Cupertino will begin reducing traffic lanes on De Anza Boulevard next month to better accommodate bicyclists — but not everyone is willing to go down the new path.
Drivers who frequent the road say the new plans are too rushed, and want the city to hold off until they conduct a thorough traffic study examining how the reduction will impact car congestion and driver safety.
But other residents want the initiative to move ahead as planed, asserting that the changes will make the corridor safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. The divide has the city defending its plans and assuring locals that staff will do what they can to ensure a smooth transition.
De Anza is a major roadway that extends through Cupertino and parts of Sunnyvale and San Jose. The Cupertino portion has bike lanes running in both directions, but the lanes don’t have have a buffer zone — a designated painted space that divides bicycles from traffic — which can put cyclists at risk.
To remedy this, the city wants to paint a roughly 3-foot wide zone next to the bike lanes along Homestead Road and Bollinger Road. The 1.74 miles of repainting will cost around $530,000, according to the city. The results will reduce traffic lanes heading northbound between Stevens Creek and Lazaneo and southbound between Stevens Creek and Bollinger from four to three. San Jose recently painted a similar zone along De Anza south of Bollinger Road.
Cupertino approved the repainting back in 2022 and awarded a construction contract in April of this year. Staff did a traffic count data in February and March of 2023, which included counting the number of cars every 15 minutes in each lane heading northbound and southbound, before deeming there would be no increase in delays with three lanes. Under a California law, Cupertino isn’t required to conduct a formal traffic analysis before undergoing the repainting project.
But Sherman Wang said he was surprised Cupertino approved the project with the simplified study, as De Anza is always crowded with cars, especially during the evening time. “You can’t fathom what reducing one of those lanes does for traffic,” he said. The Cupertino resident, who drives through the corridor regularly, said the city hasn’t done enough in-depth research on how three would affect congestion.
“What I’m asking is for the city to be thoughtful about this,” he said. “They didn’t have all the information, they don’t know the impact.”
Wang launched an online petition last month asking that the city to postpone implementing the zone until more data is collected and staff receive additional input from residents. As of Friday, the petition has 354 signatures.
However, Cupertino resident Herve Marcy, who is an avid cyclist and often bikes along the boulevard, says the zone should be implemented as soon as possible.
“It’s pretty scary how dangerous this corridor is,” he said. “Its really imperative that we have the bike lanes there.”
Marcy said the city already identified De Anza as one of the handful of streets that need improvements. In July, the council adopted …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
