Cupertino to upgrade bike lanes along major road

Cupertino is gearing up to give cyclists a safety boost on one of its busiest roads.

De Anza Boulevard is set to receive buffered bike lanes along a roughly 2-mile stretch of the city between Bollinger and Homestead roads. The street’s existing bike lanes will be repainted and vehicle lanes will be restriped to add a 1.5-foot to 4-foot buffer between cars and cyclists. The project will reduce car lanes from four to three heading northbound between Stevens Creek Boulevard and Lazaneo Drive and southbound between Stevens Creek Boulevard and McClellan Road, providing what cyclists citywide say is a needed change to improve public safety.

The project is expected to cost nearly $530,000, with roughly $166,500 from Cupertino’s share of state grant funding through the Transportation Development Act. A representative with Fremont-based Chrisp Company said the project could begin this fall, but the contractor and city are still working out a date to ensure there won’t be supply chain issues.

Cupertino resident Jennifer Shearin, board member of pedestrian and bike safety organization Walk-Bike Cupertino, has lived in the city for about 15 years. She bikes to places such as the grocery store and said the buffered lanes are a good first step to protecting cyclists on a dangerous road with a 40 mph speed limit.

She would like to see fully protected bike lanes, with barriers such as bollards, but said the buffer and bright green paint will better alert drivers to cyclists.

“It feels so dangerous. It is not comfortable for cyclists right now, so I try to avoid it, if at all possible,” she told San José Spotlight. “I’m hoping that as time goes on, we’ll actually see some real improvements so that your average everyday cyclist will be able to use De Anza as a reasonable commute path.”

The project, first identified under Cupertino’s 2016 Bicycle Transportation Plan, could help further the city’s efforts to increase traffic safety on busy roads. De Anza Boulevard saw two fatalities and about nine severe injuries on or near the street between 2012 and 2021, according to data from the city’s recently passed Vision Zero plan — joining a national movement to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries.

Kiana Talooei, Chrisp Company’s former project manager for the buffers, said the contractor hopes to help Cupertino meet those safety goals.

“Hopefully, it’s going to mitigate some of the accidents that happen with the bikers and people are going to feel safer to actually ride their bikes, which is better for the environment,” she told San José Spotlight.

Cupertino is implementing safety improvements on other major streets. The city is part of a group of jurisdictions working to create a safer path to school along Homestead Road, as well as improvements to Bollinger Road.

Deputy City Manager Tina Kapoor said the project furthers the buffered bike lanes on San Jose‘s side of De Anza Boulevard south of Bollinger Road.

“The city hopes this project will both encourage more people to ride bicycles, as well as enhance safety for those who do ride,” she told San José Spotlight.

Joel Wolf, vice chair of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, has been biking in the city for nearly 40 years. He said he was disappointed when he saw the city expand parts of De Anza Boulevard to four lanes decades ago, which removed some sidewalk space. He is glad some lanes will be reduced and said the bike project could boost pedestrian safety too.

“As a pedestrian, I think with the buffered bike lane you might feel a little bit more comfortable because right now, if you look at that section of sidewalk, you’re actually quite close to the traffic,” he told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.