Dear Friends,

For years I have talked about the perils of prosperity – too much traffic and not enough housing. I want to let you know about 3 transportation improvements and some opportunities to weigh in on them:

  • The Charleston Ave. Transit Corridor
  • Improvements to El Camino Real
  • Closing off traffic to 3 blocks of Castro St in downtown Mountain View.

Here’s the video of the ribbon cutting for the Charleston Transit Corridor adjacent to the GooglePlex and the new Google Headquarters on the corner of Shoreline and Charleston. In addition to illustrating the Transit Corridor improvements, it also shows an animation of the development of the entire community that is envisioned in North Bayshore.

We are all suffering from the sad state of the pavement on El Camino Real. Because El Camino is a state route, Caltrans is responsible for its repair. The good news is that a major repaving project is scheduled for the summer of 2023, that will be more than just repaving. Things like improving the bike infrastructure will be a big part as well.   The project spans the stretch of El Camino from Cesano Court in Palo Alto to Castro Street. You can learn more and weigh in on the plans for this project at a meeting this Wednesday (yes, that’s tomorrow) August 4th at 6pm.  Register here.

One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been out-door dining. Last year’s closure of 3 blocks of Castro Street to traffic has served as a pilot project for our pedestrian mall. The Castro StrEATs Program has helped our restaurants to survive and it’s been very popular with the community. Now it’s time to figure out how to make it permanent. City staff are hosting a series of events to get feedback on what needs to be done. The first one will be an Open House for businesses on Thursday, August 12th from 1 to 2:30 at Don Giovanni’s (235 Castro St). More events are expected in September, but you can provide comments at any time to Tiffany.Chew@mountainview.gov.
I’m enjoying the break from City Council meetings, but looking forward to all the important work ahead. Here is the Tentative Agenda Listing for the next few meetings.

As always, I love to hear from people, so please call (leave a message at 650 230-1170 and I’ll call you back) or email me at pat.showalter@mountainview.gov.

In gratitude,

Pat Showalter
Councilmember
City of Mountain View