Sunnyvale transportation staff on a project team presented initial findings and next steps for the Bernardo Avenue access-improvement study, an effort to improve visibility and multimodal travel between Blair Avenue and Parkington Avenue in Sunnyvale.

The project team said the study aims to improve safety and “multimodal friendliness” so drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians have safer, clearer ways to travel the corridor. Angela Wong, project manager for the Bernardo Avenue access improvements project, said the team has completed field visits and will use community feedback to shape design concepts that will be returned to the public later this year.

The presentation summarized existing conditions and early findings. Monica (consultant), who led the corridor assessment, said there were four vehicle collisions on the corridor in the last five years: three were reported as property-damage-only and one was recorded as a complaint of pain. The collision descriptions indicated several crashes involved vehicles rear-ending others or striking vehicles while turning left from one of the side streets in the study area.

Staff identified three side streets for study: Blair Avenue, Brookfield Avenue and Parkington Avenue. The corridor includes two bus stops near the Brookfield intersection and a rectangular flashing beacon (RFB) at the crosswalk north of Blair Avenue. Land uses fronting Bernardo Avenue include single-family homes near Parkington Avenue and multifamily housing between Brookfield and Parkington.

The team reviewed the current bicycle network and the city’s active transportation plan. Bernardo Avenue currently has Class 2 bike lanes with a short buffered segment; the city plan calls for a Class 2 buffered bike lane along this corridor. Project staff said they will look for opportunities to implement a consistent buffered bike lane as part of corridor improvements to improve connectivity to El Camino Real, Heatherton Way and nearby neighborhoods.

Speed and turning behavior data were also discussed. Bernardo Avenue is posted at 30 mph and side streets at 25 mph. Field data indicated the 80th-percentile speed on Bernardo Avenue is about 35 mph. Consultants noted a roadway gutter that bisects the bike lane in places, creating uneven pavement conditions that could be challenging for cyclists. Sight-line issues at the Blair and Brookfield approaches, and the geometric curvature of the roadway near Brookfield, were cited as factors making left turns from side streets difficult.

The project team invited public feedback. Angela Wong said the city’s online survey for the project was still open and would close at midnight on the day of the presentation and provided an email (aw0ng@Sunnyvale.ca.gov) and phone number ((408) 730-7579) for those who prefer to comment directly. Wong said the team will keep the feedback period open a short time longer to collect emailed comments, then develop concepts and return to the community in a fall presentation, either by Zoom or a hybrid meeting.

No formal votes or policy decisions were taken at the presentation; the session was a project-status and community-engagement briefing. Staff said subsequent steps will include developing design concepts informed by the feedback and field findings and presenting those concepts to the public later in the year.