The Cupertino Courier

News

Sunnyvale chips in money for bicycle bridge project

By Cody Kraatz
and Stephen Baxter

The Sunnyvale City Council agreed on May 22 to contribute another $80,000 to Cupertino's $10.8 million Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge over Interstate 280. Cupertino is still about $80,000 short of its estimated project cost.

The 18-foot-wide suspension bridge will be built within Cupertino, but Cupertino officials and some Sunnyvale council members said it would benefit both cities with a new cycling and walking route.

"It is really connecting these two communities," said Sunnyvale Councilman Dean Chu.

A fence is expected to be built on the Sunnyvale side to protect neighbors from traffic noise.

The new money will come from Sunnyvale's annual allotment from the Valley Transportation Authority for bicycle projects. An original request for $110,000 was rejected May 1 by the Sunnyvale council in a 4-3 vote, but it reconsidered and approved $80,000 on May 22.

"I'm more satisfied with their willingness to participate in the project," said Cupertino Mayor Kris Wang. "When that [first] letter came back to me, I was a little upset.''

Wang went with Dave Knapp, Cupertino's city manager, and Ralph Qualls, its director of public works, to the Sunnyvale City Council meeting to plead Cupertino's case.

The bridge will help De Anza College students commute from Sunnyvale, allow Cupertino residents to shop in Sunnyvale and bolster the long-term goal of environmentally-friendly transportation, Wang said.

The $80,000 is a significant gesture, but the project cost is still up in the air until Cupertino finds out why the construction bids of $12 million were so high.

"Every little bit helps," said Qualls.

For more about the Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge, visit www.cupertino.org.