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 Get Ready to Walk and Bike to School!
With spring in the air, beautiful weather, and in-person learning resuming in April, this would be a great time to try to walk, bike, or scooter to school! The City of Cupertino spent the past year completing numerous safety improvements to the roads around Cupertino schools (see Road Safety Improvements below), and roads are calmer than during a regular school year. Fewer cars will be on the road at drop-off time because a fraction of students will arrive at school at once, and far fewer adults are commuting to work. Fewer cars mean safer conditions for all road users, and great conditions to walk or bike to school.
After sitting at home in front of a computer for a full year, students need exercise more than ever. Walking or biking to school is an easy way to incorporate exercise into everyone's daily routine. Every little bit adds up to the one hour of exercise doctors recommend for children and teenagers per day. Studies show that physical activity increases concentration and academic performance. Exercise also enhances students’ well-being and mood by reducing stress and improving sleep. Best of all, walking and biking to school is fun!
SUGGESTED ROUTES TO SCHOOL
Cupertino Safe Routes to School encourages you to test your walking or biking route before the first day back. Find a map with suggested routes to your school, crossing guard locations (note: not all schools have crossing guard services), estimated travel times, and more here: Suggested Routes to School Maps
CROSSING GUARDS
Crossing guard services will resume in Cupertino on April 19. Guards will be on duty at the following times:
- Grades 1 - 5: before and after school
- Grades 6 - 8: before 1st and 4th periods and after 3rd and 6th periods
- Grades 9 - 12: before 1st and 4th periods and after 6th and 7th periods
Please Note: there will be no crossing guards service during the transitional week of April 5th.
SAFETY
Please remember to maintain social distance from other households on the way to school and home. Below, find two versions of a flyer on how to maintain social distance while walking and biking:
Find more tips on being a safe roadway user here: Safety Booklet for All Roadway Users
Make sure anyone in your household under 18 wears a helmet when riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard. It’s required by law. How to Wear a Helmet
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CROSSING FLAGS
The City of Cupertino offers a robust crossing flag program, which provides pedestrians with more visibility as they cross the street with bright orange flags. The City has removed crossing flags during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, because the flags are high-touch items and not practical to sanitize between uses. The flags will be replaced when it is safe to do so.
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DRIVERS
If you intend to drive to school, please be safe around students who are walking and biking. Follow traffic laws and do not speed. Parents: consider stopping a few blocks from school. Allowing your child or teen to walk the last leg to school will give them some needed fresh air and physical activity, and reduce traffic directly in front of the school, making it safer for everyone.
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ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AROUND SCHOOLS
While students have been learning from home this past year, the City of Cupertino has been busy improving routes to schools to make it safer to walk and bike, as part of our Citywide School Walk Audit project. The current phase of this project is being paid for by a grant from Apple, Inc. Find details on improvements around your school here: Citywide School Walk Audit Project
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Let’s all walk and roll to school!
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TREEcycle Scavenger Hunt
TREEcycle is a city-wide tree species scavenger hunt that has been designed to encourage exploration, learning, and biking. This game is open from April 1 - April 22, and anyone with a mobile device can play.
The first 50 players to complete the scavenger hunt by finding all seven trees and submitting a photo will win a Tree In a Box. One grand prize winner will be selected at random and announced during the Earth and Arbor Day Speaker Series. Lear more here: TREEcycle
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SR2S Bike Challenge
Cupertino Safe Routes to School (SR2S) challenges you to replace a car trip with a bike trip in honor of Earth Day! By biking somewhere you would normally drive to such as the bank, bakery, tea shop, or dentist, you will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the City. If you live or work in Cupertino, submit your trip between April 1 and April 22 to enter our prize drawing for a chance to win a SR2S camp mug, “I Bike Cupertino” T-shirt, or set of bike lights and bell. For details, visit: SR2S Bike Challenge
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Now Accepting High School Student Representative Applications for 2021-22 School Year!
We are currently accepting applications from highs school students who would like to get involved with the Cupertino Safe Routes to School program (SR2S). If you will be a student at Cupertino, Homestead, or Monta Vista High School next year and want to represent your school in the SR2S Working Group, this is your chance! Please apply if you are passionate about active transportation and want to encourage your fellow students to walk, bike, scooter, and carpool to school. Applications are due June 5, 2021. Visit our website to learn more and apply:
High School Representatives to the SR2S Working Group
SR2S Student Video Contest
Update!
