Registry as a means of preventing bike theft and create a workflow at PAPD to include Bike Index checks on all recovered bikes Work with PAUSD Family Engagement Specialists to develop an Equity Action Plan to support underrepresented and under-resourced communities S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 Hold two PAUSD/City/PTA Partnership meetings to re- initiate PAUSD SRTS policy implementation and renew Partnership Consensus Statement Include Youth as the Fourth Partner of the PA SRTS Partnership Enhance High School youth outreach Enhance SRTS online educational materials and resource library Ensure updated, standardized SRTS language is included in all PAUSD websites and parent handbooks Pilot one Winter Walk and Roll event Conduct two local family cycling events Complete Year 3 Strategy to distribute a PAUSD parent survey Develop a behavior change-focused SRTS infographic Complete two site assessments Work with the Community Services Department to administer a bicycle facility needs assessment ie. “Safe Routes to Parks” Ensure that relevent transportation concept plans, updated Pedestrian Bicycle Plans and proposed community engagement strategies are reviewed by the CTSTSC Complete Year 3 Strategy to Work with PAUSD Family Engagement Specialists to develop an Equity Action Plan Increase SRTS outreach to students with special needs and other disabilities by conducting a minimum of one SRTS presentation Safe Routes to School 5 Year Work Plan for Years 1-4 *Contingent on safe routes to school funding/capacity and subject to change as demand dictates. Mission Goal To grow and strengthen community-wide support through the SRTS 6 E's (Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Engagement, Evaluation, and Equity) model for safe, active, healthy, sustainable, school commutes. Long-Term Objectives* (O) Year Four Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities Year Three Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities Year Two Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities Year One Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities To enhance and sustain the City/PAUSD/PTA/Youth community partnership to reduce risk to students en route to and from school, and to encourage more families to choose healthy, active, sustainable alternatives to driving solo more often. Last Edited December 2020 5     Packet Pg. 46     Objective 1: Adopt and institutionalize key SRTS practices and policies across the Partnership and gather best practices from elsewhere S-1. Support Safe Routes to School Transportation Safety Representatives at each school site S-2. PTA inspires action and educates potential leaders about public process, governance and SRTS Advocacy S-3. Support increased uniform patrol presence to encourage and enforce compliance with existing laws S-4. Maintain the City School Traffic Safety Committee (CSTSC) as a forum to further the SRTS Partnership's mission, goals & strategies S-5. Improve communication of SRTS Consensus Statement and other policies, including PAUSD Building for Excellence Requirements, Palo Objective 2: Provide, expand and enhance school and community-based SRTS education programs and materials S-1. Cultivate a community of parents and others to build a network of skilled leaders for education and advocacy S-2. Support active transportation events during the year by setting up information tables, assisting families with route planning and responding to infrastructure concerns S-3. Maintain K-2 in-class educational offerings and optimize the program to match students capabilities, support educational best practices and incorporate infrastructure updates S-4. Maintain 3rd grade Bicycle Life Skills in-class Curriculum and optimize program to match student capabilities, support best practices and incorportate infrastructure updates S-5. Maintain 5th grade in-class educational offerings and optimize the program to match studnets capabilities, support best practices and incorporate infrastructure updates S-6. Maintain 6th grade in-class educational offerings and optimize programs to match student capabilities, support best practices and Objective 3: Expand & enhance encourgagement programs to communicate the value of SRTS to parents & the community S-1. Support Spring and Fall Walk & Roll Week S-3. Support Bike to Work Day S-4. Support City participation in Bike Palo Alto as communicated by the City Manager's Office S-5. Communicate program activities and successes to the broader community S-6. Use Walk and Roll Maps and "Safety Tips for Peds/Bikes/Drivers" as part of messaging S-7. Employ purposeful incentives to support SRTS partcipation S-8. Communicate the value of bicycling, walking, transit and sharing rides S-9. Enhance website functionality and user experience S-10. Support parent education, including Back to School Nights, spring information nights for rising 