City of Sunnyvale City Council Councilmember Richard Mehlinger

Sunnyvale is trying a new approach to homeless encampment sweeps by putting people in motels and giving them an opportunity to make necessary life changes.
The city on Feb. 26 placed about 25 unhoused people in 18 rooms across two Larkspur Landing hotels — one in Sunnyvale and one in Milpitas — for 30 days, after their encampment near Sunnyvale Public Library was removed. WeHOPE, a homeless service nonprofit contracted by the city, is providing case management and two meals a day.

As Sunnyvale expands its bicycling network, one neighborhood is grappling with decades-old limitations.
Residents in North Sunnyvale, a portion of the city that historically lacks resources, are excited about planned safe transit infrastructure on Tasman Drive, from Fair Oaks Avenue to Lawrence Expressway. Other residents are less enthusiastic, saying the proposed changes — bike lanes and expanded sidewalks — will worsen traffic congestion.
This stretch of Tasman Drive has two lanes in both directions, with a partial sidewalk on one side. Road space is restricted by the VTA Orange Line light rail route, which cuts between both sides of traffic. The improved sidewalk project proposes reducing the street to one lane in both directions.
Ari Feinsmith is a member of Safe Streets Sunnyvale and Bike Sunnyvale who grew up and lives in the Casa de Amigos mobile home park. He said the proposed bike lanes would make the street safer. Tasman Drive has a speed limit of 40 mph and a blind curve at one point, which makes it hard for drivers to see cyclists.
There is no sidewalk on the side of Casa de Amigos, so residents have to jaywalk across the street and VTA tracks to reach a sidewalk. Feinsmith recounted a time when he saw a young couple walking toward the mobile home park's entrance from the grocery store at the end of Tasman Drive, bags in tow, forced to wade through foliage lining the road rather than cross the train tracks.
“It’s so sad that we’ve created our infrastructure where to get basic necessities like groceries, you have to risk your life,” Feinsmith told San José Spotlight. “I’m grateful that my parents have a car, that’s something a lot of people take for granted, but cars are expensive and we need to be designing our streets for everyone.”
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