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CC 07-09-2024 Item No. 4 Lawson Middle School Bikeway Project_Written CommunicationsCC 07-09-2024 #4 Lawson Middle School Bikeway Project Written Communications From:Saileel Vijaykar To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote Yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 2:46:26 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Honorable Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a Cupertino resident who cares about the safety of our children. I urge you to vote yes to install the protected bikeway around Lawson Middle School. These lanes will make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and make it less stressful for parents driving to drop off or pick up their students. Many parents fear for the safety of their students and so they drive their kids to school. Adding these protected bike lanes will help parents feel more comfortable allowing their children to get to school actively by walking and biking. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. It will also make it safer for parents driving their kids to school so they don’t have to worry about a collision with a student cycling to school. This protected bikeway is not going to take any money out of our tight budget. It is already fully funded by Apple grant money, and will cost the city nothing to build. With our current budget crisis, it is wonderful that we can make these positive infrastructure improvements without affecting our budget. The city has done a considerable amount of work developing this proposed project over the past six years and has conducted three community outreach meetings with parents and local residents. At each of these meetings, 60-90% of attendees voted in favor of this project design over other options. Some residents are concerned about losing parking along the school side of the street. However, the city’s parking analysis shows that there will still be more than enough parking for residents and teachers after the lanes are installed, plus there are options for additional parking when there is a heavy demand such as for school events. Parking is important, but the safety of our students should take priority. Thank you for considering my input on this issue. Thanks, Saileel From:meena V To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote Yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 2:44:42 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Honorable Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a Cupertino resident who cares about the safety of our children. I urge you to vote yes to install the protected bikeway around Lawson Middle School. These lanes will make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and make it less stressful for parents driving to drop off or pick up their students. Many parents fear for the safety of their students and so they drive their kids to school. Adding these protected bike lanes will help parents feel more comfortable allowing their children to get to school actively by walking and biking. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. It will also make it safer for parents driving their kids to school so they don’t have to worry about a collision with a student cycling to school. This protected bikeway is not going to take any money out of our tight budget. It is already fully funded by Apple grant money, and will cost the city nothing to build. With our current budget crisis, it is wonderful that we can make these positive infrastructure improvements without affecting our budget. The city has done a considerable amount of work developing this proposed project over the past six years and has conducted three community outreach meetings with parents and local residents. At each of these meetings, 60-90% of attendees voted in favor of this project design over other options. Some residents are concerned about losing parking along the school side of the street. However, the city’s parking analysis shows that there will still be more than enough parking for residents and teachers after the lanes are installed, plus there are options for additional parking when there is a heavy demand such as for school events. Parking is important, but the safety of our students should take priority. Thank you for considering my input on this issue. Meena From:b jung To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Build the Lawson Bikeway for safety and riding encouragement Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 10:13:30 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice Mayor Fruen, and City Councilmembers: I ask that you approve the plan recommended by city staff to install protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. Actually, I beg you to approve it as my grandkids already bike to Lawson and it’s downright scary the stories they tell me of the near misses between bikes and cars! Drivers in the morning rush are so distracted, our bikers need every protection! It’s clear from the increased numbers of students who are using the bike lanes on McClellan that protected bike lanes encourage younger and less experienced cyclists to bike. Adding them wherever we can is beneficial to our city to make it a safer place for everyone and encourage cycling instead of driving. This plan is even better than typical protected lane plans in that it will cost our city nothing. The low cost of $120,000 is covered completely by a grant from Apple. Increasing safety for our residents and not having to pay for it is a win-win. During the community outreach meetings, up to 90% of people voted the protected bike lanes as their top choice to fix the safety issues at this school. The Bike Ped Commission agreed, and also supported it with a 4-0 vote. There are likely a few neighbors that may complain about the reduced parking, but the city parking analysis shows that there is more than enough parking available for both neighbors and teachers even with this change. When comparing the safety improvement for the community to more parking, it’s clear that we should tip the balance