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 Join us on Saturday, September 27 for Cupertino’s annual Fall Bike Fest to celebrate all things bike! There will be bike repair and education, and tons of fun activities including bike repair, bike and helmet checks, bike decorating, bike blender smoothies, bike-themed art, and a “Safe Moves City” mini bicycle safety course for kids.
This year we continue our custom of hosting two community bike rides around town. The 2.5-mile scavenger hunt ride takes riders to Wilson Park for a scavenger hunt and then back to the Plaza, and the 10-mile Tour de Cupertino highlights Cupertino’s amazing parks, trails, bike infrastructure, and green spaces (including the award-winning Lawson Bikeway). In addition, this year we are introducing the Little Loop cycle track for our youngest, budding riders on Town Center Lane. We’ll also celebrate Cupertino’s 70th birthday with a special game. Come learn and have fun!
Fall Bike Fest
Civic Center Plaza
Saturday, September 27
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
cupertino.org/bikefest
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Speaking of Cool Bike Infrastructure...
Cupertino’s Transportation and Safe Routes to School teams have been working steadily over decades to create a more seamless, safe, and exciting network of bike routes so we can get where we need to go more comfortably on foot and by bike. Here are just some of the exciting bike infrastructure improvements, both new and not-so-new, that exist around Cupertino. Have you tried them out yet?! We will visit all of these at Bike Fest during our 10-mile Tour de Cupertino, so join us on September 27th to ride them yourself!
McClellan Buffered Bike Lanes:
These concrete buffers keep cars away from cyclists and scooter riders on McClellan Road.
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Bike Down a One-Way Street:
Outside of the newly refurbished Jollyman Park is the rare opportunity to “ride the wrong way” and follow a bike lane against traffic down a one-way street for cars. So bad that it’s good!
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Ride Through A Wall:
If you thought only Harry Potter could ride through walls, you’re in for a treat! Within Cupertino lies the portal through the wall between Garden Gate Elementary and Lawson Middle School, accessible only by walking, biking, or scootering. Ride with us September 27th to find it!
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Portal Traffic Circle:
Traffic circles for cars and bikes are highly sought out infrastructure worldwide as they slow speeds down to make the road safer … and are just fun. Cupertino only has one located on Portal, between Portal Park and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
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Regnart Creek Trail:
If you haven’t ridden along the Regnart Creek Trail yet, you really must. This trail links midtown to the east side so easily. Hop on this trail it to find a moment of fresh air and relaxation in the middle of a busy city! It’s an especially great option for students riding to Cupertino High School, Hyde Middle, or Sedgwick Elementary.
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San Tomas AquinoTrail:
Along our Bike Fest route, we'll also ride along the San Tomas Aquino Trail, which provides a cozy, shaded bike and pedestrian path along Lawrence Expressway. Too bad all those car drivers have to sit in traffic in the hot sun on the expressway.
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Come see it all live on the Tour de Cupertino on September 27!
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Hop on the Bike Bus
There are other ways to learn about Cupertino’s bike-friendly infrastructure too. As part of Orientation Day this year, Cupertino High School organized six bike buses to bring incoming freshmen to school by bike. A bike bus is like a school bus, but on a bike! Groups of students meet at “bus stops” around the neighborhood, and a ride leader shows them the safest bike route to school. It’s a great way for new students to meet each other and try biking to school for their first time in a group. We hope that the students who joined these bike buses will continue to bike to school this year. Kudos to Cupertino High School for this great program!
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Follow the Paw Prints
We're SO impressed with Lincoln Elementary School's staff and Principal Joanne Connor for their fantastic efforts in reducing morning and afternoon traffic, encouraging walking to school, and keeping their drop-off circle safer! Traffic along McClellan Road can be challenging during school commute hours. Principal Connor and her staff, along with us at Safe Routes to School, have put some new systems into place this year to help including; a safe drop-off flyer for all families, a drop-off behavior video, and blue paw prints chalk-painted along the sidewalks along the route to school guiding families to walk to the cross walk and avoid jaywalking across traffic. These ideas and projects show just how effective a school's Safe Routes to School program can be when partnered with a school Principal's guiding vision. Great job, Lincoln!
