Victory! It is because of supporters of the bike movement like YOU, that the Sunnyvale City Council voted to extend the Tasman Dr lane closure pathway until September 2022!!
Victory! On August 31st, 2021 the Sunnyvale City Council voted to extend the Tasman Dr lane closure pathway until September 2022. This victory came because of your collective efforts. At least 52 emails (That's a lot!) were sent to the city council. During the meeting at public comment, nearly a dozen residents spoke to support keeping the lane closure. This campaign was organized by Bike Sunnyvale, the local chapter of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC). The team convinced many councilmembers who were on the fence and the final vote was 6-1. This is a big win!
The pandemic greatly reduced traffic on Tasman Dr, and at the urging of local advocates, in September 2020 the City of Sunnyvale temporarily closed a vehicle lane on the South side of Tasman Drive to provide space for walking and biking. Over the last few months, there has been incredibly high usage of the lane closure pathway. Residents have been using it to travel to parks, buy groceries, commute to work, and walk their dogs.
Nationwide we saw “Open”, “Safe ”, “Shared”, or “Slow” streets, the idea — erecting temporary traffic-limiting barriers on urban roadways to quickly prop up public space for people who had little — was simple yet bold in a country where motor vehicles still dominate.
Tasman Drive is a lane in a residential neighborhood that has been without sidewalks or any designated walkways for its residents for the last 60 years and it was because of the passion and imagination of supporters of the bike movement like YOU, that Tasman Drive, has been given a new purpose. It is because of you that a lane that had not been prioritized for pedestrians or bicyclists, is now giving the elderly, low income, and differently-abled residents an opportunity to fully explore their community without being dependent on a vehicle to do so. You DID THAT! You made that happen by taking time out of your very important day to tell the council that this was important to you. Thank you to everyone who wrote letters to the city council or attended the council meeting, YOU made/make a difference! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. --Margaret Mead. .