Highway 17 Bicycle & Pedestrian Overcrossing

Project Update 02-08-23

The first phase of the Highway 17 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Project has now been completed. In December of 2022, Caltrans approved the initiation document, allowing the Town to begin the Project’s Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Review (Phase 2). Documentation regarding the project's categorical and statutory exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are now on file with the Santa Clara County Clerk Recorders Office and the State Clearinghouse, and the project team will begin the environmental studies required for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and approval. Additional engineering to further define the bridge alignment using the concrete box girder bridge type will continue during this preliminary engineering phase. The project team anticipates a community meeting will be scheduled later this summer/fall to share updates on the project development, including refined layouts of the concrete bridge structure and approaches.

Project Update 12-20-22

On November 15, 2022 the Town Council approved the Concrete Box Girder as the bridge type to move forward into the final design process for the Highway 17 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing. The updated project scheduled is now as follows:

As this project moves forward, and in order to avoid confusion with established acronyms, the acronym BPOC will no longer be used in reference to the Highway 17 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Project. The address for this project page will now be www.losgatosca.gov/Hwy17BikePedOC.

Project Update 11-14-22

The project team has completed the evaluation of the three bridge type options for the proposed bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing structure and will be providing a recommended bridge type to the Town Council at their November 15, 2022 Town Council Meeting. The final bridge type selected by the Town Council will be moved forward into the future design phases of the project. Community engagement will continue to be solicited and encouraged throughout the future design phases.

You can download the Council Report by clicking this link:

Town Council Report

The team fielded many questions from the community during the engagement process and has prepared responses to those most frequently asked questions. Click the FAQ link below to view a list of frequently asked questions from the community engagement process.

Additional FAQs - Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing

The evaluation of the three potential bridge types (concrete box girder, steel flat truss, and steel arched truss) considered all community and stakeholder input collected regarding the support for each bridge type, as well as a review of technical considerations for each bridge type. The concrete box girder was found to be the best fit for the town and will be the project team's recommendation to the Town Council on November 15th.

Click on the "Bridge Type Selection Evaluation" link below to view the methodology for the bridge type evaluation process:

Bridge Type Selection Evaluation

Project Update 07-01-22

Thank you to those who attended the Community meeting/workshop on Wednesday, June 29th. At the meeting, video simulations of the bridge types were presented, providing aerial views of the proposed bridge types from Highway 17 looking northbound and southbound, and also from the perspective of a pedestrian on each bridge type. The images and videos presented provided an opportunity for the community members to better understand how the proposed bridges would fit into the surroundings. The videos are approximate representations and details such as color, fencing, landscaping, wall treatments, etc. are yet to be designed. All images and videos are subject to future revisions pending further project coordination and design development.

The June 29^th Community Meeting/Workshop presentation and videos can now be viewed by clicking on the following links:

Presentation

Click here to view the Workshop #2 Powerpoint

Videos

Concrete Box Girder
Flyover - BPOC aerial view from SR 17 - Concrete Box Girder Option
Bicyclist/Pedestrian view - Concrete Box Girder Option

Steel Flat Truss
Flyover - BPOC aerial view from SR 17 - Steel Truss Bridge Option
Bicyclist/Pedestrian view - Steel Truss Bridge Option

Steel Arch Truss
Flyover - BPOC aerial view from SR 17 - Steel Arch Bridge Option
Bicyclist/Pedestrian view - Steel Arch Bridge Option

Included in the June 29th community meeting was an live polling session to help the project team understand and gauge the community's support for each of the three proposed bridge types. The project team plans to open up a similar polling session on the project page in September, and will send out notifications to all those who have subscribed to the "Notify Me" services when the polling session has opened. We encourage those who have not shared their preferences regarding bridge type to participate in the upcoming September polling session. Should you have any questions or comments in the meantime, please reach out to the project team at the following e-mail:

ppw@losgatosca.gov

Project Update 6-16-22

Over the past months, the project team has conducted several pop-up events to raise awareness of the Highway 17 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing (BPOC) Project and to solicit feedback from the community. Events held at Spring Into the Green, the Los Gatos Farmer's Market, and along the Los Gatos Creek Trail have resulted in the collection of valuable community input and feedback for the project. Continuing in this effort, a second on-line community has been scheduled for the evening of June 29th from 6-7:30 pm to present updated project information and estimates and to continue the process of determining community preference for a bridge type. We hope you will be able to join us for this important meeting: