Sunnyvale City Council
March 21, 2023

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Clark Wang
Angel
a Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 11:03:48 AM
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Dear Ms. Obeso,
I hope this email reaches you well. My name is Clark, a recent graduate of Lynbrook High School, and I endorse the following proposals regarding the Stevens Creek Trail:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership}.

Thank you for your consideration and your work to make Sunnyvale and the Bay Area a more bike­ friendly place.

Sincerely,
Clark
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Doro n Dru
Ang
ela Obeso
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 8: 16:44 PM
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I want to voice my support for the bike train being discussed tomorrow. Specifically:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

I am a senior citizen. Due to toe arthritis, my outdoor exercise is biking. Being able to reach Shoreline by bike will make a tremendous impact on my quality of life.

Thank you
Daron Drusinsky
Cupertino
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Frank Geefay
Angela Obeso
Phase 1: Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 11:28:00 AM
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I support the Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale. It is very important that the trail the trailhead start on both sides of highway 85 on Fremont Ave. However the East side fork is most important. Termite the trail segment on the South side of Fremont Ave. for pedestrian and bicycle safety.

For the Western fork please route the trail along the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is the farthest point of the Stanford Children's parking lot. Thank you.

Best Regards,
Frank Geefay
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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James Ford
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 11:11:21 AM
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Hi Angela,
I'm a Sunnyvale resident who lives on Belleville Way and am a frequent bike/run user of Stevens Creek trail for both recreation and commuting purposes and I'm also a Walk-Bike Cupertino member. I currently go through the Mountainview neighborhoods to the Sleeper Ave entrance, which can mean interacting with traffic at Mountain View high school, though it is better than trying to get across Fremont and up Bernardo where there is a lot of traffic from the 85 ramps.

In the plans for Phase I in Sunnyvale, having trail entrances on both sides of highway 85 would be really helpful. As I noted, there is a lot of traffic from both sides of Fremont and the connecting streets (Belleville/Bernardo) interacting with the on and off ramps for 85. Not having to go through that mess would increase bike/pedestrian safety. If the decision is made to only have a trail entrance on the west side, it would be better to have it closer to the creek where there is already a traffic light and crosswalk, rather than next to the 85 exit ramp, where people are often turning right on Fremont on a red light and not looking both ways for pedestrians/bikers.

Thank you!
James Ford
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[email protected]
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 2:09:14 PM
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Dear Ms. Aobeso,
I'm emailing to show support for Phase 1 of the Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale.

Most Importantly, I urge you to ensure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85.

Secondly, The trail should terminate on the SOUTH side of Fremont Avenue specifically for bike/pedestrian safety.

Last, but not least, for the western fork, consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp.

Thank you for your consideration,
Josephine Lucey
Sunnyvale Resident (Serra Park Neighborhood)
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mary yanatta
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 7:03:00 PM
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Dear Angela,
I'm writing to you as a resident of Cupertino and an avid cyclist and walker. I know that there is a meeting tomorrow to discuss the Stevens Creek Trail, and I want to add my name as a supporter of the following recommendations being made by Walk-Bike Cupertino and others:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more import ant and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

I know that you will likely hear from many others who live and work in our community, so I won't make my email any longer than it needs to be. I appreciate your hard work on this project!
Sincerely,
Mary Vanatta
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Miki Kwan
Angel
a Obeso
Steven's creek trail extension
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 1:23:57 PM
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I'm writing in support of:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Miki kwan
Sunnyvale resident
Frequent biker
Sent from my iPhone
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Nick Vrionis
Angela Obeso
Sunnyvale Phase 1
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 10:27:24 AM
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I support the addition of Sunnyvale phase 1 to connect to cupertino Sent from Mail for Windows
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Paolo Siccardo
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Steven's Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 1:17:01 PM
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Please support the initiative a consider the following points:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Thank you for supporting this important initiative!
Paolo Siccardo
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Rebecca Schaevitz
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 7:58:35 PM
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Hi,
I'd like to add my support for the bike lane work. I cannot attend the meeting and would like to add some important points.

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Thank you!
Rebecca
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Sudha Iyer
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 2:00: 16 PM
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Key support points:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).
thanks
Sudha
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Su
et FeL Li
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 4:57:48 PM
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Hello, I would like to voice my key support points:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

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Yvo
nne Strom
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 10:17:08 AM
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Hello,
I am an avid bike rider, and I agree with these points for bike accessibility and safety.

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Yvonne Thorstenson
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Angel
a Obeso
Trail at Fremont
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 7:33:56 PM
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Hi Angela,
Thanks for the presentation this evening. For the Fremont terminus of the trail, can you build a bridge over Fremont? Just kidding.

But seriously, the east segment (Segment 3) is truly quite problematic, particularly for south­ bound bicycle traffic, since there is no obvious safe way to transition to east-bound Fremont or even north or south-bound Bernardo.

Suggestions:
• remove segment 3 from the plan. You could also make it one-way north-bound only for bikes, if you can fix the problem of where the current bike lane is located on west­ bound Fremont (to the left of the onramp lane). Maybe have two bike lanes that split left and right at Bernardo, with the on-ramp traffic inbetween? • leverage Belleville/Fremont intersection wit h well-marked bike lanes/ crosswalks to allow safe transitions. That intersection has good visibility and fewer distractions, in my opinion.
o Extend 2 lanes of the Segment 2 trail along Fremont to that intersection o the transition from Fremont east-bound to the trail and vice-versa would be via crosswalk{s)
Let me know what the next steps are with the plan and other opportunities to provide feedback.

Thanks,
Don Bergstedt
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GEOFFREY PAULSEN
Angel
a Obeso
Larry Dean; J. Shearin; Seema Lindskog
Phase I Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnvale
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 10:48:42 AM
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Hello, Ms. Obeso
I'm very excited that Sunnyvale is finally building it's segm ent of the Stevens Creek Trail!
A few thoughts:

SHORT TERM:
- To best serve all the nearby residents, please terminate the trail at Fremont Avenue on BOTH sides of highway 85.

T erminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/ pedestrian safety.
- For the western fork, please consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ram p. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).
-It's currently a tight squeeze along Bernardo, so to accomm odate two-way car traffic, the Trail, and parking, car s can be parked on the city-owned mow strip between the existing street trees.

LONG TERM:

The trail currently can't be built alongside the creek because the creek bed itself was sold by PG&E to adjacent residents who may be resistant to a trail being built behind their homes.

So - Craig Britton, the former General Manager of the Mid peninsula Regional Open Space District, told me that a way to solve this problem is to buy trail easements (but with with lifetimee estates) from property owner along the creek. In other words, we will pay them money to ensure that they (personally) never saw the trail built behind their home. It would be built after they passed away or sold their homes.

Mr. Britton is a brilliant (an d was at times reviled) lan d acquision man ager who worked on buying the right of way for CalTrans for Highway 85, and Attachment 3

later for Mid
Pen.

Than k you for taking on this complex project, and I hope all goes well as you work toward its completion.
rega rds ,
Geoff Paulsen
Form er cha ir, Cupe rtino Plan ning Commission
Form er associate plan ner, Midpe nins ula Regiona l Open Spa ce District Form er board member, Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
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Ginger Wolnik
Angela Obeso
Stevens Creek Trail landscaping resources
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 7:38:21 PM
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Thank you for the presentation today! Here is a list of possible resources.

