Sunnyvale.. Heart of Silicon Valley

Sunnyvale is the heart of Silicon Valley, and the hub of high-tech and aerospace companies.

It is one of the few cities with a unified Department of Public Safety, where all personnel are trained as firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians, so they can respond to an emergency in any of the three roles.

Sunnyvale lies along El Camino Real and Highway 101. Its borders are the San Francisco Bay and San Jose at the north, Moffett Federal Airfield at the northwest, Mountain View at the west, Los Altos at the southwest, Cupertino at the south, and Santa Clara at the east.

Most of the portion of Sunnyvale north of U.S. Highway 101 is industrial, while the southern half of Sunnyvale is mostly residential, and the far eastern part of El Camino Real in Sunnyvale has a significant concentration of businesses owned by South Indian immigrants.

Sunnyvale has a mild and temperate climate, and is quite bright even on overcast days. Average daytime summer temperatures hover between 85 °F (29 °C) and 95 °F (35 °C), and during the winter, average daytime temperatures rarely go below 45 °F (7 °C).

Sunnyvale is located in the 13th Senate District and in the 22nd Assembly District. Federally, Sunnyvale is located in California’s 14th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +18. The mayor and vice-mayor of Sunnyvale are not directly elected, but instead, are selected from the city council members by the city council, serving two-year and one-year terms, respectively.

Sunnyvale is served by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Caltrain commuter rail. The SR 85, US 101, SR 237, and I-280 freeways run through the city. A segment of State Route 82 runs through the center of the city, following the path of historic El Camino Real. Sunnyvale has also been listed by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the bronze level, having multiple on-street and off-street bike lanes, bicycle-activated traffic signals, and bicycle accommodations on both VTA and Caltrain. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee advises the city council on the continued development of the bicycle plan for the city.

Sunnyvale has wide and well maintained roads. Most large streets, such as El Camino Real, have a large, landscaped center median.

For commercial passenger air travel, Sunnyvale is well served by three nearby international airports. The closest, Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is a 9.5 mile drive from downtown Sunnyvale by car. It is also accessible by Caltrain, VTA light rail and VTA bus. The next closest is San Francisco International Airport, which is 27.7 miles by car. The third is the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, which is 37.5 miles by car.

Sunnyvale has consistently ranked as one of the safest ten cities in the United States according to the FBI’s crime reports.