toward making our children safe. Voting yes for these bike lanes is a great way to show that you care about the safety of our residents, and especially about our children. Thank you for considering my input today. Respectfully, Bonnie Jung 510.552.2728 Sent from my iPhone From:Joel Wolf To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Lawson Bikeway--Agenda Item 4 Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 10:02:31 AM Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice-Mayor Fruen and Council Members, I am writing in regard to the upcoming July 9 Council meeting, Agenda Item #4, Implementation of an on‑street two-way Class IV bikeway on Vista Drive and Forest Avenue (Alternative 3) along the Lawson Middle School frontage. It is clear to me that bicycle safety improvements are required at Lawson School. I personally visited the Lawson School site around 8:15AM on a school day in May 2023, just prior to the Hexagon Consultants presentation to the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission on May 17, 2023. During a 20-minute period, I observed what could only be described as a dangerous mix of vehicle traffic (parents dropping off their children) and student cyclists, with a number of near misses that fortunately did not result in any accidents on that morning. I strongly believe we need to place the highest priority on the safety of our children. There are many benefits to encouraging students to cycle to school including reduction of auto traffic congestion, reduction of greenhouse gases and notable health benefits (mental and physical). Lawson student biking grew from 3% in 2016 to 17% in 2022. This trend should be encouraged through infrastructure improvements. I support the Alternative 3 bicycle infrastructure project presented by Hexagon Consultants, and recommended for approval by City Staff. Alternative 3, with an estimated cost of $115,000, is by far the most cost effective of the two safety solutions presented by Hexagon Consultants to the BPC. It is also fully funded through the generous Apple donations, requiring no General Fund money. The BPC voted to recommend this option (4-0, with Commissioner Ganga abstaining). This solution is also preferred by the community. While this solution requires the removal of 50 on-street parking spaces along the west side of Vista Drive, there are approximately 500 on-street parking spaces within a five-minute walk from the school. Also, CUSD is open to allowing use of their parking lot during after-school or weekend events. I note that the draft Vision Zero plan prioritizes multimodal safety over on-street parking. By contrast, Alternative 2 consists of a multi-use trail that would cost an estimated $1,150,000 due to substantial infrastructure modifications required (including movement of street curb and utilities and substantial tree removal). Given the budgetary problems facing Cupertino it is likely this solution would not be built in the near future as it would require substantial money from the General Fund. Please approve Agenda Item 4, Alternative 3. Thank you for your consideration. Joel Wolf Vice-Chair Bike-Ped Commission Joel Wolf​​​​ Bicycle and Pedestrian Commissioner JWolf@cupertino.gov From:Lucinda Wong To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 8:26:00 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good Morning Respected Mayor Mohan and Council Members, My name is Lucinda Trice and I am a life long resident of Cupertino, parent, and teacher in CUSD. My son will start 6th grade this fall at Lawson. We live by the library and my son will be biking to Lawson as I cannot drop him off because I have to be on my campus to teach before his classes start. Based on where we live, his options are to bike down Blaney to Merritt to Vista or to take Torre/Vista to Forest to Vista to get to the bike cages at Lawson. I am apprehensive about this despite the fact that my son is a competent cyclist. I have taught for over 25 years and am well aware of the driving behaviors around schools. As you may recall, it took several significant accidents (and deaths) before the protected bike lane was added to the route to Monta Vista. We have the chance to have a protected bike path by Lawson paid entirely by a grant, with no cost to the city. I realize some residents feel they would be impacted by the loss of parking spaces in front of Lawson, but the loss of a few parking spaces is worth knowing our children will be safer biking and walking to school. With a safe biking option, hopefully more families would be open to biking and walking, which would in turn lessen traffic around the school. That is a win for the the neighbors. I urge you to vote in favor of this proposal at the coming council meeting. Respectfully, Lucinda Trice Please excuse any typos. From:Gayathri Lokesh To:City Council Subject:SUBJECT: Support for the Lawson Bikeway Project Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 7:21:22 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a parent of a Vritansh V Lawson student. I ask that you vote yes to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school.Students who walk will no longer have to share the sidewalk with students cycling to class, reducing conflicts between cyclists and walkers. Students who bike will use a dedicated and protected bike lane to get to campus safely. Parents who drive their students to school will not have to worry about potential collisions with students cycling to campus, reducing conflicts between cyclists and cars. Many parents drive their kids to school instead of allowing them to bike because they are concerned for their safety. Adding these lanes at Lawson may encourage more parents to allow their kids to walk and bike to school, which helps kids do better academically. