2022 Election: Questionnaire for MV City Council Candidates

Ellen’s Response

1. Where do you walk and bike in Mountain View? In what areas do you enjoy biking and walking the most? What areas have you found require the most focused improvements to the pedestrian and cyclist experience?

I walk and bike in my neighborhood of Whisman Station and to Steven’s Creek Trail. I enjoy biking and walking throughout Mountain View but especially in my local neighborhood of East Whisman and Downtown. The most improvements need to be made along our routes to our local schools and along our major thoroughfares of El Camino Real, Shoreline, Miramonte, San Antonio, etc.

2. What changes would you implement to encourage more children to get around Mountain View by biking and walking and to reduce the risk of future injuries and fatalities?

I support the City of Mountain View’s Vision Zero Policy. Three streets are: Latham, Villa, and Evelyn Streets. The City has bike/ped improvements slated as part of our capital improvement plan. I support reducing speeds, adding bike lanes, and finding
opportunities to secure funding for the infrastructure plans.

3. What goals would you set for increasing active transport commutes in Mountain View in the next few years?

I believe some important actions that can be taken to make public transit safe and accessible for all communities is to look at the tenants of a transit first policy like what has been done in the City of San Jose. The City of Mountain View is currently working on a redesign of our Transit Center Master Plan, which is a great opportunity to promote multi-modal options for the community at large. We can also leverage this stuff to improve our right-of-way and traffic operation design.

4. What infrastructure changes would you propose in Mountain View to make biking, walking and taking public transit safe and comfortable for all street users?

I support the reallocation of our city streets to new modes. Historically, much of our existing infrastructure is car focused and we need to mode shift away from this to address climate change. While on the Environmental Planning Commission and CityCouncil, I have worked to consider opportunities to create a walkable, likable, and transit-oriented community. One successful example is the removal of parking on the El Camino Real in the City of Mountain View and a reallocation to bike lanes.

5. Castro Street remains the heart of our community, a place for dining, shopping, and events. What do you think must be done to make Castro Street an even more welcoming place for people to gather and enjoy?

Continued collaboration and partnership with the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Mountain View Business Association, and the City of Mountain View Downtown Committee are all ways I would like to improve Castro Street. Last year as Mayor, I visited as many downtown businesses as I could to ask how the City could support them. We have started to implement many of their suggestions like removing the bollards and creating more aesthetically pleasing infrastructure.

6. Advocating for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements can be controversial because it often requires making difficult decisions about car-centered amenities such as traffic lanes or parking. Tell us about a time when you took a tough stand to advocate for active transportation (or if you haven’t held office, tell us about a stand you plan to take).

I have supported transit-oriented development by reducing parking, unbundling parking, supporting TDM programs and our local TDMA, and the exploration of congestion pricing. I also supported the closure of our Downtown corridor, removing over 60 parking spaces, and the exploration of new transit nodes, in particular the Middlefield VTA stop.