Walking & Biking News & Ideas

We've got some great updates for you on projects, events, and more locally including the Tamien Innu, Regnart Trail crossing at Blaney Avenue and the 10th Annual Bike Fest happening this Saturday, September 30!


Plus, learn below about how to pick a good bike helmet, read about a cool coastal hike, hear about how painted crosswalks are enhancing safety (we could do that here!) and find about how there's a lot of grant funding out there to pay for new and better infrastructure. Read on to learn more!

Tamien Innu moves forward

by Jennifer Shearin

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Have you heard of the Tamien Innu? Sometimes referred to as the “I-280 Trail”, and previously named the “Junipero Serra Trail”, it’s a planned off-street trail connecting the east and west sides of Cupertino on its northern side.


The trail, when complete, will begin at Vallco Parkway near Tantau Avenue, follow alongside I-280 for three miles, and ultimately connect to the Don Burnett (Mary Avenue) Bridge. Many people are eagerly awaiting this trail for safe and enjoyable walking and biking for recreation or to connect to shopping or dining destinations, such as Main Street Cupertino.

Recently, the city staff have provided updated timing on when construction will begin on the project and what issues they have faced during the design. The first phase is expected to begin construction in summer of 2024.

Read more...



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Click on map for larger view

The name Tamien Innu

This past January, in response to concerns about the previous name, the city staff held a public poll to determine the new name for the trail.


The name chosen by popular vote was Tamien Innu, which means Tamien Trail. This change recognizes and respects those who first occupied the land where the trail will be, the Tamien Ohlone.


The Cupertino Council unanimously approved this name change in March 2023.

Trail construction

The trail work has been divided into three segments. The staff is working on these segments in order of their difficulty of implementation. 


East Segment: Vallco Parkway to Wolfe Road

This portion has been in the design phase since May 2020 when BKF Engineers was awarded the design contract of $895K for the eastern and central portions of the trail. Both this segment and the Central segment passed CEQA environmental review in March of 2022. Recently, the trail (read more...)


Central Segment: Wolfe to De Anza Boulevard

Because of the issues found in the East segment, staff time was reallocated to address (read more...)


West Segment: De Anza to (Mary) Bridge

This portion has not started design yet. Work on it is deferred until read more...)

Cupertino misses out on millions in grant money

by Seema Lindskog

Grant funding is a key way for a city to pay for bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects. Because Cupertino is facing an unprecedented budget crisis right now, it is even more important that it takes advantage of these grant opportunities. Instead, most of the grant money is going to other cities. This is for a variety of reasons.

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Funds are available…but Cupertino misses out


There are many sources of grant funding: local, state, and federal, public, and private. Click here to learn about the major public sources.


The TFCA CPM grant program was actually undersubscribed – in other words, fewer requests for funding were received than the pool of money available – but Cupertino still did not receive any grant funding. It’s unknown if Cupertino applied for any grant funding from this program.


Cupertino also did not receive any funding from the MTC One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) and Active Transportation Awards, though San Jose received $62.34 million dollars in grant funding. Read more...

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What’s holding Cupertino back from more funding

A combinaton of factors is causing Cupertino to miss out on millions in grant funding.


Lack of a grant writer

One major one is that we do not have an on-staff grant writer. Though a grant writer adds to personnel and staff expenses, a city can easily make up that amount Read more....

Shortage of staff and city funds

Most grant funding organizations require that the project has already been approved for construction and the city has designated funds out of their own city budget to build the project before they will give grant money. Read more....

Lower equity points on grant prioritization formulas

Most grant-giving organizations assign points to projects based on a number of criteria to be able to prioritize them. Read more....

Stalled Cupertino projects that could use grants >
Ideas to 'unlock' more  grant funding >
WBC Advocacy Made the Difference

BLANEY ROAD CROSSING AT REGNART TRAIL

Last month, we highlighted the accident that occured and the continuing safety issues with the Blaney Avenue crossing for walking and biking users of the Regnart Creek Trail. Thank you to the many people answered the call and emailed the City Staff and City Council to express their desire for improvements at this location!

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This adocacy made the difference. The city tranportation staff have added a center median reminder to cars to yield to pedestrians (with the added benefit of often slightly slowing cars) and are studying lowering speed limits on Blaney.


They have also added "stop" reminders for pedestrians and cyclists near this crossing. City staff have asked WBC to remind everyone that for safety, cyclists and pedestrians should wait until cars stop or significantly slow until proceeding across the crosswalk.


We'll keep you updated about the results of the speed limit study and if any further changes are planned.

How to pick a good bike helmet


by Aaryan Doshi

For all cyclists, safety is always of utmost importance and concern. Picking out a proper helmet can be the difference between injury and a fun, breezy day on your bike. Here’s a quick guide that will be your best friend in making this important decision!