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. Having fewer cars traveling to Lawson is beneficial for all residents. It can help reduce greenhouse emissions, something that affects us all. A recent study shows that if a student bikes to school for a semester, it saves the equivalent CO2 of 47 trees. It can also help ease traffic jams at pickup and dropoff, which is an issue for everyone because of car emissions and just plain frustration. It’s important to note that this project doesn’t cost the city any money, as the cost is covered by an Apple grant. It’s a positive change for Cupertino that won’t affect our budget. Some nearby neighbors are concerned about reduced parking. The city staff have done parking studies which show that there is more than enough parking for residents and the teachers at Lawson after the lanes go in. There’s even a plan for what to do during special events when parking demand is higher. Adding these lanes will be a huge positive for our community, especially our children. Ensuring our students have a safe route to school that encourages is a priority that we all should put before parking needs. I urge you to say yes. Thank you for considering my letter today. Respectfully, Gayathri From:Bao Ngo To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Support for the Lawson Bikeway Project Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 5:18:27 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a parent of a an incoming Lawson student. My wife has taught at CUSD for over 20 years at the elementary schools. I ask that you vote yes to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school. The Lawson Bikeway Project is important to decrease the already highly congested traffic in residential streets during school start and dismissal times. A healthy and environmentally sound solution is this Bikeway Project. There is a great need for this infrastructure which would increase safety for bicyclist, but also pedestrians. Please approve this project and make Cupertino a bike-friendly and environmentally friendly city. Sincerely, Bao Ngo Cupertino resident and Lawson Middle School parent From:Nathan Dunn To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:A parent asks that you build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 11:37:54 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor Mohan and City Council Members, I am the parent of current and future Lawson students. I ask that you vote to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson, whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school. --Students who walk will no longer have to share the sidewalk with students cycling to class, reducing conflicts between cyclists and walkers. --Students who bike will use a dedicated and protected bike lane to get to campus safely --Parents who drive their students to school will not have to worry about potential collisions with students cycling to campus, reducing conflicts between cyclists and cars. Many parents drive their kids to school instead of allowing them to bike because they are concerned for their safety. Adding these lanes at Lawson may encourage more parents to allow their kids to walk and bike to school, which helps kids do better academically. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. Having fewer cars traveling to Lawson is beneficial for all residents. It can help reduce greenhouse emissions, something that affects us all. A recent study shows that if a student bikes to school for a semester, it saves the equivalent CO2 of 47 trees. It can also help ease traffic jams at pickup and dropoff, which is an issue for everyone because of car emissions and just plain frustration. It’s important to note that this project doesn’t cost the city any money, as the cost is covered by an Apple grant. It’s a positive change for Cupertino that won’t affect our budget. Some nearby neighbors are concerned about reduced parking. The city staff have done parking studies which show that there is more than enough parking for residents and the teachers at Lawson after the lanes go in. There’s even a plan for what to do during special events when parking demand is higher. Adding these lanes will be a huge positive for our community, especially our children. I urge you to say yes. Thank you for considering my letter today. Please do not wait until a tragic accident occurs to take action (think of the bike lanes on McClellan Road towards Monta Vista High School) Thank you, Nathan Dunn Sent from my iPhone From:Michelle Dunn To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:A parent asks that you build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 11:34:43 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor Mohan and City Council Members, I am the parent of a current/future Lawson student. I ask that you vote to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson, whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school. --Students who walk will no longer have to share the sidewalk with students cycling to class, reducing conflicts between cyclists and walkers. --Students who bike will use a dedicated and protected bike lane to get to campus safely --Parents who drive their students to school will not have to worry about potential collisions with students cycling to campus, reducing conflicts between cyclists and cars. Many parents drive their kids to school instead of allowing them to bike because they are concerned for their safety. Adding these lanes at Lawson may encourage more parents to allow their kids to walk and bike to school, which helps kids do better academically. