The Sunnyvale Sun
News
New access to Caltrain station is open to residents
By Stephen Baxter
Peeled out of a chain-link fence, it was just a shortcut to cross the tracks at the Sunnyvale Caltrain station. But for Heritage District neighbors, it was a way to school, a faster path to the train and a pass from the neighborhood to downtown shops.
The 8-foot gap in the fence was also illegal to walk through, and Caltrain officials worried someone might be hit by a train.
So the makeshift entrance, used for years at W. Hendy Avenue and N. Frances Street, was blocked in March, to many residents' dismay.
After some lively Sunnyvale City Council and community meetings, a dedicated website and an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint, a permanent concrete sidewalk and ramp were finished in mid-December.
Before the curb was built, neighbors on Angel Avenue were forced to cross the tracks at Sunnyvale or Mathilda avenues. Sue Bull, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, often crossed at Sunnyvale Avenue.
Her parents, George and Ada Marie Bull, moved to Angel Avenue in 1998 so their daughter could take independent trips downtown.
"That hole in the fence, that's how everybody got over there," Ada Marie Bull said of the dirt shortcut. "We thought it would be really nice to have an actual opening."
They worried one of Sue's wheels would be caught in the tracks, and she had a close call when a train departing the station had to stop for her.
Complaints were filed on her behalf to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires ramp access for the disabled.
This summer, the city council agreed to take $139,997 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to give to Caltrain for the project. It was scheduled for completion by Thanksgiving, but weather delayed its opening until about Dec. 10, said Chuck Harvey, Caltrain's chief operations officer.
Bull said the new ramp exceeded her expectations, though it could use some landscaping.
"It's one of the best things that has happened to us; my daughter uses it every day," Bull said. Her only regret is that her husband did not get to see it. He died in March 2003.
Many neighbors and Caltrain officials are also satisfied with the project, though it took months longer than expected.
Sunnyvale resident Tom Dwyer III uses Caltrain to get to the San Jose and San Francisco airports, and he said he liked the change.
"I always hated having to drag my suitcase through the mud or carry it along the tracks all the way to Sunnyvale Avenue when they closed the fence--the new paved access is wonderful," he said.
Some Heritage District residents, such as Luc Hermange, said he thought a permanent, paved opening was the only solution, and it was overdue.
Hermange's two sons attend Sunnyvale Middle School and Fremont High School, and they walked through the gap each day to get to the bus stop.
When it was blocked, they had to use the crossing at Sunnyvale Avenue, which took longer and may have been more dangerous. People will always find a way to cross barriers, he said.
Other neighbors also wrestled with the blocked shortcut.
About 90 people attended a meeting on the gap at the Sunnyvale Community Center April 20, and most supported building a permanent opening.
However, some neighbors agreed with Caltrain's decision to block it because fewer people tramped by their houses.
Caltrain officials said they are glad to have the project behind them.
"I'm glad it's open, and I've heard some positive responses," Harvey said. "It was a very circuitous route for them to come around the other way.' "