On April 28, at 5:30 p.m., Cupertino Safe Routes to School and the Teen Commission will host a Q&A Session for anyone who has questions about the SR2S student video contest. Attendees may bring any questions they have about the contest or their particular project.
Note: this will be a webinar and attendees will not be visible, nor will they be able to share their screen. If you have any visuals you'd like to share to discuss during the meeting, please send them by April 27 to SafeRoutes@Cupertino.org. City staff will be happy to present your visuals while you present your question.
As a reminder, the Safe Routes to School video competition is for 6th - 12th grade students who live or go to school in Cupertino, to showcase their creativity by inspiring or educating others to take active transportation to school. Here are important contest dates:
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City Council Goals and Work Program 2021-22
Update
On March 30, Cupertino City Council reviewed their Council Goals and 59 projects under consideration for their 2021-22 Work Program. Many projects are relevant to Safe Routes to School, including a Traffic Garden Feasibility Study.
Council was tasked with ranking all projects by priority, but agreed to cut the study session short at midnight once they'd asked clarifying questions about the projects. They will bring the topic back for a Special City Council Meeting on Monday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m., at which time Council will rank the projects. Find links to the agenda and live webcast here:
Special City Council Meeting: Monday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
Note: Because this is a continuation of a previous discussion, the public comments portion of the study session has been closed and will remain closed.
Also Note: This meeting is scheduled on a Monday, not Tuesday when Cupertino City Council meetings are typically scheduled.
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Regnart Creek Trail
Regnart Creek Trail work has begun!
This project will be an extension of the new McClellan Separated Bikeways, and will connect City Hall and the Cupertino Public Library to Wilson and Creekside Parks, and provide an alternate route to school for students who attend Eaton Elementary, Lawson Middle, and Cupertino High. Construction is expected to be complete by winter 2021/22.
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Bollinger Road Corridor Safety Study
The City of Cupertino and the City of San Jose are collaborating on a corridor safety study of Bollinger Road between De Anza Blvd and Lawrence Expressway. In order to find opportunities for improvement, the project team has solicited an initial round of feedback from the community and collected existing data about the corridor. Data includes 5-year collision records, existing traffic signal timings, and traffic volumes (pre-COVID).Utilizing the feedback received in the first round of public outreach and the data collected, the project team is developing conceptual exhibits for recommended corridor improvements. This conceptual set will be presented to the public in the coming months to solicit another round of community feedback before a final preferred set is created.
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Working Group Meetings Hosted on Zoom
Our Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Working Group meetings are held via Zoom on the second Wednesday of most months. Members of the public who are not designated SR2S partners must register in advance to join each meeting. Visit the link below to register and view the complete list of this school year’s working group meeting dates. Thank you, and we hope to see you at our next meeting!
Working Group Meetings
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Important Upcoming Dates
Agendas will be posted 72 hours before each meeting at the links below.
- Month of April
Cupertino Earth Day Activities
Topics: TREEcycle Scavenger Hunt, Bike Challenge, and more!
- Monday, April 12, 6:30 p.m.
Cupertino City Council Meeting
Topic: Rank Projects for Fiscal Year 2021-22 Work Program
- Wednesday, April 21, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: Survey Results for the Role of Enforcement in SR2S
- Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 6 p.m.
Virtual Bicycle Class by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Topic: Family Biking
- Wednesday, April 28, 5:30 p.m.
Q&A Session
Topic: SR2S Student Video Contest
- Wednesday, May 12, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: Carbon Impact of Driving to School vs. Walking and Biking
- May 21, 2021 (and all of May!)
Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days
- Friday, May 28, before midnight
SR2S Student Video Contest
Submissions Due
- Saturday, June 5, before midnight
SR2S High School Student Representative Program
Applications Due
- Wednesday, June 9, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: Fall SR2S Back to School Materials
- June 24 and 26, 2021
Middle School Bike Skills Workshop
- July 14 and 17, 2021
Middle School Bike Skills Workshop
- August 12 and 15, 2021
Middle School Bike Skills Workshop
- September 15 and 18, 2021
Middle School Bike Skills Workshop
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