City turns down proposal for light near school, park

By Jana Seshadri

After much deliberation and dialogue, the Sunnyvale City Council voted 4-3 to reject a motion to install a traffic light at the intersection of Hollenbeck and Harvard avenues.

Council members Julia Miller, Jim Roberts and Fred Fowler voted for the motion while Mayor Jack Walker and Council Members Manuel Valerio, Patricia Vorreiter and Tim Risch cast the dissenting votes at the Oct. 24 meeting.

The council later voted unanimously to place a crossing guard at the intersection during peak school hours.

According to Ray Williamson, a traffic engineer who was brought out of retirement to study this issue, Hollenbeck Avenue is classified as a residential collector street, but does not really behave like one. Technically speaking, a collector street has about 5,000 cars a day pass through it, while Hollenbeck has close to 10,000 every day. An elementary school and a middle school are situated near the intersection of Hollenbeck and Harvard. At the meeting, residents from that neighborhood voiced their concerns about children crossing the street without any type of a pedestrian crossing, while cars went by at speeds of 30 to 40 mph.

"It's a very dangerous crossing for children going to school or to Las Palmas Park," said Ms. Crawford, a resident of that neighborhood.

"Sometimes I've had to wait three to four minutes just to make a left turn from Harvard onto Hollenbeck," said Pete Contostavlos, another resident, alluding to the fact that there is sometimes a constant stream of traffic on Hollenbeck. "[The traffic light] will be a good investment considering the safety of the children."

Quint McCord, a teenager who recently attended Sunnyvale middle, suggested the council not worry about installing at stoplight at the intersection, especially concerning the street-crossing habits of middle-schoolers.

"The kids don't worry about any light," McCord said. "They don't wait for the lights to turn green. They just cross wherever and whenever they want."

Williamson said his team studied the issue a year ago on Oct. 19, 2000, to determine whether a traffic light is needed at the intersection. The study was not to observe the number of cars that crossed the intersection, but the pedestrians who waited to cross it. They watched the intersection several times during the year and during peak school hours, and the results of the study were discussed with residents at a neighborhood meeting. According to Williamson, the study revealed that the pedestrian activity at that intersection is substantially far below the need to justify a traffic light there.

Williamson pointed out that there is a traffic light both one block north and south of Harvard Avenue at the Remington and Danforth Drive intersections and children could walk up or down Hollenbeck and cross at either one of them. Williamson's recommendation to the council was that the existing lights are enough for that intersection.

Crawford said if the children do as Williamson suggests, then the route would be long and roundabout. Crawford also pointed out that the sidewalks along Hollenbeck are not conducive to safe walking.

"I was out there measuring today and the sidewalk is not wide enough in many places," Fowler said. "There is not even a buffer between the sidewalk and Hollenbeck. And in some places utility poles are set smack in the middle of the sidewalk."

According to City Attorney Valerie Armento, if the city installs a traffic light without the necessary city warrants and the action cannot be justified, then the court could demand a rationale for the city's actions.

Crawford spoke about a similar situation at the intersection of Hollenbeck and Torrington Drive, where a traffic light was installed without the necessary city warrants, some years ago. Williamson clarified a traffic light was installed at Remington and Danforth intersection, but only because a public school was going to be opened in the area and the council expected pedestrian traffic to increase sufficiently to meet city warrants. Williamson said that since then the public school idea was dismissed, although there is a private school there now.

"Warrants are not relevant here," Roberts said. "Pedestrian safety should be our main concern."

"This is not the only dangerous intersection in the city," said Risch, alluding to the fact that if the council passed this motion, then it would set a precedent for other such issues throughout the city.

"We have very limited funds right now and we should conserve what little we have," Risch added.

According to Williamson, it could take anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 to install a traffic light and an additional $7,000 a year for operating expenses.

After the motion failed on a split vote of 4-3, the council started to discuss alternative methods.

When Miller spoke about the possibility of adopting an alternative method of pedestrian crossing, Williamson replied that even though there were a few effective options, none is as safe as the traffic light.

"Pedestrians could be lulled into a false sense of security on seeing any other type of pedestrian crossing," he said.

Walker said an alternative method for pedestrians to cross at the intersection was to have a crossing guard at the intersection during peak school times every day.

Williamson said a crossing guard would cost about $4,000 to $5,000 a year.

Roberts moved to place a crossing guard at the intersection of Hollenbeck and Harvard, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public Safety

Endorsement: Vote for Fowler, Miller, Howe

Lakewood students get a wildly enriching assembly

High school cross country

High school football

2001 San Jose Sports Hall of Fame inductees