Hollenbeck Gets Safe Bike Lanes
- Sharlene Liu
- Dec 12
- 3 min read
December 2, the day of the Council meeting to decide the fate of Hollenbeck Avenue bike lanes, arrived, 8 years after the community first brought up this issue for consideration. Many people gathered in Council Chambers to listen to Council deliberations and await their turn to provide public input. Two councilmembers who weren't expected to be at the meeting magically showed up, rounding out representation from all corners of the city. Public comment lasted late into the night. Just past midnight, after careful thought, Council voted 6-to-1 to put in safe buffered bike lanes with the full removal of street parking. (Councilmember Murali Srinivasan dissented). This is a momentous win for the entire City.
At the meeting, 50 community members spoke in favor of buffered bike lanes with parking removal on Hollenbeck. Among them, students wanted the freedom to bike to school and other destinations. Fremont High Senior Olaf Karwasiecki recalled his experience as a 3rd grader trying to bike to Cumberland School when a driver angrily honked a horn at him. He felt "ashamed and embarrassed" and stopped biking to school after that. Homestead High Freshman Audrick Cheang wants to go to the library and Las Palmas Park without having to do dangerous maneuvers around cars. Parents of young children spoke up for their children. Tina Chang, a mother of 3 children, described how they bike to Ellis School, but since her oldest started attending Sunnyvale Middle School this year, he stopped biking because of the inherent dangers of biking on Hollenbeck. Brian Rice, a father of two and an ER doctor, sees the trauma that bike-car crashes cause to cyclists on a regular basis and would like a safe way for his children to bike to school. Others spoke about the need for a non-polluting form of transportation. Julia Liu said she would like to do her part in fighting climate change but finds herself driving instead of biking because Hollenbeck is not safe to bike on. Elana Feinsmith said buffered bike lanes with parking removal would lead to a significant increase in bike ridership. She said the unsafe alternate option of narrow, unbuffered, door zone bike lanes would not encourage new people to ride, and children will continue biking on the sidewalk, creating a hazard for pedestrians. Former two-time Sunnyvale Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commissioner Tim Oey pointed out that Hollenbeck is a crucial link in the County bike network and that, without safe bikeways on Hollenbeck, many people avoid cycling altogether.
Although some residents on Hollenbeck expressed concern about the removal of street parking, city data show that very few cars park on Hollenbeck today, and those that do can either move to a driveway or to a nearby side street. With few exceptions, houses on Hollenbeck have an average of 5 parking spaces per property. Moreover, the design that was chosen -- buffered bike lanes with the removal of parking -- benefits residents on Hollenbeck too. Without parked cars blocking their view, residents can back out of their driveway safely. Many Hollenbeck residents expressed a desire for reducing car speeds, a goal possible only with buffered bike lanes but not the other alternatives. With road users switching from driving to biking, Hollenbeck will become a more peaceful and safer street to live on. Hollenbeck residents, too, will have the option to bike out of their house instead of drive.
The overwhelming support of community members for buffered bike lanes with the removal of parking shows that most residents support the City's goals of safety for everyone, particularly children, reducing greenhouse gases, and expanding sustainable and inexpensive transportation options for the city's growing population. Reflecting community values, Sunnyvale councilmembers are moving forward with a plan for a safer, sustainable future.
About the Author
Sharlene Liu is Founder and Chair of Sunnyvale Safe Streets. She is dedicated to making Sunnyvale's streets safe for walking and biking.
