We are a family living on Inverness Way, we are parents to students at Peterson Middle School and Laurelwood Elementary. We are deeply concerned about the safety of our community, particularly the young students who walk, scoot, and bike to local schools. Every day, children attending Laurelwood Elementary, Peterson Middle School, and nearby campuses have to navigate Inverness Way—a street that has unfortunately become a high-speed exit route for many drivers. Excessive speeding is a recurring issue, as drivers frequently exceed safe residential speed limits, posing a significant risk to the children and families in our neighborhood.

Concerns 

Excessive Speeding: Drivers frequently use Inverness Way as a high-speed exit route from the neighborhood, often exceeding safe residential limits.

School Transition Impact: With the opening of the new Laurelwood Elementary campus, traffic volume is projected to increase significantly, creating new safety risks for our children.

Non-Resident Commuter Behavior: We have observed a consistent pattern of non-resident drivers (associated with BASIS Independent Silicon Valley) failing to adhere to stop signs and speeding during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up windows.

Pedestrian Vulnerability: As a primary route for local students, the current traffic environment discourages active transportation (walking/biking) due to the high risk of vehicle-pedestrian conflict.

Our Goal
We formally request that the City of Sunnyvale conduct a comprehensive traffic study and promptly implement traffic calming measures along Inverness Way. By doing so, we aim to create a safer environment for all residents, especially the young students who traverse this route daily.


Supporting Facts
Laurelwood School was designed for an attendance area less than half its present size at a time when most students walked to school. The now large attendance area and parent concerns for safety have prompted an explosion in the number of students coming to school by car. The streets around the school were not designed for the level of traffic we experience on school day mornings and afternoons. We have worked with both the Santa Clara and Sunnyvale Police Departments to come up with plans to ensure student safety and to facilitate the flow of traffic. 

There have been collisions with students and cars in the neighborhood. 
While we applaud the City's commitment to safety through the Poplar Avenue Sidewalk Project and Vision Zero improvements near Peterson Middle School, these measures will be undermined if feeder streets like Inverness Way remain high-speed thoroughfares for non-resident commuters. We ask the City to extend its successful traffic-calming logic into the heart of our neighborhood.
 

Why This Matters
Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our children is a shared responsibility. Each day, their journey to and from school should be one of safety and security. By signing this petition, you are joining us in urging the City of Sunnyvale to take swift action in safeguarding our community. Let us champion a cause that brings peace of mind to families and protection to our children.

Please sign this petition to support the installation of traffic calming measures on Inverness Way and nearby streets to protect our children and enhance our neighborhood's safety.