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. Having fewer cars traveling to Lawson is beneficial for all residents. It can help reduce greenhouse emissions, something that affects us all. A recent study shows that if a student bikes to school for a semester, it saves the equivalent CO2 of 47 trees. It can also help ease traffic jams at pickup and dropoff, which is an issue for everyone because of car emissions and just plain frustration. It’s important to note that this project doesn’t cost the city any money, as the cost is covered by an Apple grant. It’s a positive change for Cupertino that won’t affect our budget. Some nearby neighbors are concerned about reduced parking. The city staff have done parking studies which show that there is more than enough parking for residents and the teachers at Lawson after the lanes go in. There’s even a plan for what to do during special events when parking demand is higher. Adding these lanes will be a huge positive for our community, especially our children. I urge you to say yes. Thank you for considering my letter today. Cheers, Michelle Dunn Sent from my iPhone Cheers, Michelle Sent from my iPhone From:Omkar Mate To:City Council Subject:Support for the Lawson Bikeway Project Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 11:11:45 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a parent of an incoming Lawson student. I ask that you vote yes to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school.Students who walk will no longer have to share the sidewalk with students cycling to class, reducing conflicts between cyclists and walkers. Students who bike will use a dedicated and protected bike lane to get to campus safely. Parents who drive their students to school will not have to worry about potential collisions with students cycling to campus, reducing conflicts between cyclists and cars. Many parents drive their kids to school instead of allowing them to bike because they are concerned for their safety. Adding these lanes at Lawson may encourage more parents to allow their kids to walk and bike to school, which helps kids do better academically. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. Having fewer cars traveling to Lawson is beneficial for all residents. It can help reduce greenhouse emissions, something that affects us all. A recent study shows that if a student bikes to school for a semester, it saves the equivalent CO2 of 47 trees. It can also help ease traffic jams at pickup and dropoff, which is an issue for everyone because of car emissions and just plain frustration. It’s important to note that this project doesn’t cost the city any money, as the cost is covered by an Apple grant. It’s a positive change for Cupertino that won’t affect our budget. Some nearby neighbors are concerned about reduced parking. The city staff have done parking studies which show that there is more than enough parking for residents and the teachers at Lawson after the lanes go in. There’s even a plan for what to do during special events when parking demand is higher. Adding these lanes will be a huge positive for our community, especially our children. Ensuring our students have a safe route to school that encourages is a priority that we all should put before parking needs. I urge you to say yes. Thank you for considering my letter today. Respectfully, Omkar Mate From:Justin Imai To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 7:54:49 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Please vote in favor of adding separated bike infrastructure in front of Lawson Middle. The area around a school, and our entire neighborhoods, should be a place for kids to have no worries, but instead they’re faced with having to weave in and out of tall, parked cars, or be in the road with drivers who are hopefully paying attention. We need to make cycling a more viable form of transportation for everyone, and that starts with the children of the area. Along with parents of school children, other adults are apprehensive of cycling as a form of transportation because of the mentioned dangers, which necessitates the need for a car, which then leads to the over allotting of space for the parking of personal vehicles. So, not only is there an incredible amount of space being used for parking in our residential areas, which sits empty for the vast majority of the day, if nearly all the people coming to Lawson for whatever occasion feel completely comfortable cycling there, then the need for car parking is almost entirely gone. It may sound like a catastrophic change for those in favor of keeping our streets the same dangerous places for anyone outside of a car, but we need to make our neighborhoods truly safer places, and that starts with getting rid of the necessity of cars within them. Sent from Mail for Windows From:Steffan Thomas To:City Council; City Clerk Subject:Vote yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 7:13:31 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. As a Cupertino voter, and parent of a future Lawson student, I support building the protected bikeway near Lawson school. As an accountant, I very much am in favor of using the grant from Apple. Bikes should not share lanes with either cars or pedestrians. The safer option is also the cheaper option. Thank you, Steffan Thomas From:Sharlene Liu To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote yes to build the Lawson protected bike lanes Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 4:33:08 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice-Mayor Fruen, and City Council Members, I would like to ask you to approve the Lawson protected bike lanes. Protecting the many students who bike to Lawson MS is a high priority. By establishing a habit of going to school car-free, students will more likely continue this good habit into adulthood, for the benefit of their own health, clean air, and safe transportation. Here are some specific reasons why supporting Lawson protected bike lanes makes a lot of sense: The safety of the children in our community should be a top priority. There are significant safety issues for students biking to Lawson today that were identified six years ago and are still ongoing today. We need to act before a serious accident occurs. This on-street bikeway is free to the city due to a grant from Apple and low cost ($115K) in general. It will not affect our constrained city budget in any way. Significant public outreach has occurred. The consultant led several public meetings in person and on Zoom to discuss alternatives, plus they were discussed at a public Bicycle Pedestrian Commission meeting. The majority of community members are in favor of the on-street bikeway. In meetings, 60-90% of participants preferred the on-street bikeway. The BPC overwhelmingly supported the on-street bikeway with a 4-0 vote. This is the best option to fix the safety