Mountain View’s plan for a new bikeway on Terra Bella Avenue is headed to the slow lane. Last Tuesday, the City Council voted to put the project on hold, bumping it to staff’s backlog as the city wrestles with transportation staffing shortages and other projects that officials say are higher priorities. The move also leaves people living in recreational vehicles, who rely on the wide industrial street for temporary parking, wondering what comes next.
Council puts Terra Bella bikeway on hold
Council members directed staff last week to shelve the Terra Bella Avenue bikeway feasibility study with no return date, after Councilmember Lucas Ramirez argued the lane proposal was being used as a pretext for getting rid of the RVs. Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour and Public Works Director Jennifer Ng told the council that large property owners and nearby businesses had raised concerns about traffic safety and circulation, and that staff had already paused work on the idea, as reported by the Mountain View Voice.
What the Terra Bella project would have done
The Terra Bella Avenue Bikeway appears in the city’s capital projects as a feasibility study, meant to look at potential on-street bicycle facilities between West Middlefield Road and San Leandro Street. The city notes that installing bike lanes can lead to a loss of on-street parking for both passenger vehicles and oversized vehicles. Staff ran a public survey in late 2025 and had planned to bring design recommendations to advisory committees and then the council, according to the City of Mountain View.
Staffing crunch helped sink the plan
When the project actually stalled, it came down to capacity. City staff told the council the transportation team is operating with far fewer people than intended, and Ramirez pointed out that the department currently has “two of five” transportation positions filled, a gap he said makes it hard to advance every proposal. Ng told the council that the Terra Bella work had been “put to the side” because of those constraints, according to the Mountain View Voice.
Housing growth raises the stakes
The pressure around Terra Bella is likely to grow. The area is slated for significant new housing, including a roughly 108-unit affordable project proposed at 1020 Terra Bella Avenue and a separate plan at 1001 North Shoreline Boulevard that would add about 303 units. Supporters of the bike corridor say those homes only heighten the need for safe cycling connections. Materials for the 1020 Terra Bella proposal come from the design team and developer, and the 1001 North Shoreline unit count is listed in a city project summary; see the 1020 project listing at Van Meter Williams Pollack and the city summary in the MVWSD file.
What comes next
For now, the council has left the bike project’s timing up to staff, asking Public Works to focus first on higher-need corridors and circle back to Terra Bella when resources are available. That decision keeps the corridor in a holding pattern, as safe-streets advocates, housing backers and business owners continue to press competing claims over parking, safety and shelter in a neighborhood that is still taking shape.