5th, 6th, and 7th graders and providing SRTS information in Back to School packets S-11. Develop a communication plan outline for crisis communications Objective 4: Gather data to assess and improve SRTS program outcomes S-1. Incorporate traffic and engineering data into mode split and modal share assessments S-2. Explain the purpose of data collection to PAUSD administrators and share the data S-3. Conduct yearly online travel tallies for PAUSD grades K-12 S-4. Conduct yearly bike counts S-5. Manage local and administrative data requests Objective 5: Engineer routes to school to develop a more safe and efficient network for families choosing active transportation S-1. Assist with bicycle infrastructure design review to inform the planning process S-2. Design and provide materials and education about new infrastructure improvements S-3. Advovate as a Partnership for the rapid implementation of bike network, bike boulevards, bike racks, arterial projects and bicycle plans S-4. Respond to Safe Routes to School -related Palo Alto 311 request S-5. Conduct community site visits S-6. Provide crossing guard management, including assessing needs, developing contracts and replying to public feedback S-7. Develop material to support new engineering/infrastructure treatments Objective 6: Deepen awareness & engagement across City Department & among community reps to advance & institutionalize SRTS S-1. Support the build-out of the City of Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan S-2. Provide students and families with transit system information and offer guidance of proposed transit changes S-3. Model walking, biking, carpool, and transit through daily transportation decisions S-4. Assist with plans to develop a more efficient roadway network for families choosing active transportation S-5. Collaborate with local agencies, including public works, utilities, law enforcement and district officials to support motorist, pedestrians, and bicyclists Objective 7: Commit an equitable distribution of SRTS resources to encourage broad SRTS community participation S-1. Develop Spanish and Chinese language materials S-2. Promote a "no-guilt approach" to encourage participation via all transportation modes S-3. Support free service, such as bike repair, helmet and bike light distribution and compulsory education to ensure that under-resourcesd students can access important safety resources in a way that does not stigmatize them S-4. Ensure ongoing awarness regarding the geopgrahic distribution of SRTS staff time and resources among Palo Alto regions and across Safe Routes to School 5-Year Work Plan Ongoing StrategiesLast Edited December 2020 5     Packet Pg. 47     1985 1991 1993 1997 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 Greene 74%61%41%25%26%29%37%41%41%40%49%53%55%56%61%72%60%57%55%50%56%56%67%61% JLS 46%33%33%27%16%23%20%25%34%32%37%38%48%45%49%51%53%53%52%54%51%51%70%53% Fletcher 26%24%29%25%32%28%31%36%37%37%38%37%39%37%38%43%40% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% PAUSD MIDDLE SCHOOL BIKE COUNTS (PERCENTAGES) 1985-2021 5     Packet Pg. 48     1985 1991 1993 1997 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 Greene 581 420 370 273 275 290 333 358 364 361 443 495 527 546 624 736 610 633 627 581 629 594 637 500 JLS 298 290 320 290 191 241 185 200 271 280 319 351 463 456 490 512 533 584 581 651 617 576 760 516 Fletcher 150 151 190 167 210 184 199 236 253 263 275 279 276 254 252 277 200 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 PAUSD MIDDLE SCHOOL BIKE COUNTS (NUMBERS) 1985-2021 5     Packet Pg. 49     1985 1993 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 Gunn 20%11%14%10%14%15%18%24%25%31%33%36%36%41%45%43%44%44%42%46%50%45% Paly 33%25%15%11%11%12%14%17%16%22%26%30%32%40%42%39%42%43%43%44%38%46%52%42% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% PAUSD HIGH SCHOOL BIKE COUNTS (PERCENTAGES) 1985-2021 5     Packet Pg. 50     1985 1993 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 Gunn 284 180 230 166 240 252 308 447 478 600 633 671 679 750 836 811 830 838 830 912 982 839 Paly 553 300 220 160 160 200 234 289 273 377 433 520 582 741 787 758 805 837 845 869 786 955 1120 841 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 PAUSD HIGH SCHOOL BIKE COUNTS (NUMBERS) 1985 -2021 5     Packet Pg. 51     Safe Routes to School Annual Report Parks and Recreation Commission June 27, 2023 www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes 5     Packet Pg. 52     1 •Response to parent needs and PAUSD restrictions •Education program adjustments, including rescheduled Bike Rodeos •New community outreach tool •Outcomes and data trends Purpose: Share Highlights 5     Packet Pg. 53     Mission To enhance and sustain the City/PAUSD/PTA community partnership to reduce risk to students en route to and from school, and to encourage more families to choose healthy, active, sustainable