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Lawson Bikeway is SVBC's 2025 Project of the Year
We’re delighted that the Lawson Bikeway has been selected as Project of the Year by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC)! SVBC announced the award at their annual Bike Summit event on Thursday, August 28. Our Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Birgit Werner, was there to receive the award in person from Seema Lindskog of Walk Bike Cupertino, Anushree Misra from Cupertino High School, and Chloe Dahl from Homestead High School.
This project is the result of years of planning and community engagement. From its early concept in the 2016 School Walk Audits to final construction, the project reflects Cupertino's commitment to creating safe routes to school. Cupertino residents and school representatives also contributed to the project by maintaining community interest in the bikeway. This effort was led by Walk Bike Cupertino, the Cupertino Union School District facilities team, Lawson's Principal and Vice Principal, the Lawson PTO President, parent champions, and the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. We are so grateful and proud of everyone involved in making this project a reality!
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Safety Tips
This month, as schools are fully back in session and more pedestrians are out on the streets, we honor and observe California’s Pedestrian Safety Month. While traveling around, it’s important to remember that everyone shares our streets – car drivers, pedestrians, bike and scooter riders, everyone. All modes of transportation matter equally.
Here are some tips from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to help keep us all safer and more aware this month:
Safety tips for pedestrians:
- Make yourself visible: wear bright colored clothes and carry a flashlight if you are walking at night.
- Stay off your phones, talking and especially texting distracts you from paying attention to your surroundings.
- Look before you step: cross streets at marked crosswalks, obey traffic signals and watch for turning vehicles. Look left-right-left before crossing a street and make eye contact with drivers – don’t assume the driver sees you.
Safety tips for drivers:
- Look out for pedestrians, especially in hard-to-see conditions such as at night or in bad weather.
- Follow the speed limit, leave your phone packed away and always be aware of your surroundings.
- Pedestrians have the right of way at any crosswalk or intersection, so yield and be prepared to stop. Stop at the crosswalk stop line to give drivers in other lanes an opportunity to see and yield to pedestrians too.
For More About Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month, visit:
https://gosafelyca.org/share-the-road/
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Stevens Creek Phase 2A Construction Begins
The City of Cupertino will begin construction on Phase 2A of the Stevens Creek Boulevard Class IV Bike Lane Project in mid-September. It is anticipated to be complete by the end of the year. The project is on Stevens Creek Boulevard, between Wolfe Road and De Anza Boulevard. Existing buffered bike lanes will be converted to separated bike lanes by installing concrete blocks between the bike lane and car traffic. The existing traffic signals at Wolfe Road and De Anza Boulevard will have exclusive bike signals added, and the bus stop at De Anza Boulevard will be renovated to add the bike lane separation there. (Confused about all the different kinds of bike lanes? Check out the bike infrastructure article in our August newsletter.)
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Join us for SR2S Working Group Meetings
Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Working Group meetings are Hybrid held on the second Wednesday of most months in Conference Room C at Cupertino City Hall and on Zoom. If there's a topic you'd like the Working Group to discuss, email us! saferoutes@cupertino.gov
Visit the link below to register, access agendas, and view the complete list of dates for this school year’s Working Group meetings. 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.
- Wednesday, September 10, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: International Biking
- Wednesday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.
Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
Topic: TBD
- Saturday, September 27, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Cupertino Fall Bike Fest
Location: Cupertino Civic Center Plaza
- Wednesday, October 8
National Walk to School Day
- Wednesday, October 8, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: TBD
- Friday, October 10
City of Cupertino Turns 70!
- Wednesday, October 15, 7:00 p.m.
Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
Topic: TBD
- Wednesday, November 12, 4:00 p.m.
SR2S Working Group Meeting
Topic: TBD
- Friday, November 14
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
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