depend on their SUvs, sedans, and sportscars. (Nick Hoff)
Even if the numerous proposals for Sunnyvale's downtown were all carried out, however, they would not change one crucial fact: Most Sunnyvale residents will still have to drive to get downtown in the first place. And so some critics say that the city's vision of a pedestrian wonderland is just a pipe dream--beyond the power of Sunnyvale, or any other municipality for that matter, to realize, unless more profound changes in the nation's outlook and habits take place first. "There will not be much new urbanism if we don't address our dependence on the automobile," says Peter Bosselmann, professor of architecture and city and regional planning at the University of California at Berkeley.
In the absence of specific policies to decrease America's reliance on cars, says Bosselmann, suburban city planning initiatives across the country will at most create small urban oases amidst vast seas of sprawl. Residents will still drive everywhere; it's just that apartments and offices will be closer together, piled on top of huge parking garages. Given the dominance of the automobile, there's also reason to doubt that these new urban centers will even be able to get off their feet. When everyone has a car, there's no incentive for businesses to relocate to more central, and more expensive, locations.
Getting around Sunnyvale will certainly not be any easier if the city's plan is fully executed. Sunnyvale's public transit amounts to a sparse bus system, used only by those unfortunate enough to not have access to a car. The denser housing called for in the plan will increase traffic but won't substantially reduce the number of times that residents will need to get in their cars every day. Even those who live within the new "walkable" downtown will need to drive to buy groceries and other necessities, and probably to get to work. What's more, the proposed new apartment complexes will need to be equipped with either completely underground garages--which the mayor of Sunnyvale thinks might be too expensive for developers--or partially underground garages that take up valuable street-level space.
Sunnyvale's chief planner, Robert Paternoster, recognizes that "a lot of mistakes were made" in this country's last century of city planning, when the "automobile was given precedence over people." But, he notes, in this automobile-dominated culture, urban planners must accommodate the car if they hope to attract people to their projects. Since Sunnyvale, in his opinion, doesn't and never will have the kind of transit system that could make owning a car unnecessary, Sunnyvale's plan must welcome the car--otherwise no one will live downtown or visit there.
Even if the plan can't do much to change people's reliance on automobiles, Paternoster sees good things coming out of its proposals. The increased building density, he thinks, will give residents the opportunity to live within walking distance of their jobs and favorite restaurants. Most, he concedes, won't work downtown and won't eat their meals at those restaurants--"but they'll eat some." It seems, then, that if the plan creates just a touch of walkable vibrancy it will be deemed a success.
Whether residents will be satisfied is another question. Daniel Simms will still have to drive most everywhere--and to create a sense of community, he insists, you must at the very least "get out of your cars and see people." Of course, he and other local residents, if they come to the new downtown, will certainly have the chance to get out of their cars--as they walk to Murphy Avenue from deep within the mall's new two-tiered parking lots.
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Driving to your 'walkable' community