Contact Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) about purchasing any small strips of private property, eg. to make Segment 2 come closer to the creek. They can help with legal consulation for the tax advantages for private land owners to donate or sell below market value.
https://openspacetrust.org/
Contact Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District about taking over the open acres so they will be responsible for landscaping and recreation improvements. https://www.openspace.org/
Contact the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) for recommendations on landscaping consulting and funding.
https://www.cnps.org/
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CNPS can provide expertise on locally native plant options.
https://www.cnps-scv.org/
Their website has a list of local restoration projects, I hope that the landscaping along the Sunnyvale segments can be added to these!
https://www.cnps-scv.org/restora tion/local-projects
Calflora has an interactive planting guide to assist with landscaping, as well as other resources about California native plants.
https://www.calflora.org
Ginger Wolnik
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Jean-L
uc Marce
Angela Obeso
Stevens Creek Trail heads at Fremont Ave
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 11:22:30 PM
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Hello Angela,
My name is Jean-Luc Maree and I've been living on Bedford Ave, Sunnyva le, for the past 25 years. I too have been using the Stevens Creek Trail a fair amount, typically entering it from Sleeper Ave, and have been watching all studies related to the trail extensions with keen interest. I've read the Joint Feasibility Study and various other documents on alignments.

Thanks a lot for running this project and for conducting this community outreach. Today's session was a great experience.

As my home is very close to the proposed jonction at Fremont Ave, I've crossed that area hundreds of times by car, by bike, and by foot, so I am very familiar with its geometry and space constraints. I can only confirm the safety concerns raised by many during this evening's presentation. I've also crossed Fremont Ave by foot at the traffic I ights of both Bernardo Ave and Belleville Way dozens of times and have a good sense of the safety of those crossings.

With this context, I have a simple proposal, which should address the safety concerns raised with the proposed segment 3 along the I-85 northbound onramp and its connection to the east side Fremont Ave, and which extends the suggestion of building a pedestrian bridge over Fremont Ave early as part of Phase I:

1. Its main premise is that the proposed junction on the East side of I-85 next to the northbound onramp is horrific safety-wise for bicyclists from/to all directions:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, the existing bike lane has 3 lanes to its left and a tum lane onto the northbound onramp to the right. How would bicyclists cross that tum lane safely to the trail head while cars are zooming by in that tum lane? We would have to add another bike lane to the right of that tum lane, but there does not seem to be enough room for that. The situation would be only worse with 2 tum lanes.
o From the south side of Bernardo Ave, bicyclists would need to tum left onto westbound Fremont Ave, then have the same issue as above. o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to do au -tum at the Bernardo Ave traffic light, pay attention to drivers merging right from the north side of Bernardo Ave to Fremont Ave, then cross the tum lane to the Trail Head. o From the trail to eastbound Fremont Ave or to the south side of Bemando, bicyclists would need to bike counter-traffic up to Bemando Ave and cross Fremont Ave there. Cringe-worthy.
° From the trail to westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to cross that tum lane and merge to Fremont Ave, which would be somewhat unsafe as well.

2. The situation is much better for pedestrians, who can cross safely at the Bernardo Ave traffic light (if coming from East/South of trail head) or at Belleville Way (if coming from Los Altos or from Belleville Way), then use sidewalks to reach the east side trail head.

Attachment 3

3. An
other issue with having that east side Fremont Ave junction is that the area next to the northbound onramp is fairly narrow, so it will be very difficult to have both a junction to Fremont Ave and a bridge crossing it to the south side of Bernardo Ave, even with some costly reconfiguration of that I-85 onramp.

4. Because of the bicyclists' safety concerns and the previous point, I'm suggesting a rather radical idea, which is to nix that junction on the northside of Fremont Ave altogether and only do the bridge to the other side of Fremont Ave. The main rationale is that an eastside Fremont Ave junction cannot be made safe, no matter how much green paint you put on the pavement. This approach would save on costs for changing the layout of that congested Fremont Ave. It would also not interfere with the idea of adding a second right turn lane from Fremont Ave to that onramp. And having a bridge that lands in the big area between the northbound off ramp and Bernardo Ave and thus have the trail head being on a low-traffic Bernardo Ave would solve all main safety concerns:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply turn left onto Bernardo Ave using the existing left turn lane.
o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply turn right onto Bernardo Ave and join the trail head there.
o From the north side of Bernardo, bicyclists would continue straight onto the south side of Bernardo and join the trail head there.
o From the south side of Bernardo (so as we will have longer-term with the next phase of the project), the junction is also very safe.
o Coming from the trail, people would offramp to Bernardo Ave, which would be much safer than an offramp to Fremont Ave, then can either go north toward Fremont Ave or south toward Homestead Ave

5. The other big advantage of this approach is that it would allow Stevens Creek Trail users to continue southward on Bernardo Ave (which is already pretty safe for bicyclists), turn left on Homestead Ave to connect to the Mary/280 bridge toward Stevens Creek Blvd, then join back the Trail at the Blackberry Farm, providing a temporary route until Phase II of the Trail is designed and built.

6. I heard your main concern with building that bridge early is that we don't know yet what the trail layout on Bernardo Ave will be and thus cannot plan how to build a bridge that will align with that, but it seems that at least the decision to use Bernardo Ave for that has already been made and that given the vast available area on the south side of Fremont Ave, we could design a bridge with a wide enough offramp area that could accommodate various layouts of Bernardo Ave or even reconfigure the end of that off ramp as needed. This seems to be a small uncertainty and much smaller problem compared to the safety challenges of the Fremont Ave landing.

Likewise the proposed segment 2 and its junction on the west side of Fremont Ave next to the 1-85 southbound offramp have issues as well:

1. First it's never pleasant to bike or walk right next to a highway ramp.

2. There isn't that much space on the west side of that off ramp and cars turning right onto westbound Fremont often cheat toward the right side of that off ramp if the left lane is backed up, which would make it less safe for bicyclists .In other words, that offramp is already too narrow for its use, so adding a bike lane next to it might make traffic worse.

3. Presumably the main intended use of that segment would be for bicyclists/pedestrians intending to continue west on Fremont Ave toward Los Altos, but bicyclists would have to contend with cars merging right from that offramp, which would be somewhat Attachment 3

unsafe.

4. It'd be difficult to have other uses, not even for eastbo und Fremont Ave bicyclists, as
there's no allowed left tum or u-turn on Fremont Ave where that offramp is. Bicyclists on westbound Fremont Ave would use the entrance on the east side of I-85, wherever it is. So this segment 2 would be quite costly to build and have limited usage.

5. Given that, I second the idea of engaging with the Stanford Hospital on the idea of using some space on the west end of their parking lot, right next to the creek, and have that connect to the north side of Fremont Ave close to the Sunnyvale-Los Altos bridge over the Stevens Creek. That area would be a lot safer to join Fremont Ave. Also by having it there, bicyclists coming from Los Altos on eastbound Fremont could simply u-turn at the Belleville Way traffic light to join the trail. It'd be easy access from Belleville Way as well.

6. I've heard in the meeting that this bridge might get rebuilt by Los Altos, which would be welcome news as its current configuration is very narrow and causes congestion and some safety concerns If so, we might want to wait for more information from Los Altos on their plans and defer that segment 2 until we have more info. Ideally, that bridge could accommodate an underpass and thus trail landings on both sides of Fremont Ave, which would make it much easier for Los Altos residents to connect to the trail.

