Sunnyvale Report

Seasons Greetings!

The big news this time is the possibility of major improvements to bike accommodation on Mary Avenue. The city has begun to move ahead with a long-planned car bridge from the north end of Mary over 101 and 237 into Moffett Park, in order to handle traffic for existing and future office developments. The bridge will have good bike access when completed in a decade or so, if the project is not stopped by opposition from nearby residents. The really exciting part, however, is that the environmental report prepared by our Traffic Engineering staff included a favorable assessment of the feasibility of implementing a 4-to-3 lane conversion, with the addition of bike lanes, on Mary south of Evelyn! In their motion to approve the bridge project, the City Council also directed staff to seek funding for the lane reconfiguration. It may be possible for this to be done independently of the bridge, and therefore considerably faster. If you’d like to see it happen, send your words of encouragement to bpac@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us.

I’m very happy to report the Borregas Avenue bike/ped bridges over 101 and 237 are ahead of schedule! The latest estimate is that construction will be completed in March (and possibly even February). If you are aware of any improvements that are needed on routes leading to the bridges, don’t keep it to yourself! Please let us know right away at bpac@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us. We want to make sure first-time users have a good experience so they will continue riding!

The effort to encourage cooperation with Los Altos on the Stevens Creek Trail is looking a bit more promising. The Sunnyvale Council put off consideration of any relevant policy decisions until Los Altos settles on a preferred alignment. The Los Altos Council accepted the feasibility study in October, and the next step is a four-city meeting (with representatives from Mountain View and Cupertino) to discuss outstanding issues. Some Sunnyvale Council members have expressed their willingness to reconsider a current city policy that could otherwise be a major obstacle, so fingers crossed!

There’s been another delay in opening the section of the Bay Trail behind Moffett Field, but it doesn’t appear to be a serious problem. Stay tuned for further announcements, hopefully in the very near future!