alternatives to driving solo more often. Goal To grow and strengthen community-wide support through the SRTS E’s model for safe, active, healthy, sustainable school commutes Safe Routes To School Mission & Program Goal www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutesJune 27, 2023 5     Packet Pg. 54     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 •PAUSD: Limited campus access points to reduce cohort mixing •Parents: Universal PTA volunteer recruitment challenges; Reduced transit and carpooling →increased driving •SRTS: 6th grade education only in Fall of 2021; Walk/bike audits to support campus re-opening www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes Pandemic Impacts on Education Programming 5     Packet Pg. 55     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 •Moved rodeos to spring semester to overcome volunteer recruitment challenges •Debuted new rodeo scheduling software •Increase community outreach via e-Bike •… while delivering the usual complement of spring education programming www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes Spring Highlights 5     Packet Pg. 56     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 •Launched Mobile Information Kiosk E-Bike = M.I.K.E. in August 2021 •Provided outdoor, covid-safe education and encouragement materials •Modeled sustainable transportation for the community •Explored several venues –best ones were MPCC and mobile bike repair events at schools •Garnered high customer satisfaction and (inadvertently) recruited a parent volunteer www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes Enhanced Outreach Program 5     Packet Pg. 57     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 •Hosted an adaptive cycling event for secondary students •Partnered with Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) •Supported by a Measure B- funded consultant •Distributed approx. 75 bicycle helmets www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes Equity 5     Packet Pg. 58     June 27, 2023 •Staff fully completed or partly completed 86% of year 4 strategies •The completed strategies were to: •Conduct two site assessments •Bring transportation concept plans and strategies to CSTSC Gunn High Site Assessment www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes Five Year Plan Update for 2021-2022 5     Packet Pg. 59     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 2021-2022 Travel Tally Data www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes 5     Packet Pg. 60     45%Gunn 42%Paly High School Bike Counts 5     Packet Pg. 61     61%Green 53%JLS 40%Fletcher Middle School Bike Counts 5     Packet Pg. 62     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font Looking Ahead on the Numbers (2022 –2023) June 27, 2023 www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutes 5     Packet Pg. 63     TITLE 40 FONT BOLD Subtitle 32 font June 27, 2023 www.cityofpaloalto/saferoutes •Zero Waste Bike Rodeo •Upgraded Bike Rodeo Course Maps •Supported PTA parent volunteer recruitment Next Steps 5     Packet Pg. 64     •Council Discussion & Feedback •Contact Information: •Jose Palma •Safe Routes to School Coordinator •saferoutes@cityofpaloalto.org Conclusion www.cityofpaloalto.org/saferoutesJune 27, 2023 5     Packet Pg. 65     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE UPDATE JUNE 27, 2023 www.cityofpaloalto.org1 6     Packet Pg. 66     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE 2022 VISITATION •Approximately 202,056 visitors o This is a decrease of 24% from the 264,630 people who visited in 2021. o Average visitation to Foothills during the five years prior to opening to the general public (2015-2019) was 143,725 visitors yearly. o Foothills Nature Preserve opened to the general public on December 17, 2020. o On February 27, 2021, staff began charging a vehicle entrance fee on weekends and holidays. o On January 23, 2023, staff began charging vehicle entry fees on weekdays via an automated payment machine. 2 6     Packet Pg. 67     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE 2022 VISITATION 3 6     Packet Pg. 68     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE 2022 VISITATION 4 6     Packet Pg. 69     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE 2022 VEHICLES •Approximately 107,473 vehicles entered the preserve. o This is a decrease of 30% from the 154,753 vehicles in 2021. •There were no preserve closures due to reaching capacity limits in 2022. •The last preserve closure due to capacity was in April 2021. 