Thanks again for doing this and for inviting the community to give feedback. Looking forward to the next updates.

Cheers,
Jean-Luc
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Jim Meyerson
Angela Obeso
about the 2-lane bridge on Fremont Ave. west of SR85
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 7:29:59 PM
FOSCT email logo.png
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Angela,
Great meeting tonight!!
Here is info on the antiquated 2-lane bridge over Stevens Creek on Fremont Avenue a few hundred feet west of SR85. Info is taken from page 59 of Final Feasibility Study.

Traffic operations and pedestrian and bicycle circulation in this area could be enhanced with a new bridge over the Stevens Creek at Fremont Avenue. The existing bridge is approximately 5 5 feet wide with a l 0-foot wide cantilevered wooden path attached to the north side of the bridge structure. This bridge conveys a single lane of traffic in each direction with a merge lane heading west into Los Altos. Traffic speeds are 9 mph faster than the posted 30 mph speed limit and the area is subject to significant traffic backups (Los Altos, 2011, pp. 63-64). A wider bridge would allow for improved traffic queuing and complete pedestrian and bicycle facilities. A new bridge would also provide an opportunity to construct a trail underpass that would safely convey trail users to both sides of the bridge and into the appropriate travel direction of the bicycle lanes and possible Fremont/Grant path alignment. A trail underpass is not feasible with the current concrete arch bridge built in 1911.

JiM
Jim Meyerson
Board Member, Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
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John Cordes
Angela Obeso
Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 10: 18:21 AM
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Hi Angela,
I want to make three key points about the extension.

I. The trail should fork and terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. The trail segment should include improved crossing(s) of Fremont Avenue for increased bike/pedestrian safety.

3. lf the western fork moves forward, consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Children's parking lot (already leveled and paved but in private ownership) Sincerely,
John Cordes
a
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Mary Date
o
Angela Obeso
Stevens Creek Trail - Alignment Evaluation
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 7:25:35 PM
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Hello Angela,
I attended the meeting this evening, and would like to follow-up regarding Segment 3.

If there is any flexibilit y regarding alignment, I realize this would require access to private property, but it might solve a lot of problems if you could get agreement with the Sunnyvale Post-Acute Center on Bernardo to use part of their drive on the nort h side of their property.

This drive is visible in Google Maps; in street view, it's fairly wide.

If not, possibly the trail should wind around the south side of the Sunnyvale Post-Acute Center, so that the trail would exit onto Bernardo, across from Yorkt own Dr. There appears to be a vacant lot right on the corner.

The County Assessor Map shows that corner (southwest corner of Bernardo & Fremont) to be a separat e lot.

If you can receive attachments, I'd be happy to send a sketch.

Thank you for all of your work on this project.
- Mary Dateo
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Nicole Frees
Angela Obeso
Off-line Comment re: Stevens Creek Trail
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 7:17:58 PM
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Thank you for the excellent, informative meeting this evening. I didn't see a benefit of extending the meeting by adding my comment on the Zoom call, but wanted to be heard offline.

I live on Brookmill Road across the creek from 1195 West Fremont. I heard a few people express their desire to pursue moving the trail (on the Westside) to the Stanford Medical center property. I would like to put in my counter opinion that there are many of us with private residences adjacent to the creek who would prefer not to be exposed to the trail traffic.

We have a back fence, but a number of our neighbors have no back fence and would be completely exposed to the trail from their backyards should this alternative alignment occur.

Thank you again for your thoughtful consideration of all the input.

Best regards,
Nicole Frees
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Sharle
ne Liu
Angela Obeso
Stevens Creek Trail landings at Fremont near Bernardo
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 8:29:17 PM
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Hi Angela,
Nice community meeting on the Stevens Creek Trail extension tonight. In addition to my 2 comments during the meeting, I have one more which I'll type here. For completeness, I'll re­ iterate my 2 comments that I made during the meeting (# I and #2 below), and then type my 3rd comment.

I) For trail users connecting to the south side of Fremont, it is unsafe for them to have to cross Fremont near Bernardo. One hazard is Fremont is a 6-7 car lane road at that intersection.

Another hazard is the right tum only lane from SB Bernardo to WB Fremont to NB 85 on­ ramp that trail users would have to cross, and drivers are going fast in the right tum only lane as their minds are on getting on the highway. So, do seriously consider putting a landing on the south side of Fremont.
2) The study issue proposal DPW 23-01 coming before Council next Tuesday, 1/24, proposes to add a second right tum lane on SB Bernardo at Fremont. That will widen the intersection and make the crossing for pedestrians and cyclists even more dangerous. It's already dangerous with I right tum lane, so a 2nd right tum lane is even more dangerous. City staff supports DPW 23-01. Please coordinate with the city staff responsible for DPW 23-01 and provide input on how that proposal will make it more dangerous for the Stevens Creek landing at that locaion. Ideally, city staff can modify their view on DPW 23-01 so that they don't categorically support it, if at all. Council will be considering the study issues on 1/24, so it would be ideal if you can look into this conflict before then. 3) Assuming you have enough funding for just 2 landings, consider de-funding one of the landings on the north side of Fremont in favor of funding a landing on the south side of Fremont, to end up with one landing each on the north side and south side of Fremont. There are 2 reasons why this is a good idea. (I) It is more dangerous to cross Fremont than to cross the on-ramp and off-ramp of hwy 85 on Fremont. In the former, you're crossing 6-7 lanes of car traffic; in the latter, you're crossing 2 lanes at the on ramp and then 2 lanes at the off ramp. (2) There will be more trail users coming off the trail heading east on Fremont than heading west on Fremont. So more users would use a south side landing than a north side landing.

Putting 2 landings on the north side of Fremont is somewhat redundant and will not serve trail users well.

Thank you for taking my input.

Sharlene Liu
Attachment 3

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To:

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Date:
smkale @yah
oo.com
Angela Obeso
Support : Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:20:43 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hello,
Writing to support the Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale:

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Thanks
Sonali Kale
Attachment 3

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Att achments:

Andrea Stawitcke
Angela Obeso
Thank you!
Thursday, January 19, 2023 8:34:23 AM
FOSCT email logo.png
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela,
Just wanted to send my thanks for a great zoom meeting about the trail.

The slides were great and the speakers clear and concise. I think everyone learned a lot, plus allowing plenty of time for Q&A was very helpful for everyone.

I did not speak because I would simply echo what was said by several speakers regarding the plan for landings at Fremont/Bernardo/85. It will be a huge challenge to come up with a solution that meets everyone's needs - bicyclists, pedestrians and auto traffic.

I am hopeful that the end result design will satisfy all of us!! I plan on attending both the BPAC and council meetings when the trail extension will be discussed.

Thanks again ­
Andrea Stawitcke (she/her)
Secretary
Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
http;//stevenscreektrail,org
a
Attachment 3

From:

To:

Subject:

Date:

Co
nnie Mariottini
Angela Obeso
Stevens Creek Trail
Thursday, January 19, 2023 6:34:40 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hello Angela & thank you & others for the Zoom present ation last night.

I want to explain the current, past & possible future issues of this expensive
trail for bicyclists & walkers as I have experienced over the years.

Garbage along the sides of trail. Diaper, dog poop in bags, drink & food bags.

