A group of Sunnyvale residents feels their concerns about the removal of parking along their street is being drowned out by a vocal cyclist lobby.
At its Oct. 16 meeting, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) considered an item that aims to increase Sunnyvale’s bicycle connectivity. During that meeting, the BPAC voted to recommend the city council remove parking along Hollenbeck Avenue.
But a group of area residents said the BPAC and other cycling groups are not considering the full impact on the area, failing to look at the bigger picture.
“It’s not like we’re against the cyclists or against bike lanes,” Sandhya Panicker, a Hollenbeck Avenue resident, said. “It’s just so biased at this point … It almost seems like we’re being ignored, like we are entitled.”
The notion that eliminating parking will make the street safer or that it is purely for the benefit of those living in the area is a misnomer, Panicker and others said. With three schools, three churches and three parks, many people — not just those living along Hollenbeck Avenue — use the street for parking.
Eight residents interviewed for the story said adding bike lanes will not address the problem without first adding traffic calming measures.
“It is very hard for any council members to say no to any change. If they make these changes without reducing the speed, it’s actually increasing the safety issue,” said Ann Haren. “If you draw stripes, people will feel safer, but they actually won’t be safer.”
Service workers like gardeners, cleaners and caregivers often carry heavy tools and equipment, so they rely on having nearby parking, many said.
The lack of parking will also require utility workers for the power company, Comcast, AT&T and Xfinity to have to leave the area where they are working for lunch or breaks, they said.
Further, disabled and elderly people will have to walk farther to go to church or the park. Delivery people and rideshare drivers will have nowhere to park and will likely end up double-parking, creating a safety hazard for pedestrians and cyclists alike.
At the BPAC meeting, city employees recommended removing parking on one side of the street, but the BPAC took a more aggressive approach, opting to recommend eliminating it on both sides. A survey of area residents showed that 57% opposed eliminating parking.
The stretch of Hollenbeck Avenue traverses Districts 1 and 3 — the districts of Vice Mayor Linda Sell and Council Member Murali Srinivasan.
In an email, both council members wrote that they’ve been meeting with residents to hear their concerns. However, both wrote that they couldn’t discuss the matter prior to the item coming to the city council.
To get the city’s attention, 100 neighbors to the project signed a petition opposing it and flooded the council chambers at the Nov. 18 meeting, speaking during oral communications, items not on the agenda.
Despite the coordinated effort, sources said they have gotten only vague responses and dismissals, mostly pointing to the city meeting requirements.
Simply saying the law doesn’t require something, Susan Selna said, is “lazy.” She called the matter a “community issue, not a biking issue.”
Vikaram Jayaraman called the city’s approach so far an “agenda without common sense.”
“It just seems like egos at this point instead of practical solutions,” he said. “We are all for constructive solutions. This just seems unilateral.”
Tiffany Oho said she worried that such big changes would damage the neighborhood’s character. It will adversely affect those already struggling with a lack of parking, she added.
Lakshmi Ramanathan said the city should study traffic and parking more comprehensively. The city’s current tactic, she said, lacks a “holistic” approach.
Additionally, Haren said, the issue’s framing often fails to contextualize what is at stake.
“If you ask people if they want chocolate cake, people will say yes,” she said. “But if you ask people if they want chocolate cake that costs $5 million, they are going to say no. That is what we are talking about.”
The council will hear the item at its Dec. 2 meeting.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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