5 6     Packet Pg. 70     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE 2022 VEHICLES 6 6     Packet Pg. 71     ENTRY PASSES 2021 and 2022 •2021 Calendar Year: o 4th Grade: 1 pass o Annual Pass: 571 passes o Income Eligible Free Pass: 7 passes o Military Pass: 11 passes o Senior Pass: 175 passes o Library Passes: 180 o Total: 945 passes •2022 Calendar Year: o 4th Grade: 2 passes o Annual Pass: 817 passes o Income Eligible Free Pass: 14 passes o Military Pass: 49 passes o Senior Pass: 385 passes o Library Pass: 254 passes o Total: 1,521 passes 7 6     Packet Pg. 72     ENTRY PASSES 2022 8 6     Packet Pg. 73     FOOTHILLS NATURE PRESERVE VISITATION •Similar to prior years, the monthly visitation in May through August remain the most popular months. However, January and May 2022 had approximately the same visitation. Prior to 2020, January typically had lower visitation. •Nearly 50% of all visits to the preserve takes place on the weekends. 22.7% on Saturdays, 23.1% on Sundays. 12.1% of visitation is Friday, and Monday through Thursday is less than 10% per day. •In 2022, there were over 1,000 visitors to the preserve on 50 of the 113 weekend or holiday days. In 2021, there were 90 of the 113 weekend or holiday days with over 1,000 visitors. 9 6     Packet Pg. 74     2022 DOG TURN-AWAYS •There were 366 dog turn-aways in 2022 o A 58% decrease from the 866 dog turn-aways in 2021 10 6     Packet Pg. 75     2022 DOG TURN-AWAYS 11 6     Packet Pg. 76     2022 CALLS FOR RANGER SERVICE •Foothills Rangers responded to 36 calls for service in 2022 . •This is an increase of 20% from 30 calls for service in 2021. •These calls for service include things like traffic accidents on Page Mill Rd; missing hikers in the preserve; medical emergencies; dogs off leash, etc. 12 6     Packet Pg. 77     •Buckeye Creek Grade Control Structures o Fiscal Year 2027: Design/permitting for grade control structures. o Fiscal Year 2028: Construction of grade control structures. •Pedestrian Bridge Los Trancos Valley o Fiscal Year 2027: Design/permitting for the footbridge. o Fiscal Year 2028: Construction to replace the footbridge. •Sunfish Island Bridge o Fiscal Year 2023: Repairs to the bridge will occur in the fall of 2023. •Boronda Lake Dock Replacement o Fiscal Year 2024: Construction of dock. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 13 6     Packet Pg. 78     •Restrooms o Fiscal Year 2026: Design of three restrooms. o Fiscal Year 2027: Construction of Orchard Glen restroom. o Fiscal Year 2028: Construction of Oak Grove restroom. o Fiscal Year 2029: Construction of preserve entrance restroom (rehabilitated or replaced based on assessment). •Pedestrian trail, split rail fencing, parking, crosswalks, speed humps o Fiscal Year 2023: Design and Parks and Recreation Commission review. o Fiscal Year 2024: Construction. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 14 6     Packet Pg. 79     •May 29, 2018, Council staff report on the Buckeye Creek Hydrology Study- https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/65118 . •Buckeye Creek, which originates in Foothills Park, has long standing erosion and flooding problems. •During heavy storms high flows result in down-cutting of the creek and erosion. The eroded sediments wash downstream and deposit in various locations along the creek, which is especially evident along the 7.7 acre parcel located in the northern boundary of Foothills Nature Preserve. •The deposited sediment can lead to flooding and can obstruct downstream culverts on private properties during heavy rain events. •There are 12 grade control structures in Buckeye Creek: 8 in Wildhorse Valley; 2 in Las Trampas Valley; and 2 in 7.7 acres. BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 15 6     Packet Pg. 80     •The study offered a preferred alternative approach which would restore and modify portions of Buckeye Creek by widening the creek channel to create seasonal wetland floodplains in the lower reach (Las Trampas Valley and the 7.7 acres parcel) and creating a new creek channel in the upper reach (Wildhorse Valley); as well as retrofitting the existing grade control structures and replacing the pedestrian bridge in the lower reach, which are near the end of their useful lifespans. •The preferred alternative represents a comprehensive solution to the creek’s erosion problem. The cost of the preferred alternative is approximately $9.5 million (including design, environmental review, permitting, and construction). BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 16 6     Packet Pg. 81     •The Hydrology Study report discusses options for implementing the different elements of the preferred alternative. •On January 23, 2018, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend that Council direct staff to pursue outside funding to implement the portion of proposed work that includes creating a new creek channel in the upper reach (Wildhorse Valley) and retrofitting the existing grade control structures throughout the creek (approximate cost: $3.7 million). •Two key factors leading to this recommendation are the City’s significant capital budget gap, and the fact that creating a new creek channel in the upper reach of the creek (Wildhorse Valley) would resolve