Graffiti on bridge to Dale/Heatherstone. While this is human behavior on the trail, it could
ha~p,...~ ;~ +-h ,... ,..reek also T', , ,... 1"nO"Vn women +-ha +- .. ,ill no 'anger I '5° th 0 [J CCI I II I L I I C • L V I\ I V' I II II I I V V i L t '© , trail as they don't
feel safe walking it alone. I strongly recomm end no trail head to begin or end onto Fremont Ave. from Bernardo to Bellville. The safety of people vs. cars, trucks, buses is critical. Is the committee
aware of the everyday use (24/7) of EMT's from 85 to Fremont/Grant Rd. to El Camino Hospital? It's a critical life saving corridor.

While the visions of the trail start ing @ the Bay I though t was a good idea (30+ yrs. ago) to support biking to work I knew the negat ive impacts as it proceeded further into the all residential/
commercial areas of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos & Cupertino. End the trail head at Remingt on with a multi use park for all.

I also recommend Sunnyvale be the city that puts their priorities & funds into upgrading the roads & signage for bike & pedestrian safety through out all major streets. I'm seeing it in other cities & all comments are positive.

Thank you for your time & consideration on this.

Connie Mariottini
Attachment 3

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Attachments:

Mary Dateo
Angela Obeso
Re: Stevens Creek Trail - Alignment Evaluation
Thursday, January 19, 2023 12: 18:27 PM
image001.png
image002.png
i mage003. png
image004.png
Fremont & Bernardo.pdf
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela,
Sketch att ached, including a copy of the County Assessor Map, showing
- wide driveway at SubAcute center
-Lo t 4, right at the corner of Bernardo & Fremont; does Sunnyvale own it? - Mary
On 1/19/23 9:47 AM, Angela Obeso wrote:

Good morning Mary,
Thank you for att ending and for following up with your additional comments. Yes, I can receive attachments, so if you have a sketch you can send, that would be very appreciated.

Thanks again,
Angela
,
2 e"
Sunnyvale
Follow us on:

I :Tm
Angela Obeso, P.E. (she/her)
Principal Transportation Engineer
Department of Public Works
Phone:

Email: aobeso@sunnyvale,ca.gov
Web: 5 u e c g
Our One-Stop Permit Center is launching a new e-permitting system on Monday, Oct.

31. You'll need to create an account to apply for Building, Fire, Planning and Public Attachment 3

Works Engin
eering permits. Visit Sunnyvale.ca.gov/Permit©enter for details.

From: Mary Dateo
Sent: W
ednesday, January 18, 2023 7:25 PM
To: Angela Obeso <AObeso@sunny\vale.ca.gov>
Subject: Stevens Creek Trail - Alignment Evaluation
ATTN: Email is from
an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hello Angela,
I attended the meeting this evening, and would like to follow-up regarding Segment 3.

If there is any flexibility regarding alignment, I realize this would require access to private property, but it might solve a lot of problems if you could get agreement with the Sunnyvale Post-Acute Center on Bernardo to use part of their drive on the north side of their property.

This drive is visible in Google Maps; in street view, it's fairly wide.

If not, possibly the trail should wind around the south side of the Sunnyvale Post-Acute Center, so that the trail would exit onto Bernardo, across from Yorktown Dr. There appears to be a vacant lot right on the corne r.

The County Assessor Map shows that corner (southwest corner of Bernardo & Fremont) to be a separate lot.

If you can receive attachments, I'd be happy to send a sketch.

Thank you for all of your work on this project.
- Mary Dateo
Attachment 3

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Attachment 3

From:

To:

Subject:

Date:

Sarat Khil
nanj
Angela Obeso
Feedback on Stevens Creek Trail
Thursday, January 19, 2023 2:35:59 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela;
I am writing to share my feedback on the planned Stevens Creek Trail project:

The most important aspect of this project is to make it easier for people to access the trail. As such, making sure that the trail terminates and provides access at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85 would be key. If a choice needs to be made due to cost considerations, then I believe that the Eastern fork would be more important and will provider easier access and carry more traffic than the Western fork.

I would also suggest that the project terminates the trail segment on the South side of Fremont Avenue. In my opinion, this approach will provide a greater level of bike/pedestrian safety.

Lastly, if the Western fork is added to the plan, we should consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in the Stanford Childrens' parking lot (already leveled and paved, but in private ownership).

Sincerely
Sarat
Sarat Khilnani
Attachment 3

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o:

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Steve Garrity
Angela Obeso
Great Job On Community Meeting
Thursday, January 19, 2023 3:34:35 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela
I sat through your community meeting yesterday on the Stevens Creek Trail Extension. Very nicely done. Well organized. Very open about hearing feedback from community members. I think folks are excited to see this project move forward. I know we are.

Regards
Steve Garrity
Signage Committee
Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
Attachment 3

From:

To:

Su
bject:

Date:

Tony Li
Angela Obeso
Steven"s Creek Trail, Remington to Fremont
Thursday, January 19, 2023 11:51:23 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela,
Thank you for the meeting this last Wednesday, it was very helpful.

I'm a neighbor in Los Altos, near Grant and Fremont. I have used the Stevens Creek trail extensively, at one point I was using it for commuting to work. It's a huge asset for our community and I'm thrilled to see it finally expanded.

I'm also a member of the Western Wheeler's Bicycle Club, a local club of about 1,000 dues paying recreational cyclists with rides pretty much daily somewhere in the area. We look forward to riding the new, expanded trail.

I strongly support the expansion. I'm thrilled that we're making progress and I would like to urge you and the city council to move forward with all alacrity.

I would like to echo all of the points raised in the meeting about the safety of the Fremont access. That area is already a mess.

I did hear the point that proceeding southbound along the creek bed and under Fremont was not possible. I would ask that we revisit that as it would be huge improvement for safety and connection with segment 3.

Regards,
Tony Li, Ph.D.

VP Juniper Fellow, Juniper Networks
Vice-Chair Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Senior Commission
Attachment 3

From:

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bject:

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Steve Elich
Angela Obeso
Follow-up Comment: Stevens Creek Trail Meeting - January 18, 2023 Friday, January 20, 2023 12:08:0 3 PM
Walk Bike Cupertino - SCT Lobbying.png
Walk Bike Cupertino_- SCT Lobbying.png
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hi Angela,
I wanted to thank you for the presentation on January 18 regarding the Stevens Creek Trail. I also wanted to bring something to your attention in case you may not be aware of all the background on this project.

My concern with the Questions portion of the meeting was that someone may be left with the impression that there is a groundswell of support in the community for things like an over­ crossing on the south end of the trail segment from Fremont to Bernardo.

The very first person to speak was Tim Oey. Oey is a past president and board member of the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail (https:/ www,stevenscreektrail.org/Org_). He has been an active member of that organization since 2009. He was also a member of the Citizens Working Group for the Joint Cities Task Force despite his obvious bias and the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The comments he made, and which were echoed by many members of local bicycle organizations, were not comments made by an impartial member of the community, but by an activist who is part of a decades long quest to complete the Stevens Creek Trail as close to the creek as possible, with literally no concern for the impact on local residents. They have publicly stated that impacted citizens will have to suffer for the greater good that the trail provides. The over-crossing he is advocating for was not approved by the Sunnyvale City Council as part of the Joint Cities project.

