By LESTER CHANG
The Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association and the city of Sunnyvale have joined forces to try to convince the county to approve the realignment of Wildwood Avenue.
They want the road reconfigured to reduce traffic they believe will come from the Mercado Santa Clara, a new shopping/office complex that is going up in the city of Santa Clara and runs along Wildwood Avenue.
Without the road realignment, more motorists will use streets in Lakewood Village to get to and from the shopping center, neighbors say. One of the roadways, Sandia Avenue, is already heavily used.
As a solution, the city has proposed connecting Wildwood Avenue, which runs south of the neighborhood, to the Lawrence Expressway. The new route, with signal lights at an intersection on the road, could divert traffic from neighborhood streets.
The project involves extending the city road by a block. The City Council has appropriated up to $600,000 for the project.
"The Lakewood association will support the city, and we will lobby hard because we feel the safety and tranquility of our neighborhood is at stake," said Fred Fowler, president of the LVNA.
But before the project can get under way, the city needs approval from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the state Department of Transportation.
County transportation managers who oversee Lawrence Expressway are concerned another set of intersection lights might slow traffic on the road. It crosses Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara and San Jose.
The state transportation agency also plans to close two road ramps at the Lawrence Expressway and Highway 101 interchange and install two signal lights to improve traffic flow on the freeway, said Sunnyvale city traffic engineer Ray Williamson.
State officials think that the city's proposed project might affect their road-improvement plans, Williamson said.
Williamson and members of his department met with Lakewood Village residents at the Lakewood Park building April 9 to discuss the project.
The county Board of Supervisors has yet to schedule a day for a hearing on the issue.
County Supervisor Pete McHugh, who represents Sunnyvale, said he supports the city's efforts to head off traffic problems that might develop after the completion of the shopping center.
McHugh said the Sunnyvale proposal will go before the county Roads Commission on April 24. The matter is tentatively scheduled to be heard by the Board of Supervisors on May 20, he said.
The state transportation agency isn't required to hold a hearing and will make a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the project, Williamson said.
Fowler said denial of the undertaking would be "very bad."
Up to 800 homes in Lakewood Village would be affected if the project doesn't go through, Fowler said.
Sandia Avenue offers the most direct route to the shopping center, and it could become a gridlock during commute hours, Fowler said.
The congestion could present potential traffic hazards for children who use the neighborhood streets, said Vicki Piazza, a member of both the Sunnyvale City Planning Commission and the Lakewood association.
Children will attend the Fairwood Elementary School when it reopens for the 1997-98 school year. The school is located at the intersection of Sandia and Fairwood avenues, two roads located near Wildwood Avenue.
The district's school board has not discussed the issue, but Deputy Superintendent Ben Picard said the district's staff may prepare a recommendation for the board by its next meeting on May 1.
"We favor diverting traffic off of Sandia," he said. "It is in our best interest to have traffic by a school kept to a minimum."
Not having the project approved would affect the quality of life in Lakewood Village, said Charlene Jolly, vice president of the Lakewood association.
"We have a limited number of exits from this neighborhood," she said. "If there was more traffic, it would be difficult to get out onto Lawrence."
Without the road realignment, Jolly said, she and hundreds of other area residents would have a difficult time getting to work.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 16, 1997.
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