Despite much resident uproar, Sunnyvale will eliminate parking along Hollenbeck Avenue.
At its most recent meeting, Dec. 2, the Sunnyvale City Council opted to take the recommendation of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC).
The topic came up as part of a study issue to explore buffered bike lanes on Hollenbeck Avenue between Danforth Drive and Alberta Avenue. The item went through several rounds of public outreach and three BPAC meetings.
Angela Obeso, transportation and traffic manager, told the council that city employees are exploring traffic calming measures in light of resident input. Many said safety along Hollenbeck Avenue would be better served by traffic calming than by eliminating parking.
The city was only focused on feasibility, she added.
“There wasn’t discussion of an existing safety concern or safety condition, and so there was no extra scope included in here to look into any specific safety concern,” Obeso said.
The council considered two options: one that eliminated parking with two buffered bike lanes and another that eliminated parking on the east side of the street with unbuffered bike lanes.
A tide of public comments supported eliminating parking, but many also urged the council to maintain the status quo.
Ari Feinsmith, a transportation engineer and planner, said eliminating parking was the safer option, adding that it is the best way to achieve traffic calming measures.
Angela Rausch, former BPAC chair, said the city needs to encourage the use of public transit more. She supported eliminating parking.
“If we are being true to our strategies and want safe streets, this is the only option we should choose,” she said.
Sandhya Panicker, a Hollenbeck Avenue resident, implored the council to consider everyone’s safety, not just cyclists.
“I have heard my fellow cyclists mention ‘oh this is a minor inconvenience,’ but if I ask my fellow cyclists to bike two or three minutes extra to access the bike lanes on the parallel streets, then it becomes a life-threatening inconvenience,” she said.
Several council members characterized the decision as difficult.
The stretch of Hollenbeck Avenue runs through the districts of Vice Mayor Linda Sell and Council Member Murali Srinivasan.
“This is a tough, tough decision. There is no easy way we can satisfy everybody,” Srinivasan said. “Any design should be safe for everyone.”
Srinivasan called the street parking option the “right decision,” but only Mayor Larry Klein joined him in support of it.
During her opposing comments, Sell said she wanted the closest option to protected bike lanes.
“We will be increasing population in Sunnyvale the next few years. Everybody that bikes is one more car off the road, less congestion,” Sell said.
Klein said he went back and forth between the two options.
“If you are somewhat pissing off two groups equally, you are probably doing the best thing for the city,” he said.
Council Member Alysa Cisneros said the option that offered parking on one side of the street “satisfies very few people” but “creates challenges for the majority.”
Klein said he felt the strong support for bike lanes was likely, at least in part, a byproduct of a highly mobilized bicycling community, not necessarily reflective of the community at large.
However, Klein still supported the motion to eliminate parking. Only Srinivasan dissented.
City employees estimate the project will cost $5 million, but have yet to identify a funding source.
Obeso told the council that the city has budgeted for the first phase of exploring traffic calming, but city employees will return to the council for money should it become necessary to progress further. That effort would see completion prior to alterations to the street.
Consent Calendar Spending
The council approved the following spending via the consent calendar:
- A $300,000 increase to a purchase agreement with Chemtrade Chemicals for aluminum sulfate. The total amount is now $545,000.
The council meets again at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave. in Sunnyvale.
To submit public comments ahead of the meeting, visit http://Sunnyvale.ca.gov/PublicComments; Meeting online link: https://sunnyvale-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/96111580540; meeting call-in telephone number: 833-548-0276, meeting ID: 961 1158 0540
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
Thank you, City Council, for putting the safety first.
100% agree. This project will make Hollenbeck so much safer for biking, especially for kids. It will also reduce sidewalk riding, which is dangerous for pedestrians, and improve pedestrian crossings. This is a win for safety for all residents.
Side note: A large part of the cost for this project is for upgrading the Fremont Avenue intersection. Removing the pork chops are expensive but needed for pedestrian safety. $5M may seem like a lot, but it’s has a huge ROI and it’s nothing compared to the City’s $780M annual budget.
We have created an even more dangerous situation out of Hollenbeck making it a 2 way unobstructed speedway for cars! Seniors and those with disabilities are now in danger! The city council went against staff and consultant recommendations for option 2 B. So they are all now liable! They city had just exposed themselves! Lawyers are lining up waiting for the first pedestrian accident and the city will be paying dearly as the law suits start coming in.