By flooding these types of meetings with the same comments, they attempt to give the impression that the vast majority of the public supports their positions. In fact, they are part of a highly-organized vocal minority who lobby intensively at every level of government. As an example, see the Walk Bike Cupertino newsletter excerpt below exhorting members to provide the same input.

I want to thank you for holding the line on maintaining the scope of the project. That said, you can expect continued lobbying of this type for the life of this project.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kind regards,
Steve Elich
Citizens for Responsible Trails
Attachment 3

Stevens
Creek Trail
and
Homestead
Lanes
Hello Steve,
We are sendi
ng out an off-cycle email alert to you so that you don't miss these important upcoming meetings.

We need your help to:
►make the Homestead Lanes full time, and
►make the Stevens Creek Trail extension in Sunnyvale have trailheads on both sides of Fremont Avenue
An email is just as helpful as attending the meeting-­
please send one today!
Stevens Creek Trail path t hrough Sunnyvale
·'r• . . . .

This meeti ng will decide how the tra il runs
along the creek and and in the Sunnyvale
city limits.

There are three things that need suppo rt,
with having trail access on both sides of
CA-85 at Fremont the most importa nt.
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Click on image for a larger view.

Date: TOMORROW, January 18
Time: 6:00pm
Use button below to join the Zoom
meeting, or call in at (833) 548-0276,
meeting ID 862 5927 3812.

Join the meeting on Zoom >
Send email of support >
The email will go to Angela Obeso, who is the
Sunnyvale project manager in charge ot collecting
communi ty responses. We recommend cut/pasting the
key support points below and using a subject line ot
"Phase 1 Stevens Creek Trail in Sunnyvale".

More information >
Key support points :

1. MOST IMPORTANT: make sure that the trail continues to terminate at Fremont Avenue on both sides of highway 85. One is not enough. (If a choice needs to be made, then the eastern fork is more important and will carry more traffic than the western fork.)

2. Terminate the trail segment on the south side of Fremont Avenue for bike/pedestrian safety.

3. For the western fork consider routing it closer to the creek rather than following the highway 85 exit ramp. The area in question is currently the farthest point in Stanford Children's' parking lot (already leveled and paved , but in private ownership).

Attachment 3

From:

To:

S
ubject:

Date:

Jean-Luc Marce
Angela Obeso
Re: Stevens Creek Trail heads at Fremont Ave
Friday, January 27, 2023 11:22:01 AM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Just a few follow-ups on my previous email:
• Although building the bridge over Fremont Ave in phase I would increase the cost of that phase, it will reduce the overall cost long-term because this bridge will need to be built eventually and building the bridge early would remove the need for the redundant Fremont Ave connection, the Fremont Ave modifications and the complications for having both connections. If the budget of phase I is fixed, I'd second the suggestion of deferring the complicated Segment 2 construction until Phase 2. • I've gone and checked the possible paths to have segment 2 go along the Creek corridor and end by the Sunnyvale-Los Altos bridge over the Creek. Looking from that bridge, there's no path possible at the top-of-the-bank on the east side of the creek, but there's an existing path on the west side of the creek owned by SCWD. This path is short though and unless there's a way to continue and bridge this path all the way to the creek/85 underpass, such a path might not be viable. So unless an agreement could be made with Standard Hospital to use part of their property, this idea won't work. • The corridor next to the southbound 85 offramp, exactly as you have planned, does look more promising, but I still have misgivings about how bikers going eastbound on Fremont Ave from Los Altos will be able to tum left and enter the Trail. One option would be to add a bike-only left tum from eastbound Fremont Ave to the Creek Trail entrance, just at the same location where drivers tum left from the southbound 85 offramp, but that seems a very dangerous spot to add a bike crossing. • Assuming this crossing is not added, most bikers will need to tum left at the Belleville Way traffic light, then ride counter-flow on the Fremont Ave northside sidewalk to join the path connection. This would require some modification of the sidewalk and bike lane, otherwise this counter-flow would be dangerous for pedestrians, but there's fairly limited space for having 2 bike lanes+ a sidewalk, so you'd probably have to sacrifice the sidewalk.
• One other option would be to sacrifice one of the two westbound traffic lanes of Fremont Ave between the 85 offramp and Belleville Way. My observation is that those 2 lanes are underused and one should suffice, in particular since there's already a left tum lane going to Belleville Way and the traffic flow going straight toward Los Altos reduces to one lane anyway. Hopefully this could be done without sacrificing the free right tum from the southbound 85 offramp to westbound Fremont Ave. Obviously the impact of those changes on traffic should be studied in more detail.

I hope you will consider those various ideas. Let me know if any of those are unclear.

Regards,
Jean-Luc Marce
On Wed, Jan 18, 2023 at 11 :22 PM Jean-Luc Maree
Hello Angela,
wrote:

Attachment 3

My name is Je
an-Luc Maree and I've been living on Bedford Ave, Sunnyvale, for the past 25 years. I too have been using the Stevens Creek Trail a fair amount, typically entering it from Sleeper Ave, and have been watching all studies related to the trail extensions with keen interest. I've read the Joint Feasibility Study and various other documents on alignments. Thanks a lot for running this project and for conducting this community outreach. Today's session was a great experience.

As my home is very close to the proposed jonction at Fremont Ave, I've crossed that area hundreds of times by car, by bike, and by foot, so I am very familiar with its geometry and space constraints. I can only confirm the safety concerns raised by many during this evening's presentation. I've also crossed Fremont Ave by foot at the traffic lights of both Bernardo Ave and Belleville Way dozens of times and have a good sense of the safety of those crossings.

With this context, I have a simple proposal, which should address the safety concerns raised with the proposed segment 3 along the I-85 northbound onramp and its connection to the east side Fremont Ave, and which extends the suggestion of building a pedestrian bridge over Fremont Ave early as part of Phase I:

1. Its main premise is that the proposed junction on the East side of 1-85 next to the northbound onramp is horrific safety-wise for bicyclists from/to all directions:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, the existing bike lane has 3 lanes to its left and a tum lane onto the northbound onramp to the right. How would bicyclists cross that tum lane safely to the trail head while cars are zooming by in that tum lane? We would have to add another bike lane to the right of that tum lane, but there does not seem to be enough room for that. The situation would be only worse with 2 tum lanes.
o From the south side of Bernardo Ave, bicyclists would need to tum left onto westbound Fremont Ave, then have the same issue as above. o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to do au-tum at the Bernardo Ave traffic light, pay attention to drivers merging right from the north side of Bernardo Ave to Fremont Ave, then cross the tum lane to the Trail Head.
o From the trail to eastbound Fremont Ave or to the south side of Bemando, bicyclists would need to bike counter-traffic up to Bemando Ave and cross Fremont Ave there. Cringe-worthy.
o From the trail to westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to cross that tum lane and merge to Fremont Ave, which would be somewhat unsafe as well.

2. The situation is much better for pedestrians, who can cross safely at the Bernardo Ave traffic light (if coming from East/South of trail head) or at Belleville Way (if coming from Los Altos or from Belleville Way), then use sidewalks to reach the east side trail head.

3. Another issue with having that east side Fremont Ave junction is that the area next to the northbound onramp is fairly narrow, so it will be very difficult to have both a junction to Fremont Ave and a bridge crossing it to the south side of Bernardo Ave, even with some costly reconfiguration of that I-85 onramp.

