 |
|
|
|
|
City study details plan to include bike lanes
By Kelly Wilkinson
Sunnyvale is working to become more bicycle friendly.
The Public Works Department recently took action on an October study that examines ways the city could improve the streets for bicyclists. The research is also helping the city secure funding for the proposed upgrades, according to Jack Witthaus, transportation planner for the city.
The study, conducted by a consultant, examined all Sunnyvale streets to find out where and what improvements need to be made. The consultant recorded curb and lane widths, variation in those widths, traffic speed and volume and on-street parking. Using this data, the consultant detailed what it would take to provide bike lanes on every street in the city.
"This is something that will be used as more of a technical handbook for staff to update and develop new projects," Witthaus said. "It's really a tiered menu of recommendations for future improvements."
Depending on the condition of the road, improvements range from re-painting already wide streets with new bike lanes to more extensive options such as street widening and removing on-street parking in order to accommodate bike lanes.
Tom Mayer, chairman of the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee, said that while the study can be used as a launching point for future improvements, it does not give carte blanche for all expensive improvements.
"It was recognized that on some streets, all it would take is painting some lines," Mayer said. "On other streets, in order to do them it would be horrifically expensive."
According to Witthaus, more than $700,000 in federal, state and local grant money has been raised in conjunction with the study, and many roads are being repainted with new bike-lane stripes. Those new bike lanes constitute the city's first new bike lanes in over 20 years, Witthaus said.
Streets already repainted with bike lanes include parts of Maude and Arques avenues, and grant funds are already designated for more of Arques, and parts of Oakmead Parkway, Carribean Drive, Mary Avenue, Borregas Avenue, and Knickerbocker Drive.
"What this does is implement the city's general plan of reducing single-occupancy-vehicle use," Witthaus said of encouraging more bikers in the city. "As we all know, using other means of transportation can reduce congestion and air pollution."
Fourteen percent of Sunnyvale's streets have bike lanes, and the most recent data from 1990 showed that less than 1 percent of the general population use bikes as a means of commuting.
"Clearly, we can do better than that," Witthaus said.
Both Witthaus and Mayer agreed that Sunnyvale's bike friendliness could be improved. Mayer stressed that while he doesn't consider any street in the city to be necessarily dangerous, the safety and success of a cyclist in Sunnyvale depends on the individual's skill and the willingness of drivers to share the road.
"It amazes me that a pedestrian can walk up to Mathilda Avenue and push a button and the whole street comes to a stop. But you have a biker who needs to take the lane for a turn and people are honking," he said. "Some sharing is more acceptable than other sharing."
Mayer said that while there is no plan to spend exorbitant amounts of money on extensive improvements, just having the finished the study as a resource is a step toward more bike inclusion on public streets.
"I'm very pleased that this was done because it gives us a place to work from," he said. "How can you ever go forward unless you already know what you have?"
|
|
|
|
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
