The City of Cupertino officially announced the beginning of a new bike lane project taking place between Wolfe Road and De Anza Boulevard. on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The project, Phase 2A of the Stevens Creek Boulevard Class IV Bike Lane Project, aims to improve bike lanes for cyclists who frequent the busy intersection. According to Chad Mosley, Cupertino City Council’s Director of Public Works who oversees the capital improvement program, this project — including many other bike lane improvements — is the result of a fatality that occurred in 2015, prompting the city to improve safety along biking corridors to prevent future casualties.
“There was a considerable push by members of the public to enhance bicycle safety,” Mosley said. “The Bicycle Pedestrian Commission and the City Council at the time put in the effort to advocate for the project’s adoption. Public input was really part of the catalyst for getting this project in queue.”
The project was designated as top priority project in the 2016 Bicycle Master Plan that was adopted by City Council. When the plan was first adopted, the city wanted to focus on McClellan Road as it served the key Tri-School area, which includes MVHS, Kennedy Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School. However, after the two phases of the McClellan Road Project were completed, the city decided to shift to Stevens Creek Boulevard Phase 1: the section of bike lanes that stretches from Wolfe Road to Tantau Avenue. After the city began planning and designing for the Stevens Creek Boulevard Phase 2, the project was ultimately broken down into Phase 2A and 2B, which will extend from De Anza Boulevard to Highway 85, to enabled the project to be executed more easily.
While construction was initially planned to begin on Sept. 15, it has now been pushed back to start in January 2026 and end in approximately April 2026. Mosley noted that the delay was unexpected, as contractors responsible for procuring bicycle signal poles notified him only two weeks before the project’s launch date that procurement would take over 6 months, stalling the project as preparations for construction are underway.
Project manager Jason Wong, who facilitates the construction and completion of the project, states that it includes concrete barriers around the bike lanes, as well as specialized left turn signals for bikers and drivers to direct traffic in a safe manner. Phase 2A also includes renovations to the Eastbound Bus Stop east of De Anza Boulevard to include a boarding island, removing the intersection between the bus stop and bike lane.
According to Wong, the project costs a total of $1.6 million, funded primarily by an $807,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and $693,000 from the Senate Bill 1, which provides cities with annual funds for roadway repairs and safety improvements. The remaining $200,000 came from city funds. New bike signal poles account for the largest portion of the budget at around $600,000, while the addition of concrete barriers and the concrete island cost $300,000. The remaining funds cover striping, traffic control and utility installations, including stormwater measures.
Sophomore Anish Durve, a frequent cyclist who bikes to school and also enjoys mountain and trail biking, says he welcomes the installation of exclusive bike signals and concrete barriers framing the bike lane.
“As of now, I just assume that all cars are going to do something that is not the brightest,” Durve said. “So I just try to always be safe and make eye contact with drivers when I’m biking and on roads where there are no bike lanes. But having those cement blocks on the left side of the road in certain areas could be very helpful, especially areas that are prone to possible collisions.”
Wong mentions that since Stevens Creek Boulevard is a main corridor within the city, there is often heavy traffic. Combined with the speed limit being 30-35 mph, he believes that the road is the perfect place to include a barrier, even though it may not be completely foolproof.
“The concrete blocks would provide a sense of protection between the cyclists and a vehicle,” Wong said. “When you have some sort of barrier, which in this case is the concrete blocks, it does help with preventing vehicles from entering the bike lane and the bikes going toward the vehicles, where it’s just an open space and there can potentially be an encroachment.”
Durve agrees, saying that the difference between having no bike lane and having one is significant, and that a well-built lane will bring even greater benefits, putting space between drivers and bikers protecting bikers.
“A lot of cars are not paying attention to bikers, especially on left turns,” Durve said. “Personally, I fell when biking to school on
ce, and if the bike lane was not wide enough where I fell, I might have gotten run over by a car. So even if it’s not the best, having a bike lane still is good because it gives a margin between the biker and the drivers.”
Wong has assured that none of the modifications will negatively impact drivers in any way. The additional bus stop island and bike signals will not significantly affect traffic as there will be no lane reduction, and the speed limit will also remain unchanged. Thus, Mosley believes that the construction process, despite the delay, will be successful and serve both cyclists and drivers. He adds that future phases would expand those bike lanes to Foothill Boulevard.
“We’re just happy to bring this safety improvement to the community,” Mosley said. “We think we’ve done it in a manner that’s both cost-effective as well as minimally impactful to both vehicles and pedestrians, so we think this is going to be a great amenity for the community.”