4. Because of the bicyclists ' safety concerns and the previous point, I'm suggesting a rather radical idea, which is to nix that junction on the northside of Fremont Ave altogether and only do the bridge to the other side of Fremont Ave. The main rationale is that an eastside Fremont Ave junction cannot be made safe, no matter how much Attachment 3

green paint you put o
n the pavement. This approach would save on costs for changing the layout of that congested Fremont Ave. It would also not interfere with the idea of adding a second right tum lane from Fremont Ave to that onramp. And having a bridge that lands in the big area between the northbound off ramp and Bernardo Ave and thus have the trail head being on a low-traffic Bernardo Ave would solve all main safety concerns:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply tum left onto Bernardo Ave using the existing left turn lane.
o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply tum right onto Bernardo Ave andjoin the trailhead there.
o From the north side of Bernardo, bicyclists would continue straight onto the south side of Bernardo and join the trail head there.
o From the south side of Bernardo (so as we will have longer-term with the next phase of the project), the junction is also very safe.
o Coming from the trail, people would offramp to Bernardo Ave, which would be much safer than an offramp to Fremont Ave, then can either go north toward Fremont Ave or south toward Homestead Ave

5. The other big advantage of this approach is that it would allow Stevens Creek Trail users to continue southward on Bernardo Ave (which is already pretty safe for bicyclists), turn left on Homestead Ave to connect to the Mary/280 bridge toward Stevens Creek Blvd, then join back the Trail at the Blackberry Farm, providing a temporary route until Phase II of the Trail is designed and built.

6. I heard your main concern with building that bridge early is that we don't know yet what the trail layout on Bernardo Ave will be and thus cannot plan how to build a bridge that will align with that, but it seems that at least the decision to use Bernardo Ave for that has already been made and that given the vast available area on the south side of Fremont Ave, we could design a bridge with a wide enough offramp area that could accommod ate various layouts of Bernardo Ave or even reconfigure the end of that off ramp as needed. This seems to be a small uncertainty and much smaller problem compared to the safety challenges of the Fremont Ave landing.

Likewise the proposed segment 2 and its junction on the west side of Fremont Ave next to the 1-85 southbound offramp have issues as well:

1. First it's never pleasant to bike or walk right next to a highway ramp.

2. There isn't that much space on the west side of that off ramp and cars turning right onto westbound Fremont often cheat toward the right side of that off ramp if the left lane is backed up, which would make it less safe for bicyclists .In other words, that offramp is already too narrow for its use, so adding a bike lane next to it might make traffic worse.

3. Presumably the main intended use of that segment would be for bicyclists/pedestrians intending to continue west on Fremont Ave toward Los Altos, but bicyclists would have to contend with cars merging right from that offramp, which would be somewhat unsafe.

4. It'd be difficult to have other uses, not even for eastbound Fremont Ave bicyclists, as there's no allowed left turn or u-turn on Fremont Ave where that offramp is. Bicyclists on westbound Fremont Ave would use the entrance on the east side of I­ 85, wherever it is. So this segment 2 would be quite costly to build and have limited usage.

5. Given that, I second the idea of engaging with the Stanford Hospital on the idea of Attachment 3

using some space on the west end
of their parking lot, right next to the creek, and have that connect to the north side of Fremont Ave close to the Sunnyvale-Los Altos bridge over the Stevens Creek. That area would be a lot safer to join Fremont Ave. Also by having it there, bicyclists coming from Los Altos on eastbound Fremont could simply u-turn at the Belleville Way traffic light to join the trail. It'd be easy access from Belleville Way as well.

6. I've heard in the meeting that this bridge might get rebuilt by Los Altos, which would be welcome news as its current configuration is very narrow and causes congestion and some safety concerns If so, we might want to wait for more information from Los Altos on their plans and defer that segment 2 until we have more info. Ideally, that bridge could accommodate an underpass and thus trail landings on both sides of Fremont Ave, which would make it much easier for Los Altos residents to connect to the trail.

Thanks again for doing this and for inviting the community to give feedback. Looking forward to the next updates.

Cheers,
Jean-Luc
Attachment 3

Fro
m:

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Cc:

Subject:

Date:

Attachments:

Sharlene Liu
Angela Obeso
jim me verson
Stevens Creek r ail Extension, Pha se ., Fremont Ave landing proposals Friday, January 27, 2023 1:14:49 PM
Letter to Sunnyvale Staff, 1 26 23.pdf
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
(Corrected Jim's email address.)
Dear Angela,
Members of Bike Sunnyvale and Friends of Stevens Creek Trail attended the Community Meeting that you hosted on January 18, 2023 regarding Phase 1 of the Stevens Creek Trail Extension. Thank you for the very informative meeting. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our feedback during the meeting.

Subsequent to the Community Meeting, Bike Sunnyvale and Friends of Stevens Creek Trail met to agree on 3 proposals for Phase 1. Our biggest concern is the safety at the potential landings on Fremont Ave for trail users of all ages and all abilities, including children, families, and elderly (both walking and biking). Please find our 3 proposals in the attached letter, which Bike Sunnyvale and Friends of Stevens Creek ratified yesterday.

One of our proposals is to route the NW landing so that it goes to the west of the Stanford Children's Clinic parking lot.

Can you email me back to confirm the receipt of this email and attached letter? Thank you!
Sharlene
Attachment 3

January 26, 2023
De
ar Ms. Obeso and City Staff,
Members of Bike Sunnyvale and Friends of Stevens Creek Trail attended the Community Meeting that Angela Obeso hosted on January 18, 2023 regarding Phase 1 of the Stevens Creek Trail Extension. Thank you for the very informative meeting. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our feedback during the meeting.

Subsequent to the Community Meeting, Bike Sunnyvale and Friends of Stevens Creek Trail met to agree on 3 proposals for Phase 1. We would like to present our concerns and suggestions. Our biggest concern is the safety at the potential landings on Fremont Ave for trail users of all ages and all abilities, including children, families, and elderly (both walking and biking).

For purposes here, we define the trail access point locations relative to the crossing of Hwy 85 and Fremont Ave, designating them NE, NW, SE, and SW. Here are our proposals for consideration:

1.W e believe a NE landing (north side of Fremont Ave. between Hwy 85 and Bernardo). is too dangerous for trail users (walkers, cyclists, children, families,etc) coming or going in both directions of Fremont Ave. Trail users coming off the trail wanting to head east on Fremont, as well as those entering the trail from the west, would have to cross Fremont Ave .. Fremont at the NE landing area is a 6-lane road, and includes a right-turn only lane onto Hwy 85. Cars are going fast here. If there is to be a landing on the east side of SR- 85, our strong preference is to terminate on the south side of Fremont Avenue.

2. Design the landings for NW, SW, SE corners now, even if not all of them can be constructed as part of Phase 1. One reason for designing all 3 now is so that the Public and Council know what the landings will be like before having to make a decision on which landings to choose. Another reason for designing all 3 now is so that future extensions of the trail and landings at Fremont can proceed seamlessly and not involve tearing down what was built in Phase 1.

3. For the NW landing, consider moving the trail landing to the west of the Stanford Children's clinic parking lot so that the trail landing is much safer and pleasant at Belleville and Fremont. The crosswalk at Belleville and Fremont can then be used to cross Fremont safely. Incorporate into the design the knowledge that the Fremont bridge over the Creek will be rebuilt in the future. The bridge reconstruction will present some opportunities for a future SW connection.