For all helmets, look for a helmet that has integrated MIPS technology (which stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System), which reduces rotational motion to the brain in the event of a crash. read more...

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For sizing, measure your head using a soft tape measure (like for clothing) around the circumference of your head. This will correspond to the size charts you will see both online or at biking stores. (picture of size chart)

The easy way to fit your helmet >

Some helmets to consider

Below are some good choices for helmets. Click here to see more that are tailored for good ventilation, have higher visibility, and more information on all helmets.

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Best helmet overall for commuters and recreational users: Specialized Echelon 2

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Best high-mileage cyclist helmet: Trek ballista MIPS

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Best mountain biking: Smith Mainline MIPS

Upcoming Events

Bike to the Bay

Saturday, 10/14/2023, 9:00 AM. This ride ends at Day on the Bay, which is a festival with free food and entertainment, hosted by County Supervisor Otto Lee. It is open and free to everyone, not just Otto Lee's constituents. There are two starting points, one in Sunnyvale and one in San Jose. Sharlene Liu, from Bike Sunnyvale, will be leading the one from Sunnyvale. Eventbrite registration is here.


Bike to the Future

Sunday 10/29/23. This is Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's annual fundraiser featuring food, entertainment, music, prizes, and different routes to choose from.

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Painted Crosswalks:

A new trend for safety and fun


by Senna Rogoyski


A new trend has begun taking place: painted crosswalks. While this trend is yet to be seen everywhere, localities in California such as Los Angeles, Modesto, and many other municipalities across the country have adopted this innovative approach. They’ve found these crosswalks enhance the safety in their community and add to their community pride.


In these cities, citizens of the towns have painted all sorts of art in their crosswalks, including abstract art, art reflecting community culture, and fun images. Some paint 3-D stripes for added safety and some add specific colors to be supportive, such as the rainbow pride crosswalks now common in many cities. 

According to Chris Visions, a regular citizen who took action by painting crosswalks in his hometown, data he collected shows that “the intersection became safer for pedestrians and motorists, with episodes of cars braking quickly to avoid pedestrians and other close calls reduced by eight incidents, a decline of more than 56 percent.”

read more...

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What about safety?


A 2019 New York Times article talks about how the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) called the new bright crosswalk in Ames, Iowa, a “liability” and “safety concern”. 


There is, however, no data to support this.

Michael Lydon, a founder of the urban design firm Street Plans, has developed street art projects for almost a decade. He makes it clear that there is no study or data to support that these crosswalks are any less safe than conventional white ones.


“There are hundreds around the country, if not thousands around the world, and I don’t know of any study that has been able to show that they are actually causing any problems,” Mr. Lydon said. “In some instances,” he continued, “communities can find that they’re actually improving safety.”


Read more here on this issue from streetsblog.org.

We have not yet had a painted crosswalk in Cupertino.


The previous push for one several years ago--a rainbow crosswalk on Stevens Creek at Finch–-was not approved by the previous council at the recommendation of the City Staff. Instead, a very narrow painted rainbow stripe was painted near the crosswalk.


A great place for a painted crosswalk would be the intersection of Blaney and Suisun, near Eaton Elementary School. The school crossing guard was removed starting this school year. Adding a painted crosswalk would be a great way to enhance the safety of this intersection and bring the community together in a fun activity.

Ellwood Mesa Coastal Trails

AN OUTDOOR CLASSROOM FOR CURIOUS MINDS


By Jian He

Traveling to cheer for sports tournaments often brings us opportunities to discover new hiking trails. This June, we shared our summer hiking experience in Marin County.


In early September, we had another great experience exploring Ellwood Mesa Coastal Trails during a tournament hosted in Santa Barbara County. This trail system is an integral part of Ellwood Devereux Open Space, a 652 acre multi-agency regional open space, including a Monarch Butterfly Grove and several public reserves. We also enjoyed lunch at a landmark restaurant and learned about local history.


To my family, hiking is like learning in an outdoor classroom that intrigues our minds to ask questions and seek answers. In this travelog, you will find out how we discovered Ellwood Mesa Coastal Trails and what we learned on the journey and beyond. 

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A Taste of Local History

After driving for 4 hours from the Bay Area, we reached the city of Goleta at Ellwood Mesa Coast. Our first stop was Timbers Roadhouse, a restaurant located just a few minutes off the highway 101. Its timber structure and taxidermy mounts looked so interesting that we asked the waiter about its history. This house was built in the 1950’s using the pine timbers dismantled from Ellwood Pier, which was damaged by a Japanese submarine in 1942, read more...

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Happy Walking and Biking,

Your friends at Walk-Bike Cupertino



Find much more, including maps, safety data, and information on all the city projects at: walkbikecupertino.org