issues. It is the most cost-effective by far. It preserves the mature trees on campus and the school landscaping, and it does not require extensive construction work. Neighbors who have opposed the lanes do not like the loss of parking. The official parking study shows there is more than adequate parking for both teachers and the local residents after this change. No parking will be removed in front of homes. Our approved city plans including the General Plan and Climate Action Plan all have goals to increase and encourage more alternative transportation. Making it safer to walk and bike makes it more attractive to residents and will encourage more active transportation. This is a small change, but sends a signal to residents that you care about the safety of our children, that the approved city plans are a ‘roadmap’ you are using, and that you wish for a greener future. I ask that you approve the bikeway today. Thank you. Sharlene Liu Community Member From:Jd Marfatia To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Build the Lawson Bikeway for safety and riding encouragement Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 2:10:45 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice Mayor Fruen, and City Councilmembers: I ask that you approve the plan recommended by city staff to install protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. It’s clear from the increased numbers of students who are using the bike lanes on McClellan that protected bike lanes encourage younger and less experienced cyclists to bike. Adding them wherever we can is beneficial to our city to make it a safer place for everyone and encourage cycling instead of driving. This plan is even better than typical protected lane plans in that it will cost our city nothing. The low cost of $120,000 is covered completely by a grant from Apple. Increasing safety for our residents and not having to pay for it is a win-win. During the community outreach meetings, up to 90% of people voted the protected bike lanes as their top choice to fix the safety issues at this school. The Bike Ped Commission agreed, and also supported it with a 4-0 vote. There are likely a few neighbors that may complain about the reduced parking, but the city parking analysis shows that there is more than enough parking available for both neighbors and teachers even with this change. When comparing the safety improvement for the community to more parking, it’s clear that we should tip the balance toward making our children safe. Voting yes for these bike lanes is a great way to show that you care about the safety of our residents, and especially about our children. Thank you for considering my input today. /Jaydeep From:Y Thorstenson To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Build the Lawson Bikeway for safety and riding encouragement Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 2:02:50 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice Mayor Fruen, and City Councilmembers: I ask that you approve the plan recommended by city staff to install protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. It’s clear from the increased numbers of students who are using the bike lanes on McClellan that protected bike lanes encourage younger and less experienced cyclists to bike. Adding them wherever we can is beneficial to our city to make it a safer place for everyone and encourage cycling instead of driving. This plan is even better than typical protected lane plans in that it will cost our city nothing. The low cost of $120,000 is covered completely by a grant from Apple. Increasing safety for our residents and not having to pay for it is a win-win. During the community outreach meetings, up to 90% of people voted the protected bike lanes as their top choice to fix the safety issues at this school. The Bike Ped Commission agreed, and also supported it with a 4-0 vote. There are likely a few neighbors that may complain about the reduced parking, but the city parking analysis shows that there is more than enough parking available for both neighbors and teachers even with this change. At this point no reasonable person can argue that parking should be prioritized over children’s safety. Voting yes for these bike lanes is a great way to show that you care about the safety of our residents, and especially about our children. Thank you for considering my input today. Yvonne Thorstenson From:Debbie Timmers To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote Yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 1:08:09 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Honorable Mayor Mohan and City Council Members: I am a Cupertino resident and a grandma of Cupertino students. In addition I care about the safety of all of our precious children in Cupertino. I urge you to vote yes to install the protected bikeway around Lawson Middle School. These lanes will make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and make it less stressful for parents driving to drop off or pick up their students. This protected bikeway is funded by a grant from Apple and won't take any money out of our tight budget. It will cost the city nothing to build. I understand that some residents may concerned about losing parking along the school side of the street. However, the city’s parking analysis shows that there will still be more than enough parking for residents and teachers after the lanes are installed, plus there are options for additional parking when there is a heavy demand such as for school events. Parking is important, but the safety of our students should take priority! Thank you for your work and for considering my input on this issue. Debra Timmers From:Marilyn Sherry To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Vote yes to build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 12:46:19 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. As a citizen of Cupertino who lives in the Lawson school district, I am writing to support the creation of the Lawson Bikeway, on-street protected bike lanes on Vista to protect the children who bike and walk to