We hope you consider the above three proposals. Our utmost priority is the safety of trail users, young and old alike, as well as the accessibility and attractiveness for all trail users.

Best,
Bike Sunnyvale
Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
Attachment 3

From:

T
o:

Subject:

Date:

Attachments:

Jean-Luc Marce
Angela Obeso
Re: Stevens Creek Trail heads at Fremont Ave
Thursday, February 9, 2023 10:30.53 PM
image.png
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

In case it's of any interest, I've tried to think about how to make the Fremont Ave/Belleville Way intersection safe for eastbound cyclists who want to join the endpoint of the Segment 2 of the Stevens Creek Trail.

In the drawing below, the top is Fremont Ave going from/to Los Altos/MV, the left street is Belleville Way, the right is going to Standard Hospital, and the bottom part is Fremont Ave going from/to Sunnyvale.

The green lanes wouldn't necessarily be painted green on the pavement but indicate possible bike lanes.

My main suggestion is that those eastbound cyclists need a dedicated bicycle tum lane, right next to the left tum lane for cars, to tum left and to join the Segment 2 entrance to the Trail.

To make room for this extra bike lane, I'm suggesting removing the oddly placed right turn lane for cars, which from my observations is so much to the right that no driver uses it, almost everybody drives across the existing bike lane. Then the existing bike lane could be moved further to the right and widened a bit. That bike lane would be separated from the next car lane by a standard dashed line.

So from an eastbound traffic point-of-view and from left to right (or right-to-left in the drawing), it'd become: car left turn lane; bike left tum lane, car straight lane, car straight lane, bike straight/right-tum lane.

And for the westbound traffic while going toward Los Altos/MV, I'd highly recommend narrowing the street to a single car lane (so the merge from 2 lanes to 1 lane would have to occur earlier, between Bernardo Ave and Belleville Way), so that we can get a proper bike lane on the right side. Currently, westbound cyclists are supposed to take the wooden, rickety pedestrian bridge for safety, but almost no cyclist does that, most of them ride on the main road, even though there's no bike lane there, which is a safety concern.

Attachment 3

Reg
ards,
Jean-Luc Marc&e
On Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 11 :21 AM Jean-Luc Maree
Just a few follow-ups on my previous email:
wrote:
• Although building the bridge over Fremont Ave in phase I would increase the cost of that phase, it will reduce the overall cost long-term because this bridge will need to be built eventually and building the bridge early would remove the need for the redundant Fremont Ave connection, the Fremont Ave modifications and the complications for having both connections. If the budget of phase I is fixed, I'd second the suggestion of deferring the complicated Segment 2 construction until Phase 2. • I've gone and checked the possible paths to have segment 2 go along the Creek corridor and end by the Sunnyvale-Los Altos bridge over the Creek. Looking from that bridge, there's no path possible at the top-of-the-bank on the east side of the creek, but there's an existing path on the west side of the creek owned by SCWD. This path is short though and unless there's a way to continue and bridge this path all the way to the creek/85 underpass, such a path might not be viable. So unless an agreement could be made with Standard Hospital to use part of their property, this idea won't work.

Attachment 3

• The
corridor next to the southbound 85 offramp, exactly as you have planned, does look more promising, but I still have misgivings about how bikers going eastbound on Fremont Ave from Los Altos will be able to tum left and enter the Trail. One option would be to add a bike-only left tum from eastbound Fremont Ave to the Creek Trail entrance, just at the same location where drivers tum left from the southbound 85 offramp, but that seems a very dangerous spot to add a bike crossing. • Assuming this crossing is not added, most bikers will need to tum left at the Belleville Way traffic light, then ride counter-flow on the Fremont Ave northside sidewalk to join the path connection. This would require some modification of the sidewalk and bike lane, otherwise this counter-flow would be dangerous for pedestrians, but there's fairly limited space for having 2 bike lanes + a sidewalk, so you'd probably have to sacrifice the sidewalk.
• One other option would be to sacrifice one of the two westbound traffic lanes of Fremont Ave between the 85 offramp and Belleville Way. My observation is that those 2 lanes are underused and one should suffice, in particular since there's already a left tum lane going to Belleville Way and the traffic flow going straight toward Los Altos reduces to one lane anyway. Hopefully this could be done without sacrificing the free right tum from the southbound 85 offramp to westbound Fremont Ave.

Obviously the impact of those changes on traffic should be studied in more detail.

I hope you will consider those various ideas. Let me know if any of those are unclear.

Regards,
Jean-Luc Marc&
On Wed, Jan 18, 2023 at 11:22 PM Jean-Luc Maree
Hello Angela,
wrote:

My name is Jean-Luc Maree and I've been living on Bedford Ave, Sunnyvale, for the past 25 years. I too have been using the Stevens Creek Trail a fair amount, typically entering it from Sleeper Ave , and have been watching all studies related to the trail extensions with keen interest. I've read the Joint Feasibility Study and various other documents on alignments. Thanks a lot for running this project and for conducting this community outreach. Today's session was a great experience.

As my home is very close to the proposedjonction at Fremont Ave, I've crossed that area hundreds of times by car, by bike, and by foot, so I am very familiar with its geometry and space constraints. I can only confirm the safety concerns raised by many during this evening's presentation. I've also crossed Fremont Ave by foot at the traffic lights of both Bernardo Ave and Belleville Way dozens of times and have a good sense of the safety of those crossings.

With this context, I have a simple proposal, which should address the safety concerns raised with the proposed segment 3 along the I-85 northbound onramp and its connection to the east side Fremont Ave, and which extends the suggestion of building a pedestrian bridge over Fremont Ave early as part of Phase I:

1. Its main premise is that the proposed junction on the East side of I-85 next to the northbound onramp is horrific safety-wise for bicyclists from/to all directions:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, the existing bike lane has 3 lanes to its left Attachment 3

and a tum lane onto the northb
ound onramp to the right. How would
bicyclists cross that turn lane safely to the trail head while cars are zooming by in that tum lane? We would have to add another bike lane to the right of that turn lane, but there does not seem to be enough room for that. The situation would be only worse with 2 tum lanes.
o From the south side of Bernardo Ave, bicyclists would need to turn left onto westbound Fremont Ave, then have the same issue as above. o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to do au-tum at the Bernardo Ave traffic light, pay attention to drivers merging right from the north side of Bernardo Ave to Fremont Ave, then cross the tum lane to the Trail Head.
o From the trail to eastbound Fremont Ave or to the south side of Bemando, bicyclists would need to bike counter-traffic up to Bemando Ave and cross Fremont Ave there. Cringe-worthy.
o From the trail to westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists will need to cross that tum lane and merge to Fremont Ave, which would be somewhat unsafe as well.

2. The situation is much better for pedestrians, who can cross safely at the Bernardo Ave traffic light (if coming from East/South of trail head) or at Belleville Way (if coming from Los Altos or from Belleville Way), then use sidewalks to reach the east side trail head.

3. Another issue with having that east side Fremont Ave junction is that the area next to the northbound onramp is fairly narrow, so it will be very difficult to have both a junction to Fremont Ave and a bridge crossing it to the south side of Bernardo Ave, even with some costly reconfiguration of that I-85 onramp.

