Four Strategies That Helped the Hollenbeck Project Pass

On December 2, 2025, the Sunnyvale City Council approved buffered bike lanes on Hollenbeck Avenue. The vote was 6–1. It marks a momentous milestone: the culmination of more than a year of focused, volunteer-driven campaigning, powered by perseverance of groups like Sunnyvale Safe Streets.

CalBike applauds the many community members who made this possible and the Council for choosing a design aligned with Sunnyvale’s safety and climate goals.

Here are the four core strategies that made this possible:

1. Work Within the City’s Process

Advocates followed Sunnyvale’s Study Issue process rather than relying on ad-hoc lobbying. Showing up at every decision point — year after year — kept Hollenbeck in the city’s line of sight. As Sharlene Liu put it: “Don’t bring something up at random times. Bring it up when decisions are actually being made.”

2. Build a Support Infrastructure

A simple website and petition became the campaign’s backbone. Flyers at schools and transit stops, PTA outreach, and community partnerships built a growing base of supporters who could mobilize on short notice.

3. Knock on Doors and Know Your Numbers

Volunteers canvassed more than 1,100 homes within a mile of Hollenbeck. The findings were decisive: 60% support, only 6% opposition. Clear data helped reassure policymakers and surfaced new speakers for the final vote.

4. Use Trickle Advocacy

For months, supporters delivered one focused point per council meeting: parking, safety, crash history, design options. By the time of the final hearing, the Council already understood the case for buffered lanes.

That preparation mattered. As Councilmember Richard Mehlinger explained: “I concluded that the benefits to the City of buffered bike lanes, regional active transportation connections, letting kids bike to school safely, reducing our climate impact, substantially outweighed the costs.”

What happened on Hollenbeck in Sunnyvale is a reminder that local change doesn’t arrive in a burst; it accumulates through steady, values-driven work that reshapes what a city believes is possible. 

Across California, campaigns like this one are quietly rewriting the expectations for safety, mobility, and community voice. CalBike is proud to stand with advocates who do this patient, often invisible, labor because when residents organize around the simple idea that their streets should protect their children and reflect their shared future, they expand the horizon for all road users.