Fine. Now institute a bike registration and licensing program. To ride a bike on Sunnyvale streets, all reders would be required to have a license. Riders from other cities riding “in” and “thru” Sunnyvale would too. They are no different than someone driving a car. Oh, and ride in single file too.
so who is going to pay for all this? the logical and fair choice would be the users of the bike lane. Just as cars pay a license fee where some of that amount goes to roads, bikes must absolutely pay their way. They must be licensed and subject to fines for violating traffic laws. If they want safe, then stop running red lights and stop signs.
and speaking of safety, there will clearly be more jaywalkers hurrying back from parking cars in the side streets adjacent to Hollenbeck. Jay walkin gis now legal but still dangerous.
I would have supported adding bike lane 2 years ago but a dangerous situation in recent years are the full throttle e-bikes (not the pedal-assisteing types) and scooters that uses bike lanes. Some kids traveling 25, 30 mph on them, wearing no helmet and to my knowledge this shouldn’t be legal but no one cares.
We have a situation that minors who shouldn’t drive a motorized vehicle now doing so dangerously. Until it is regulated, bike lanes would not be safe to anybody.
The project cost of $5 million is not the best use of our resources, and the recommended solution is going to cause more problems than it solves. I suggest reclassifying Hollenbeck from a collector street to a local street and reducing the speed limit to 25 MPH. This would slow down traffic and make it safer for cyclists.
Sunnyvale’s streets should be safe for children to bike to school. Option 1’s buffered bike lanes are the only safe option. It will enable children to bike to Serra park, Challenger, church, and many more destinations. This is crucial for growing their independence. The project will also make the street safer for drivers and pedestrians. It will narrow the vehicle lanes to reduce speeding and improve visibility for all road users. Plus, the buffer can be used for future traffic calming devices like curb extensions, making this by far the safest option. Safety is #1!
Watching them dismiss the recommendations of city staff, the very experts hired to guide these decisions, is frustrating and disheartening. Looks like, even the council members who said “they never ignore staff recommendation” were already prepared to ignore it. Hey, if the play was to vie for higher position on the council or to play the long political game by siding with the most vocal current majority, I think most of the council members were successful.
My assumption was that representatives are the voice of the constituents, but when they make decisions on “personal choices”, I believe it hurts everyone. I am hoping many residents recognize the consequences of this kind of leadership.
A heartfelt thank you to Council Member Murali Srinivasan. Even when caught between a rock and a hard place, he considered everyone’s interests and acted with kindness. I think that takes real courage! I also appreciate the Mayor for at least considering support for everyone.
When minority voices are ignored, the community loses perspective.
“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious until it is secured for all of us.” – Jane Addams
The is is pretty typical for Sunnyvale City Council – the city staff and commissions spend time, energy and money to survey the community and formulate recommendations, which City Council then ignores if there are enough people opposed at the meeting where the decision occurs. Klein’s flippant comment explains everything you need to know about this approach – they aren’t necessarily interested in finding the best solution that works for the most people, just in placating the squeakiest wheels.
What you’re referring to as “Klein’s flippant comment” was actually his advocacy towards voting _for_ the staff-recommended alternative (option 2B).
This article is misleading.
You can find it at 6:42:00 in the meeting recording on YouTube
So sad to see how the council and mayor bows down to pressure from Sunnyvale bikers in exchange of votes for the next election.
Can’t believe they call themselves leaders.
Vote them out especially Linda Sell during next election. She is the biggest backstabber.
These are long streets lined with houses. So where are all the home owners parking? Perhaps this was not the beat street to make into a bike lane
There are some unverified claims about a specific council member who is pro biker is getting kickbacks from these projects. I hope there’s a formal investigation on this.
Although I do NOT live on Hollenbeck Ave, I am appalled by this recent decision by Sunnyvale City Council.
I have lived in Sunnyvale for over 25 years, and the decision to remove ALL parking along Hollenbeck Ave to create a buffered bike lane is the worst Council decision I have witnessed in those 25 years. This Council COMPLETELY disregarded existing residents, disregarded seniors, and disregarded the disabled along Hollenbeck. This Council decision was wrong!
Council even dismissed a well-considered recommendation by experienced city planners/staff to keep parking on one side of Hollenbeck and still create bike lanes. This would have been an excellent compromise. But instead, there was NO compromise at all by Council. Only 1 Council member out of 7 considered the needs of existing residents.
I am ashamed of this council, and their apparent pandering to BPAC (Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. BPAC is well organized, vocal, and extremely loud. But BPAC does NOT represent the majority of Sunnyvale residents. Based on my many observations, BPAC will always support “bicycle utopia” projects at the expense of everything and everyone else.
During public comment one resident mentioned that she spoke to many Hollenbeck seniors who chose not to attend the meeting on Dec 2, because they believe the SV Council no longer listens to them. Unfortunately, based on this appalling decision by Council, I think seniors (and residents) were definitely disregarded and ignored by this Council. It is very concerning.