Lawson Middle School. I am opposed to the alternative of a mixed bike/pedestrian path. In my experience with both options, not only are protected street lanes safer for bikers, but they are very much safer for pedestrians than a shared bike/pedestrian multi-use sidewalk. I, myself, have been the victim and witness of bicycle/pedestrian accidents on such shared paths. I also understand that the Lawson Bikeway option will be completely covered by a grant from Apple, saving the city of Cupertino as much as $1 million dollars it does not have at this time. Any minor inconvenience in regards to parking is well worth the increase in pedestrian safety and ability for the city to apply funds in a more productive manner. Regards, Marilyn Sherry From:Gauri Chawla To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:For Public Comment (7/9): Item #4 Building the Lawson Bikeway For Our Students Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 12:03:20 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mayor Mohan, Vice-Mayor Fruen, and City Council Members, I went to Lawson Middle School, and am now a rising college student. I ask you today to say yes to building the Lawson protected bikeway. Students shouldn’t have to face the danger of being hurt on their school commute and we should be able to walk and bike safely to school. Every day, students bike on Vista and Forest with cars or bike on the sidewalk with walking students, leading to many near-misses and minor collisions. It has been six years since this project began. It’s time for the next generation of students to not have to face these dangers. These new on-street bike lanes will not cost our city anything. They are already funded through an Apple grant. The other option is 10 times more expensive, we don’t have the money in our budget to build it, will require removing some great shade trees, and still won’t solve the problem fully. Students deserve to be safe on their way to school. This should be a top priority over extra parking. It should be easy to weigh these two things. I hope that you agree, and vote to build this bikeway. Thank you for your consideration, Gauri Chawla From:sonali kale To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:Request to approve and build the Lawson Bikeway Date:Sunday, July 7, 2024 10:49:55 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Respected Mayor and City Council Members, I am parent of two former Lawson students. I urge you vote to add the protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. This will benefit all students at Lawson, whether they walk, bike, or are driven to school. --Students who walk will no longer have to share the sidewalk with students cycling to class, reducing conflicts between cyclists and walkers. --Students who bike will use a dedicated and protected bike lane to get to campus safely --Parents who drive their students to school will not have to worry about potential collisions with students cycling to campus, reducing conflicts between cyclists and cars. Many parents drive their kids to school instead of allowing them to bike because they are concerned for their safety. Adding these lanes at Lawson may encourage more parents to allow their kids to walk and bike to school, which helps kids do better academically. Studies have shown that children who walk or bike to school do better academically and have better social skills. Having fewer cars traveling to Lawson is beneficial for all residents. It can help reduce greenhouse emissions, something that affects us all. A recent study shows that if a student bikes to school for a semester, it saves the equivalent CO2 of 47 trees. It can also help ease traffic jams at pickup and drop off, which is an issue for everyone because of car emissions and just plain frustration. It’s important to note that this project doesn’t cost the city any money, as the cost is covered by an Apple grant. It’s a positive change for Cupertino that won’t affect our budget. Some nearby neighbors are concerned about reduced parking. The city staff have done parking studies which show that there is more than enough parking for residents and the teachers at Lawson after the lanes go in. There’s even a plan for what to do during special events when parking demand is higher. Adding these lanes will be a huge positive for our community, especially our children. I urge you to say yes. Thank you for considering my letter today. Sonali Kale From:J Shearin To:City Council; Cupertino City Manager"s Office; City Clerk Subject:Approve the Lawson Bikeway project | City Council agenda item #4 | July 9, 2024 Date:Saturday, July 6, 2024 2:24:48 PM Attachments:PastedGraphic-1.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Honorable Mayor Mohan, City Councilmembers, and City Manager Wu, I write to you today to urge you to vote yes for the Lawson Bikeway as recommended by the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, and by the majority of residents per the polls in the community outreach meetings. I ask this as a resident of Cupertino (and I am writing today only as a resident) that cares about the welfare of all of the children in our community. Why the Lawson protected bike lanes should be approved We all know that biking or walking to school leads to more sustainable communities. Studies show that it improves concentration for students leading to better school outcomes. It’s also true that the top reason that parents do not allow their children to bike or walk to school is safety. This bikeway—with protected lanes at the highest traffic conflict point for commuting students—addresses many safety concerns of parents which can then result in more students walking or biking to school. When the same design of bikeway was installed at Greene Middle School in Palo Alto, the school saw the number of students biking to school more than double. Lawson would likely also see an increase. Safety is reason that this bikeway is needed: students currently biking on Vista and Forest must mix with cars and make unsafe left turns across traffic to enter the school bike corral. Students have