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Michael Eiger loves trails. The Fallen Leaf Lane resident isn’t convinced, however, that his street is the right place for one.
Eiger is a member of Citizens for Responsible Trails, a group comprising residents of Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino that last month weighed in on the recently completed Stevens Creek Trail Joint Cities Feasibility Study. The study sought to determine routes that would connect the Mountain View and Cupertino segments of the multiuse trail.
“What a trail is not intended for, in my mind, is going down a residential street,” Eiger said of one of the proposed routes along Fallen Leaf Lane. “We’re having some fundamental challenges with the whole thing.”
Opponents and supporters alike still have time to voice their opinions. Local residents can submit feedback in writing through June 10 or attend the final of three input meetings, scheduled 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave.
City of Sunnyvale representative Christina Uribe reported that more than 100 residents attended the first of the three meetings. The project facilitator will include public comments in associated materials, she added.
LaNae Avra – Los Altos’ representative on the study’s Citizens Working Group – encourages residents to give their input.
“Now is a really good time,” she said, noting that the respective city councils will review written comments when considering the preferred alignment.
Identifying feasible alternatives
The study breaks the proposed trail extension area into three segments: Dale Avenue/Heatherstone Way in Mountain View to Fremont Avenue in Los Altos/Sunnyvale, Fremont Avenue to Homestead Road in Los Altos/Sunnyvale and Homestead Road to Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino.
“The best of all possible options would be to have it as separate as possible from cars,” said Avra, a resident of Grant Road. “That’s good for both the trail users and motorists.”
Her primary concern, she said, is safety for children as they bicycle and walk to school. Her chief goal is to ensure access for Los Altos residents.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to run through Los Altos,” she noted. “I just want to be sure that people in Los Altos have a safe way to get to the Stevens Creek Trail.”
Closing the gap
In contrast with the Class-1 bikeway of the existing trail, most of the current project consists of on-street alignments (see above map for study alternatives).
Citizens for Responsible Trails advocates leveraging existing infrastructure to complete the trail. The group said in its response to the study that officials should “resist the allure of a signature project” that doesn’t deliver a positive return to taxpayers for the investment.
“We can do minor modifications and get closer to your Class-1 trail experiences without having to spend the big money that you would on creating these trails,” Eiger said.
Avra said the study does not include a cost analysis – that will come once the city councils select an alternative.
“Any cost associated with the trail is minuscule in contrast to what the government spends on cars,” she added. “There aren’t any existing trails through the area. Using bike lanes on busy streets puts novice bicyclists, including children and seniors, in danger.”
In 2008, Los Altos embarked on its own feasibility study, which resulted in a preferred alignment that extended through the creek corridor parallel to Fremont Avenue and Grant Road. The city council accepted the report but did not adopt a preferred alternative, instead pursuing a regional study that would gather representation from the four different jurisdictions.
The new four-city feasibility study included the 2008 study’s prefered alignment as an option, along with Fallen Leaf Lane, Belleville Way and other alternatives east of the city.
The feasibility study is the first step in the trail planning process. All future planning and environmental review will allow for public input.
In addition to attending Monday’s meeting, residents may comment on the study or state their trail preference by emailing [email protected] or mailing a note to City of Sunnyvale, Attention: Public Works, SCT, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale 94086.
