The future of LRSP

For Liu, the future of the LRSP is clear. As community input is collected, crucial road segments will be determined through the amount of accidents that have taken place there. After generating a report, the city will then proceed with their goal to gain funding from the state and federal government to be put towards improving road safety in Cupertino. The LRSP will continue to promote walking and biking as an eco-friendly alternative to driving.

“It’s been a very auto-centric society for a long time,” Stillman said. “There has to be a slow shift in the way everybody thinks about travel. Over time, people [will] start to accept and be willing to make compromises to accommodate other modes. Right now, people don’t want to be slowed down [by] bike lane[s] or some kind of accommodation for bikes. But [if] we keep going in this path, eventually there will be acceptance. And as we’re making bike improvements, [we] don’t completely forget about car[s] because we understand that people still need to commute by car in a lot of cases.”

Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission member Erik Lindskog also believes that the amount of people who bike and walk needs to increase because driving expends fossil fuels and contributes to global warming. He believes that the city is putting in consistent effort into “building a lot of new bike lanes and bike trails” and suggests other changes that could be implemented. 

“There is a lot of will from a lot of people in Cupertino to add more bike infrastructure, [including] infrastructure separated from cars to bring out less experienced bikers,” Lindskog said. “I hope that we get fantastic bike facilities all throughout the Bay Area because we have such a fantastic climate. Our geography is very suitable for biking because it is mostly flat and our distances are not too far. When you add e-bikes into the equation, some distances are a little too long for regular bikes, but with e-bikes, you can easily cover 10 to 15 miles.”

While City Councilmember Hung Wei receives complaints about McClellan Road being congested due to bike lanes, she believes that looking at the big picture, where other modes of transportation are included, is important. She strongly encourages walking and biking in Cupertino and believes that the city needs “to put forward policy in an [environmentally friendly] direction.” 

“Policy drives change, so when we do policy we have to think, ‘What policy is environmentally friendly? What policy makes people change their old habits?’” Wei said. “I do hope that people realize the little things you do matter — even if it is inconvenient, it can make a big difference, so we do need to start changing habits, little by little. If we have safe bike routes, people will change their habits and bike instead of drive. It’s that type of change of habit residents can make to go in the right direction.”