By Khalida Sarwari
Sunnyvale drivers will need to ease up on the pedal around the city’s school zones following the City Council’s decision this week to lower speed limits by 10 mph, and in some cases by 15 mph.
In an unanimous vote Wednesday night, the council agreed to roll back the speed limit to 15 mph at 35 locations near 16 schools. The current limit at most of the schools has been 25 mph.
Kevin Jackson, a former member of the Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, was one of several people who spoke in favor of the speed reduction at the council meeting.
“Lowering speed limits greatly improves safety by giving all road users more reaction time to avoid collisions, and if any do occur the injuries will be much less severe,” he said. “Nowhere are these considerations more important than at our schools. Nearly all students live within easy biking distance and the most effective way to promote this healthy activity is to give parents confidence that their children will be able to do it safely.”
The new speed limit is already in effect at three sites, including Lakewood Elementary School. Bishop Elementary and Cupertino Middle are the only schools that have a 30 mph limit while the other public schools currently have a 25 mph limit. The limits are enforced on the entire street, or in some cases, within 500 feet of the school property line.
Chip Taylor, Sunnyvale’s public works director, noted that in areas where the new speed limits have already been implemented, his analysis shows no significant differences before and after as they were “a very low accident area to begin with.”
A discussion by the council included a suggestion by Councilman Michael Goldman to also target private schools for lower speed limits, which Taylor said is possible in the future.
As part of its decision, the council agreed to allocate $107,600 from the city’s general fund to install new signage in the school zones.
