The Sunnyvale Sun

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Study proposes projects to make walking safer

By Cody Kraatz

The Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved a Pedestrian Safety and Opportunities Study on Dec. 11 that is designed to make it safer and easier to walk through Sunnyvale.

The study, which is non-binding, proposes 722 projects, including 483 new curb ramps, 23 marked crosswalks and about 145,000 linear feet of new sidewalks, for a total of $7.2 million. This could be paid for by grants in the future.

It also identifies seven "opportunity districts" where higher safety standards are warranted by heavy pedestrian use.

They are downtown Sunnyvale, VTA light rail corridor, El Camino Real commercial corridor, Lakewood neighborhood district, Maude Avenue retail district (on Maude Avenue between N. Mathilda and N. Fair Oaks avenues), Bernardo-Ayala neighborhood district and Sunnyvale-Saratoga neighborhood district (centered on the Sunnyvale Community Center).

For example, the Bernardo-Ayala neighborhood, just off Evelyn Avenue near the Mountain View border, is a medium-density residential area where many people do not have cars and there have been a "significant number of minor pedestrian collisions," according to the study.

Initiated by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, it showed that a high number of residents of central and north Sunnyvale take public transportation or walk to work.