Council should be protecting Sunnyvale vulnerable seniors, disabled, and residents – Not just pandering to the bicyclists. IMO- This Council fell down on their job.
Stacy, thanks for giving voice to the sentiments that we too, have been feeling. We’re still reeling from the betrayal from our district rep, Linda Sellout’s political posturing—walking the streets trying to give an impression that she cared for the residents in her district when she didn’t even once acknowledge our very real concerns during the motion that *she* made to choose option 1 to remove all parking. She failed to even mention residents, seniors, disabled community members though we were the minority voice at the council meeting. She instead decided to give her very rehearsed speech pandering to the loud and vocal bike community while we have invested our time and money, have planted roots, served in our school communities in big & small ways but have instead have been ignored.
It was truly shameful hearing the council’s deranged discussion toward the end, that only Srinivasen & Klein had any ounces of humanity to offer. Only council member Chang briefly mentioned concerns about paratransit. Cisneros gives a personal anecdote about being an absent minded parent and the risk of dooring and then justifies her vote with knowing that home owners may potentially change their driveways to accommodate parking—what!? Who is subsidizing these really expensive burdens on homeowners? Not to mention the $200-$500K potential loss in property value when a homeowner may need to sell someday. Anybody who goes back to watch can see that the city council indeed bows down to the squeaky wheel bike lobby. It’s scandalous to consider & even more offensive when Sharlene Liu & Tim Oey enjoy street parking in front of their own homes. It must be nice.
If the city had only prioritized class 4 bike lanes on Sunnyvale Saratoga first & improved on Mary bike lanes instead of placing this burden on so many Hollenbeck residents, then the community could have had a more reasonable discussion. Melingher himself said that had he known, he would have presented this study issue as the Hollenbeck whole street restructuring project. Why was it not possible to make amendments before rushing to a vote? Because they didn’t care enough to go through the trouble.
Our family has decided that maybe it’s time to stop investing in this community who doesn’t care about us. The city council failed us. They ignored city staff’s carefully proposed recommendation. Our seniors were right all along in that Sunnyvale cares for them not at all. How rude & what an utter failure, Sunnyvale!
Well, district 1 (Sell) can find another council person in 2026 who will represent the needs of district 1. As can District 5, Mehlerer and maybe even district 3, Srinivasan. Because they are not representing the majority of people who voted for them.
Linda Sell 100% left her constituents down! She turned her back when they needed her support! Definately lacks the ethics to represent any of us! Need to start our efforts now #voteoutlindasell Mehlinger at least he was upfront about his bias towards bikers. We all knew where he was going with his vote from day one! Srinvasan actually was the only one who voted against taking away all parking. The other council members are just sheep. Blind stares with useless comments. They vote with the wave.
I’m disappointed that the council adopted a one-dimensional option that ignored staff recommendations and input from affected residents.
While I’m certain that my comment will not change the outcome of the vote, I feel it is my duty to let the 6 members of the council who voted in favor of unfairly eliminating all Hollenbeck street parking, that their vision will significantly improve once they pull their heads out of their butts.
After hours of posturing it became evident that the council already had their minds made up prior to the council meeting. Council member Cisneros rambled on about a story of how she can see herself getting out of her car without looking and dooring a biker. That story almost made me lean towards option 1 myself thinking there may be idiots like Cisneros out there who “forget” to check their mirrors before getting out of the car. But after all the speakers it became clear the certain council members coached the Sunnvale Safe Streets group to not only stress safety but stress how this will contribute to Sunnyvales climate control strategy. The residents of Hollenbeck made a great case that the bike lanes will decrease safety for pedestrians, seniors and those with disabilities. So they had to pivot fast and were coached to focus on climate control efforts. The students that “volunteered” to speak were now speaking on climate control and many came from student groups involved with this. But if you look at past videos of student speakers they brought in the foucus was all about how unsafe they felt while biking on Hollenbeck. That was no longer a valid argument as it was proven although they may feel safer the bike lanes will not make it a safer environment. So in the end the city council sided with the group they are most aligned with. Will futher investigations uncover some ethical and illegal communications? Lets all wait for part 2.
Lets crank it up a notch and vote to get rid of the sidewalks! Who needs sidewalks! Remove all sidewalks and add more bike lanes! This will widen the path even more for bikers
I suggest the author of this story keep digging into the details of the vote! They may have a blockbuster story about the shady business happening in Sunnyvale City Hall! The bike lane is the tip of the story! Dig deeper and you will find massive fraud, unethical behavior and criminal activity!