Confused getting to downtown Mountain View? Access and signage getting an upgrade: Roadshow

Q: I often drive on Central Expressway from Palo Alto toward Mountain View, and can’t believe they haven’t fixed traffic flows into downtown Mountain View yet.

I miss the ease of turning onto Castro Street on a whim, with its great shopping and dining. Instead, I pass, intending to turn around, then give up and continue on my way to another south/west valley opportunity.

Are there plans to fix this quagmire, and improve downtown Mountain View access?

If the goal is to continue the “no cars on Castro” policy, one solution is to resolve restrictions at Evelyn and Castro. Only a few restaurants there would be impacted, along with pedestrians going to or from the Caltrain station. It’s highly fixable. A more permanent solution is to limit parking on Castro to 20 to 30 minutes, rather than zero parking and no cars.

More and better expressway signage before Shoreline advising about access to downtown Mountain View would be helpful, in any case.

E. H.

A: With the permanent closure of Castro Street at the train tracks, Mountain View will be adding a ramp from Shoreline Boulevard to Evelyn Avenue and connecting Evelyn Avenue through Castro Street, providing direct access to the downtown and the Transit Center from Shoreline Boulevard. Mountain View is also planning to request more wayfinding signage on Central Expressway to downtown, via Shoreline Boulevard. They have also coordinated with Google, Apple, Waze, etc., to update maps to show the Castro Street closure and alternate routes to downtown.

When the grade separation at Castro Street is complete, people and vehicles will no longer be required to cross the tracks. This will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, reduce train gate down-time and horn noise, reduce conflicts between trains, vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists, and improve traffic flow.

Q: After reading one of your recent columns, I just had to respond to the mess on Highway 17. For years before I retired, I discussed this problem with Caltrans. Highway 17 is the only highway between Santa Cruz County and Santa Clara County and must be used by thousands of drivers during the day. At night, the traffic volume is greatly reduced. I tried many times to get them to do their work at night, except for emergency repair, and they refused most of the time due to cost. My argument is that thousands of drivers idling in their cars is also costly in terms of pollution, gas consumption, and increased traffic accidents.

Maybe someone with more influence than I could get them to do road work at night.

Gary Lofgren, retired CHP Lt.

A: There’s also the problem that chilly weather makes nighttime repairs difficult on 17.

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.