The Sunnyvale City Council voted Nov. 17 against making the part-time bicycle lane on Homestead Road into a full-time bike lane due to concerns from residents over the loss of night street parking.
The council voted 6-1 to maintain the current arrangement on Sunnyvale’s side of the street. The current bike lane hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Residents who live along Homestead Road came out to share their opinions, as did bicycle advocates. During the three weeks leading up to the council meeting, city staff received 93 community correspondences, 72 of which opposed the creation of a full-time bike lane.
Bicycle advocates spoke in favor of turning the lane into a full-time bike lane, saying that it would encourage cycling and make it easier for bikers looking for an easy route along a busy main road at night.
Manuel Pineda, the city’s director of public works, advised the council to maintain the part-time bike hours on Homestead.
“We looked at bike and car volumes on the road. We also looked at collisions. For automobiles the collisions were below average and for bikes the collision data was fairly low as well,” said Pineda. “The majority of collisions are happening at intersections, which is pretty typical because that’s where most conflicting movements happen.”
Pineda went on to say that the volume of bicycles traveling on the road was also low and that in order to convert the existing space into a permanent bicycle lane 250 of the existing 317 parking spaces would have to be eliminated. Residents pleaded their case against the bike lane, saying that elderly or handicapped guests couldn’t park far from their homes.
“If the parking is completely removed, it will affect our socialization and gatherings,” said resident Mohan Rao. “What you are asking for is a sacrifice from our community without even caring for the residents.”
Bicycle advocates argued that a full-time bike lane would provide a safer environment for cyclists since it would be exclusively reserved for bikes and that it would encourage more cyclists, which could lessen traffic on Homestead, especially with the influx of workers coming at the completion of the new Apple campus at the corner of Homestead and Wolfe Road.
“Some people drove here tonight and didn’t have to think much because all of the roads are safe for cars,” said bicycle advocate Kevin Jackson. “You can’t do that on a bike because many roads aren’t safe, including Homestead. Cars don’t need those spaces; the space is much better for cyclists than for empty cars.”
Councilmen Gustav Larson and Jim Davis both noted that the current arrangement with bikes and parking on Homestead seems to be working well, as evidenced by the low number of collisions.
