In light of growing school traffic problems throughout the city, the City of Cupertino has launched its own Safe Routes To School initiative, a program that aims to lessen congestion and promote healthy living amongst its residents.

The aim of this program is twofold: to keep students safe and to keep them active. Much of the City Council’s actions are in direct response to concerns regarding these specific subjects. For instance, Santa Clara County ranks 4th nationally in percentage of pedestrian deaths, a factor generally perceived as a direct result of Silicon Valley’s infamous traffic issues according to the preamble of the city’s latest traffic initiative. The San Jose metropolitan area — of which Cupertino is a part — was ranked by Forbes as having the 7th worst traffic of any urban center in the country. Last October, the congested streets of Cupertino claimed the life of sophomore Ethan Wong, when he was hit while riding his bicycle to school.

A mounting problem

These issues are directly linked to a lack of willingness of students to walk or bike, which ties into various health concerns. According to the City of Cupertino, “From 1969 to 2007, the percentage of children and teens nationally who walked or bicycled to school decreased from 48% to 13%.” The city went on to state that “44% of middle and high school students in Santa Clara County do not engage in daily physical activity,” as further evidence of a growing health crisis. Mirroring programs undertaken by municipalities across the country, including Palo Alto, Sacramento and San Mateo County, Cupertino has taken these problems into consideration as it embarks on its new public health and safety program.

Cupertino’s resolution

As of April, Cupertino adopted Resolution No. 15-017, which created a new staff position with the power to coordinate existing traffic control efforts from schools with an overall initiative run by the city. Cupertino is one of the first cities in the area to do so. The program is currently being overseen by community organizer Chelsea Biklen.

“The end goal of Safe Routes to School is to get more students…walking and biking, really [using] any transportation that isn’t single-vehicle travel,” Biklen said. “In order to reduce carbon emissions and create a culture that is more active-transportation focused.”

According to Biklen, the program is not entirely new, taking elements from a program spearheaded in Palo Alto based off an international initiative originating in Denmark during the 1970s.

Biklen’s job as of this year is to coordinate the traffic control efforts of the city with those of the five pilot schools participating in the first leg of the program: Kennedy, Lincoln, Monta Vista, Cupertino High School and Sedgwick. Originally, the individual efforts remained disjointed and non-cooperative. Now, thanks largely to the city’s efforts, the individual schools and differing school districts — CUSD and FUHSD — can work in tandem with local municipal governments to pursue Safe Routes to School’s goals of fostering a safe and active transportation environment for students.

Monta Vista reflects on traffic issues

In the recent past, Monta Vista has been one of the hardest hit by the toll of unchecked traffic issues. Several injuries and a student death in the last few years have made the environment surrounding pedestrian traffic stressful and uneasy, while school and city administrators look into methods by which to improve infrastructure safety. “[The] safety of our students is of top priority. Partnering with this initiative will hopefully promote safe access and egress,” said Monta Vista Principal April Scott in an email. “The tragic death of Ethan Wong last year reinforces the importance of this work.”

Efforts have already been made to make bicycle lanes more apparent to drivers by painting them lime green, in addition to the continuous stationing of crossing guards around Lincoln and Monta Vista crosswalks. However, there are some issues that students have voiced concern over that have yet to be addressed.

Senior Gabe Preising, who regularly bikes to school, expressed his concern over the lack of common knowledge of road laws.

“Helping bikers learn the rules of the road would be helpful,” Preising said, “especially underclassmen, since they don’t drive yet.”

According to Preising, having pedestrians understand the streets from the perspective of drivers could be beneficial for safety.

April Scott followed up on this point, emphasizing the need for students, parents, and staff alike, both pedestrians and drivers, to work together on this issue. “The number one thing that Monta Vista students and their families can do right now is to practice safe commute behaviors,” Scott said. “Walk or bike when possible, follow all traffic laws, obey safe pedestrian and bike passage, plan ahead and don’t arrive at school during peak traffic times… It takes all of us to do the right thing.”