approximately 50% of the creek’s erosion and sedimentation issue. BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 17 6     Packet Pg. 82     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 18 6     Packet Pg. 83     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 19 6     Packet Pg. 84     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 20 6     Packet Pg. 85     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 21 6     Packet Pg. 86     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 22 6     Packet Pg. 87     BUCKEYE CREEK HYDROLOGY STUDY (2017) 23 6     Packet Pg. 88     •Storm deposited sediment washes down the creek and accumulates in the 7.7 acre area. •Staff is working with the Regional Water Quality Control Board to get a permit to conduct the clean outs. •Mitigation will be required and staff is working with a consultant and Grassroots ecology to develop the mitigation plan. •The mitigation plan will include removing invasive eucalyptus tree saplings and French broom along the creek and planting native plants along the edge of the creek. BUCKEYE CREEK SEDIMENT CLEANOUT IN THE 7.7 ACRE AREA 24 6     Packet Pg. 89     BUCKEYE CREEK SEDIMENT CLEANOUT IN THE 7.7 ACRE AREA 25 6     Packet Pg. 90     •No BBQ’s during local red flag days. •Stove permits only at Towle Camp, no campfires/charcoal BBQ’s. •Temporarily close the BBQ’s adjacent to the untreated vegetation in Orchard Glen (approx. 3 BBQ’s). •Water extinguishers added to Orchard Glen and Oak Grove picnic areas. •Signs directing to leave hot coals in the BBQ and not disposing in trash. •PAFD re-evaluates the recommendations annually. •Current Fire Safety Activity o Public Works is conducting evacuation route roadside mowing (Los Trancos Rd., Arastradero Rd. and Page Mill Rd.). o Eucalyptus Tree Removal Grant o Staff have applied twice unsuccessfully. A 3rd grant application is underway. PAFD FIRE SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS (JUNE 2022) 26 6     Packet Pg. 91     GRASSROOTS ECOLOGY (GRE) STEWARDSHIP HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023 •Installed 330 plants in an expansion of the lawn replacement project. •Winter storms have led to a successful year for plants and willow stakes. •Conducted 3 surveys for western leatherwoods. •Healthy populations were found on steep hillsides of Wildhorse Valley. •Regular cohorts of youth stewards assisted in restoration efforts planting, sheet mulching, weeding, and removing invasive plants. •Managed populations of yellow starthistle, poison hemlock, stinkwort, teasel, medusahead, French broom, and other invasive plant species. •What’s new? o Successful seeding of lupines, yarrow, and poppies in 7.7 acres. o Buckeye Creek has been flowing since January! 27 6     Packet Pg. 92     GRE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS •Hosted two Watershed Stewards Program AmeriCorps Members for 10-month term. •16 volunteer events and 18 youth steward sessions contributed over 1,100 volunteer hours with 352 volunteers. •Hosting a cohort of California Naturalist Interns. •Held two LGBTQ+ restoration/education events. An event to honor Transgender day of visibility, led by WSP Corps Member Dmi Rodriguez and a “Pride in Biodiversity” walk. •Implemented new feedback survey for volunteers. ○[What is Grassroots Ecology good at?] “Creating a safe and welcoming space for all volunteers. Explaining how the work we're doing is having a meaningful impact on the environment.” ○98% felt their work at Grassroots Ecology volunteer events had a positive impact on local ecosystems. ○48 % were repeat volunteers. 28 6     Packet Pg. 93     ENVIRONMENTAL VOLUNTEERS •Trail Ambassador program (started in 2021—shortly after the preserve opened to the general public) o One staff member hosts a table at Boronda Lake on Saturdays educating visitors on the preserve, habitat, and wildlife. o The EVs may expand the nature table to Sundays if staffing allows. o Volunteer trail ambassadors hike the trails reminding visitors about preserve rules intended to protect the habitat and wildlife (e.g., no bikes on trails, staying on trails, etc.). o They interact with 30 to 50 people each day. o A teen docent program will also be active this summer. 29 6     Packet Pg. 94     FRIENDS OF FOOTHILLS •Invasive weed removal programs on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. •Cleared or reduced invasive weeds from numerous locations in the preserve. •Removed poison oak from trails. •Built and installed over 20 redwood log seats on hiking trails throughout the Preserve. •Restored the 3D model of the preserve in Interpretive Center. •Performed some repairs to the sunfish island bridge. •Rebuilt benches at the garden outside of the Interpretive Center. •Volunteers are welcome to participate. •Visit fofweb.org for more information. 30 6     Packet Pg. 95     Questions 31 6     Packet Pg. 96