4. Because of the bicyclists' safety concerns and the previous point, I'm suggesting a rather radical idea, which is to nix that junction on the northside of Fremont Ave altogether and only do the bridge to the other side of Fremont Ave. The main rationale is that an eastside Fremont Ave junction cannot be made safe, no matter how much green paint you put on the pavement. This approach would save on costs for changing the layout of that congested Fremont Ave. It would also not interfere with the idea of adding a second right tum lane from Fremont Ave to that onramp.

And having a bridge that lands in the big area between the northbound off ramp and Bernardo Ave and thus have the trai I head being on a low-traffic Bernardo Ave would solve all main safety concerns:
o From westbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply turn left onto Bernardo Ave using the existing left tum lane.
o From eastbound Fremont Ave, bicyclists would simply turn right onto Bernardo Ave and join the trailhead there.
o From the north side of Bernardo, bicyclists would continue straight onto the south side of Bernardo and join the trailhead there.
o From the south side of Bernardo (so as we will have longer-term with the next phase of the project), the junction is also very safe.
o Coming from the trail, people would offramp to Bernardo Ave, which would be much safer than an offramp to Fremont Ave, then can either go north toward Fremont Ave or south toward Homestead Ave

5. The other big advantage of this approach is that it would allow Stevens Creek Trail users to continue southward on Bernardo Ave (which is already pretty safe for bicyclists), tum left on Homestead Ave to connect to the Mary/280 bridge toward Stevens Creek Blvd, then join back the Trail at the Blackberry Farm, providing a Attachment 3

tem
porary route until Phase II of the Trail is designed and built.

6. I heard your main concern with building that bridge early is that we don't know yet what the trail layout on Bernardo Ave will be and thus cannot plan how to build a bridge that will align with that, but it seems that at least the decision to use Bernardo Ave for that has already been made and that given the vast available area on the south side of Fremont Ave, we could design a bridge with a wide enough offramp area that could accommodate various layouts of Bernardo Ave or even reconfigure the end of that off ramp as needed. This seems to be a small uncertainty and much smaller problem compared to the safety challenges of the Fremont Ave landing.

Likewise the proposed segment 2 and its junction on the west side of Fremont Ave next to the I-85 southbound offramp have issues as well:

1. First it's never pleasant to bike or walk right next to a highway ramp.

2. There isn't that much space on the west side of that off ramp and cars turning right onto westbound Fremont often cheat toward the right side of that off ramp if the left lane is backed up, which would make it less safe for bicyclists .In other words, that offramp is already too narrow for its use, so adding a bike lane next to it might make traffic worse.

3. Presumably the main intended use of that segment would be for bicyclists/pedestrians intending to continue west on Fremont Ave toward Los Altos, but bicyclists would have to contend with cars merging right from that offramp, which would be somewhat unsafe.

4. It'd be difficult to have other uses, not even for eastbound Fremont Ave bicyclists , as there's no allowed left tum or u-tum on Fremont Ave where that offramp is. Bicyclists on westbound Fremont Ave would use the entrance on the east side of I-85, wherever it is. So this segment 2 would be quite costly to build and have limited usage.

5. Given that, I second the idea of engaging with the Stanford Hospital on the idea of using some space on the west end of their parking lot, right next to the creek, and have that connect to the north side of Fremont Ave close to the Sunnyvale-Los Altos bridge over the Stevens Creek. That area would be a lot safer to join Fremont Ave. Also by having it there, bicyclists coming from Los Altos on eastbound Fremont could simply u-turn at the Belleville Way traffic light to join the trail. It'd be easy access from Belleville Way as well.

6. I've heard in the meeting that this bridge might get rebuilt by Los Altos, which would be welcome news as its current configuration is very narrow and causes congestion and some safety concerns If so, we might want to wait for more information from Los Altos on their plans and defer that segment 2 until we have more info. Ideally, that bridge could accommodate an underpass and thus trail landings on both sides of Fremont Ave, which would make it much easier for Los Altos residents to connect to the trail.

Thanks again for doing this and for inviting the community to give feedback. Looking forward to the next updates.

Cheers,
Jean-Luc
Attachment 3

From:

To:

Cc:

Subject:

Date:

Michelle Eu
geni
Angela Obeso
David Geilhufe (Adam)
Stevens Creek Trail
Thursday, February 16, 2023 3:52:22 PM
ATTN: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.

Hello Ms Obeso,
Thank you for the opportunity to give feedback on the City of Sunnyvale's proposed Stevens Creek Trail extension to Remington Court.

My family owns and resides at 1109 Remington Court. We have long anticipated the arrival of the trail in Sunnyvale and were excited years ago to learn that it would have an access gate near our home.

Our back fence (a sturdy tall fence that we hope does not get compromised by the trail's construction!) has a gate that opens onto the access road/open space. In viewing the most recent trail alignment presentation, we noted that the recommendation is to have the trail run in that exact space right behind our backyard. This has generated a number of questions I would like to share, for answering or consideration as plans continue to develop.

We have long enjoyed a relatively remote location. There is a lot of ambient freeway noise in our yard, but the only "neighbors" we contend with now are residents of the houses to our immediate left and right. We have no houses behind us and even across the street is off street parking, with the next street's houses beyond. The trail being right behind our back fence will bring a change, and we would like to prepare for a new normal, for benefit of all involved.

I. For those ofus whose back fence is very close to the trail (eg all of us on Remington Court), how will the property divide/boundary between home and trail be physically contained? That is, will there be another fence placed up against our existing fence? Or will trail users be separated from our backyard only by the existing fence? Or maybe the trail will have low fencing (split rail or other type) to provide a minimal/visual boundary?

2. What, if any, noise buffering options are being considered for the space between or alongside the trail itself? For example, planned trees and shrubs, sound wall, etc. Given the narrow space in our case, I assume options are very limited.

3. What will be the trail surface through this stretch? Natural path, paved, or. .. ?

4. Exactly how close to our rear fence will the trail be?

5. What will happen to the Robin Way x Remington Drive intersection to accommodate cross traffic safely? At present Remington Drive yields to Robin Way, but there are only 8 houses west of the intersection and traffic is light and predictable. When we get bicyclists, pedestrians, and folks arriving in a vehicle traversing the intersection to access the trail, the volume could easily increase exponentially. Rather than install a stop sign (easily blown through by all involved), consider whether the space would accommodate a roundabout.

Attachment 3

6. How will back of property ac
cess be maintained or restricted for those of us abutting the trail? Will our gates be eliminated or prohibited? Our side-yard is narrow, so having option to get permission to bring equipment from behind is helpful. If we have back of house/backyard construction work requiring equipment, will there still be a way to bring that in from the back fence/trail side?

7. Will direct notice ever be given to us as homeowners and residents on Remington Court about the trail work? The only way I know what's in the works is by seeking it out, being nosy (and interested). We've not been personally notified in 12 years about plans, votes, input sessions, etc for Stevens Creek Trail. For those of us who will be literally within yards of it, this should not be the case. It'd be nice to know the City of Sunnyvale sees us as valued partners in the successful opening of a grand new entrance to our little neighborhood.

I appreciate your attention to these matters. I look forward to any answers you or other involved parties can provide at this time, as well as consideration of the above issues in future stages.

Sincerely,
Michelle Eugeni & David, Adam, and Anna Geilhufe
Homeowners and Residents:

Attachment 3