Other than perhaps not in Silicon Valley at all, I mean .
I'm really glad to find this website, hope you guys can help me out.
Background: We might be moving to somewhere in the SV. 2 adults, 4 kids who will be age almost 4 to just 12. We live in the UK now. Left turn out of the door is into quiet country single-car width lanes, and rt turn is less than a mile to the supermarket. I can get all my regular shopping done locally on foot and bike. Even around town there are several routes I can trust my 6yo son to ride his own bike safely on the road.
I'm a little panicked that if we move to SV (might do for work) that we will be trapped into using the CAR for everything... or almost (Husband would be happy to cycle on the Freeway). That the streets will all be nightmares for the kids to cycle on. That the supermarket will be stupidly inaccessible by bike. There won't be a decent bus for my 7th grader to catch to school and forget the idea of him cycling there.
So tell me, if you have a family or were planning to move into the area with a large cycling-keen family, where would you suggest, perhaps within 15 miles radius of Santa Clara?
Thanks :)
Paul Metz
December 23, 2010 - 4:28pm
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Palo Alto has the Ellen
Palo Alto has the Ellen Fletcher Bike Boulevard (on Bryant Street), which might be a relatively nice way to get towards stores; it may connect to a bike boulevard in Mountain View, although I haven't heard much about that lately.
You can also see bike paths, bike lanes, and bike routes in SV here: http://www.vta.org/bike_information/maps.html ; there's a PDF link at the bottom, or try picking a section A-F on this page.
I live in south San Jose between Santa Teresa Boulevard and the foothills; those streets are somewhat quiet, and there are stores nearby, which can be seen here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=santa+teresa...
I hope others have more information for you.
tb6103
January 5, 2011 - 11:54am
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Bike friendly areas in Silicon Valley
Living near Foothill Expressway or a road which leads to it in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Sunnyvale or Cupertino would be my recommendation. Stay west of El Camino Real to avoid auto traffic. You will be near great recreational rides often used by bike clubs and have very pleasant local roads. For commuting to businesses, it depends on the specific workplace you want to reach. Locations near CalTrain stations, or specific roads may shorten the commute. I like Mountain View near El Monte Avenue and Springer due to convenient access and strong infrastructure. Search real estate in zip code 94040 This is a very expensive area for housing which makes Silicon Valley less than family friendly. If you can afford housing, this is a great area to live in, but housing costs can be oppressive.
mark_s
January 9, 2011 - 10:12pm
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Where to live
Julii
I moved to Silicon Valley 16 months ago, and have been living here car-free quite happily. There are certainly a lot of things that I miss about my old home, but it is quite possible to live here without a car.
I work in Santa Clara, I live in downtown San Jose. I ride my bike to work and back (~8 miles each way), or if I wish I can take the train, which is walking distance. There are two large grocery stores within a mile of my house, and several specialty food shops where I can get all sorts of ethnic ingredients that I have no idea what to do with.
There are probably other areas where it would be equally possible to live car-free. One of the things that I find helps quite a bit is that it is possible to take your bicycle on most any form of public transit here (buses, trains, light rail etc).
A couple of other things that make the bicycle very good as a transport alternative is a climate where there is never a day which I find unrideable (the locals won't ride if there is a chance of rain, but for any normal cyclist there are no bad weather days), and the only hills you will find are when you go looking for them. My commute to/from work is dead flat with the largest climb being an overpass over the railway lines, and most of the valley is similarly flat.
It is handy to have a car, but not needed. The one thing that I would really like to see in San Jose which would help would be a decent car-share program like zipcar, but for the rare times that a car is needed, it is easy to rent one.
Mark
mamazebra
January 10, 2011 - 5:15am
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thanks for the geographical
thanks for the geographical tips.
I'd love to live car free (again) but it's quite hard to do with many children, can't be relied to ride places on their own, etc.
ladyfleur
January 31, 2011 - 12:31pm
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I live near downtown Mountain
I live near downtown Mountain View and work in Palo Alto near Hwy 101. I highly recommend both cities. I am able to cycle on 25 mph streets to get almost everywhere: work, grocery, department, drug, hardware and other stores, bike shop, dentist, hair stylist. I could even take my cat to the vet if she'd agree to ride in my bike basket. I ride past a handful of schools on my 5 mile trip to work, and there are lots of kids of all ages riding bikes to school, especially in Palo Alto.
And I disagree that west of El Camino is better. I live on the east side and find it much easier to travel through the older (pre-1950) neighborhoods that newer ones, which they deliberately designed them so cars could not cut straight through.
djkenny
February 11, 2011 - 9:55am
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I had a comprehensive reply
I had a comprehensive reply regarding Campbell, the Los gatos creek trail etc.. no idea where it went??
colin
February 11, 2011 - 10:09am
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Hi Kenny, I just checked our
Hi Kenny,
I just checked our comment queue, and I don't see any other comment in there with your name on it. My apologies if our site ate your comment.
pmackay
March 1, 2011 - 12:02am
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I agree with the Foothill
I agree with the Foothill suggestion (or NW of El Camino in general). I live in Santa Clara near Homestead and San Tomas X-Way (95051). I use San Tomas and the Bay and San Tomas Acquino trails for commuting, no problem, but I don't like bike paths in general and find myself riding Homestead over to Foothill to access the fantastic hills we have to the west. Foothill south will take you to Stevens Canyon and access to Saratoga hills (like Redwood Gulch to Skyline). Move as far up the peninsula as you can afford... ;)
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