Tasman: Build the West Segment First

Sign the Tasman petition by June 28

In the past month, there have been many developments with the Tasman Dr Pedestrian-Bicycle Study. New information forced us to pivot our strategy to asking for a multi-use pathway to be built on the West segment first, then deciding on the East segment after the West segment is complete. At the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) meeting, commissioners unanimously agreed with us.

Map of Tasman Dr between Fair Oaks Ave and Lawrence Expwy. There is no permanent bikeways and no continuous sidewalk.

For context, Tasman Dr currently has no permanent bikeway and no continuous sidewalk between Fair Oaks Ave and Lawrence Expressway. This traps nearly 5000 residents in the adjacent mobile home parks. Fortunately, the City is studying fixing this by replacing the underused outer vehicle lanes with either raised multi-use pathways (Alternative 1) or a sidewalk and a buffered bike lane (Alternative 2). Since January, Sunnyvale Safe Streets has advocated for the full implementation of Alternative 1 from Fair Oaks Ave to Lawrence Expwy. Multi-use pathways would provide a safe space for people of all ages and abilities to comfortably walk and bike across the corridor to nearby destinations. Unlike a regular striped bike lane, the proposed 12-foot-wide multi-use paths would be bi-directional, providing flexibility and allowing cyclists to travel on whichever side of the street is convenient, rather than doing a tricky midblock crossing over the VTA Light Rail tracks to reach the appropriate side of the road.

Sunnyvale Safe Streets' rendering of Alternative 1

In the days leading up to the BPAC meeting, however, we had to change our stance. Sunnyvale City staff had released a report recommending that Alternative 2 (sidewalk and bike lanes) be implemented in 2 phases. Phase 1 would cover the West segment from Fair Oaks to Vienna. Phase 2, which would be started after Phase 1 completes, would cover the East segment from Vienna to Lawrence. Staff also brought up concerns from DPS that both alternatives would delay emergency response time, but especially Alternative 1. Thus the reason why staff supports Alternative 2. The report also showed through-traffic modeling that the project would cause vehicles waiting on Eastbound Tasman Drive at the Lawrence Expwy intersection to back up into the Vienna Dr intersection. Emergency response time and traffic delay are sensitive issues for residents in the adjacent mobile home parks, and this report gave fuel to the fire. 

Reading the staff's report, we realized the putative problems were primarily on the East segment of Tasman Dr, not the West segment. The closest fire station is located to the East of the study area, so emergency vehicles typically would not access the mobile homes from the West side of Tasman Dr. The traffic concerns were negligible on the west side, and the proposed retiming of the Fair Oaks intersection would even decrease driver wait time by up to 25 seconds. Meanwhile, the safety concerns for the West side are more immediate. On the West side, the combination of frequent speeding, blind curves, and people walking in the roadway is a recipe for disaster that must be fixed soon.

A pedestrian walking on the North side of the West segment of Tasman Dr in a blind curve.

Given Sunnyvale staff’s recommendation to break the project up into two phases and the clear benefits of prioritizing the West segment, we pivoted our campaign. Our goals are now:

1. Implement Alternative 1 (multi-use pathway) for Phase 1 between Fair Oaks and Vienna. Although staff recommended Alternative 2 due to DPS's concern over emergency response times, we still strongly support Alternative 1 for the West segment because of the needed flexibility for residents to be able to bike in both directions on both sides of the road. 

2. Evaluate Phase 2 after Phase 1 is completed. Phase 2 currently has significant political headwinds. After Phase 1 is completed, we believe residents will be more open to a road diet on the east side after seeing the success of Phase 1.

3. Replant trees on Tasman Dr. This project is the only way to replace the 23 beautiful trees being removed this Spring.

4. Build a new temporary lane closure pathway on the North side of the West segment (between Fair Oaks and Vienna), and keep the existing temporary lane closure pathway on the South side until Phase 1 construction begins. Phase 1 construction may not begin for several years due to funding constraints, but a solution to treat the unsafe conditions on the West segment is needed immediately.

Sunnyvale Safe Streets' proposal for Tasman Dr.

This set of demands is widely popular with the local residents. There are people I’ve met who were originally skeptical about the project, but changed their minds after understanding our recommendation.

At the BPAC meeting, Sunnyvale Safe Streets gave a slideshow presentation during public comment with our demands. Our presentation, along with speeches from many of our allies, swayed the BPAC to recommend all of our demands to the City Council (minus the replanting of trees).  We got unanimous support for Alternative 1 (multi-use pathway) for Phase 1, Phase 2 afterwards, and a new temporary lane closure pathway on the North West part of Tasman Dr.

I am very excited by our momentum. We now need to continue our momentum to the City Council meeting on July 1st at 7 pm where City Council will make their final decision on Tasman Dr. Please mark your calendar (add to Google Calendar). We expect there will be opposition, so it is super important that supporters like you show up! It's best if you join in person (City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave) but Zoom will also be an option. 

Finally, if you have not done so already, please sign the Tasman Dr petition and email City Council in support. Let’s make Tasman Dr safe!

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About the Author

Ari Feinsmith is a lifetime resident of Casa de Amigos Mobile Home Park and the former lead of Bike Sunnyvale. He is a certified Engineer In Training and is currently at UC Davis studying transportation engineering.