The town’s goal to become more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly is on track as the Los Gatos Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission last week endorsed a proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan now under way.

The plan includes observations from volunteers when they hit the streets Sept. 14 and 17 to count the number of people biking and walking at nine key intersections. At that time, they recorded 2,451 bikers and 6,701 pedestrians.

Planners gave commissioners an overview of the 110-page plan Feb. 2. “It’s not a fixed document. We can modify it if we missed something,” project manager Bob Kass said.

The plan will be costly to implement and could take as much as 20 years to build out. But once approved, the town will be positioned to receive grants and Measure B funds to help pay for specific projects, Kass said.

More than 950 community survey responses factored into the plan’s development.

“One of the findings in terms of bicycles is there are big gaps in the network,” consultant Mike Nilsson said. “In terms of trails, we noticed a lack of access to Los Gatos Creek Trail.”

“Based on the findings, we found counts for bicyclists were highest on the trail, Los Gatos Boulevard and around the schools,” he said.

Students accounted for half of the bicyclists and pedestrians counted, Nilsson said.

The plan seeks to integrate town-wide and Safe Routes to School goals. Safe Routes developed an extensive list of road and sidewalk improvements it endorses to improve student safety. For example, one priority project would enhance the existing bike lanes on Los Gatos Boulevard from Highway 9 to Pleasant and Jackson streets.

Proponents expect it to improve safety for students biking to Los Gatos High School.

A high school bike lane project is already in the works: Town engineer Lisa Petersen said tentative plans call for adding bike lanes on Main Street in front of the high school during spring break.

Saratoga’s Marshall Lane Elementary School also came up during the commission’s review. “I would like to see Marshall Lane somehow counted and the intersections around there included,” Rinconada resident Nick Radov said.

Former Commissioner Maria Ristow weighed in saying a lot of people won’t bike in Los Gatos because they think it’s too dangerous.

Ristow also called for bicycle racks to be put in “highly visible locations” around town and to be a condition of approval for new commercial developments. “How can we tell people to ride their bikes if there are no bike racks?” Ristow asked.

Commission Chairman Jeff Loughridge thinks Winchester Boulevard needs a “road diet” to slow down traffic and improve safety–relieving cut-through traffic could be a side benefit.

Commissioners also asked planners to add cost figures for Class IV bike lanes to the plan. Class IV lanes put some kind of paint or physical barrier between vehicles and pedestrians.

The town’s transportation and parking, and planning commissions will have an opportunity to weigh in on the plan before it goes to the town council for final approval, which could happen as early as March 7.

Visit losgatosca.gov/documentcenter/view/18818 to view the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.