already been hit, leading some of them to bike on the sidewalk instead, conflicting with walking students. Many residents have written to you already with letters about how this bikeway is the best solution to these safety issues. They’ve talked about how it will be completely paid for by an Apple Walk Audit grant, how there has been significant public outreach by the city staff and the paid consultants, and how there is still adequate parking for residents and for Lawson teachers even after the spaces on the school side of Vista and Forest are removed. They’ve talked about how the bikeway will allow pedestrians and cyclists to each have their own path so there are no conflicts between them. This bikeway can also help residents other than just Lawson students: traffic is measurably higher on all streets while school is in session. Every student that walks or bikes to school is one fewer car on the road, decreasing our traffic load. These are just some of the many reasons it is the right solution for the Lawson safety issues. Other rejected ideas It’s clear that the two-way separated bikeway is the best option and should be approved, but I’d like to also discuss in this email two other ideas that were considered but ultimately rejected, and one idea that is still being considered in the many-year process to get to this vote. One idea that has been considered is to replace the current Vista Avenue bike corral with a new one located at the southern edge of the campus, south of the running track (see Fig. 1 below). Theoretically, students could then avoid car conflicts by getting onto campus as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, any new southern entrance requires students to either still use Forest and Vista (making a left turn across lanes), or mix with trucks and busses in the south CUSD parking lot. This means safety is not improved. The bike corral would be far from the main buildings of campus, encouraging thefts as it is not visible from them. CUSD staff is not in favor of this option, as school personnel are not available to lock/unlock the corral at this location which is far from the regular building workspaces, students are not allowed to use the south CUSD parking lot as a traffic path, and having students cross the field area can cause conflicts with zero-period classes. For all these reasons, this idea was considered not an option. Another idea is to allow students to bike onto campus at a new southern entrance and bike on the school track to reach the bike corral on Vista (see Fig 2 below.). This also doesn’t improve safety as students must still cross traffic on Vista or use the south CUSD parking lot. Unlike moving the corral, bike thefts are not likely to increase, and locking/unlocking the corral is not an issue. However, it presents a new issue in that students will now be biking on the school track which is only designed for foot traffic and will not hold up to the higher wear of bike wheels. Allowing student to ride on the track can also disrupt zero-period PE classes. CUSD is not in favor of this idea, and i is not recommended for these reasons. Other feasible option: multi-use sidewalk The consultants also determined that another plan was possible—a multi-use sidewalk where students walking and biking would share a 10’ wide sidewalk. This would allow bikes to ride off street and not require any parking to be eliminated. Unfortunately, it would cost 10 times as much as the bikeway, at $1.3 million, the majority of which would need to come from the city’s General Fund. It also requires the loss of many mature trees and school landscaping, and requires movement of CUSD utilities and landscape piping. It also does not solve the issue of conflicts between walking and biking students that are seen right now on the sidewalks next to Lawson. Because of the city’s budget crisis, it’s likely a multi-use path would never be affordable to build. The negatives of this option far outweigh the positives. The bikeway is the best choice After this many-year process, with extensive public outreach and a $50K consultant to investigate alternatives, it can be safely said that this issue has been exhaustively studied and discussed. The cost/benefit for a protected bikeway is excellent. Separated bike lanes have been shown to significantly lower accident rates where they have been installed. Residents in community meetings have greatly preferred the bikeway option (60–90% chose the bikeway as their preferred option across many different outreach meetings). Apple has said that the grant can be used for this project, and there is no better project in the works. Now is the time to approve it. I ask that you approve the project this Tuesday at the Council meeting for the benefit of our community and especially its children. Thank you for considering my input, and for your work on behalf of Cupertino. Best Wishes, Jennifer Shearin ----------------------------------- This message is from my personal email account. I am only writing as myself, not as a representative or spokesperson for any other organization. From:Jennifer Griffin To:City Clerk Cc:grenna5000@yahoo.com Subject:Fwd: Item Number 4 Cupertino City Council Meeting (7/9/24) - Bollinger Road Date:Friday, July 5, 2024 9:48:51 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. FYI. Please include the following comments as public input for Item Number 4 in the City Council Agenda for the 7/9/24 City Council Meeting on Vision Zero and Bollinger Road. Thank you. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Item Number 4 Cupertino City Council Meeting (7/9/24) - Bollinger Road From: Jennifer Griffin <grenna5000@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday, July 5, 2024, 9:45 AM To: citycouncil@cupertino.org,cityclerk@cupertino.org CC: grenna5000@yahoo.com Dear City Council: Please make sure that Item Number 4 in the Cupertino City Council Agenda for Vision Zero does not involve changing Bollinger Road from Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road to Lawrence Expressway from two lanes down to one lane in each direction. There is too much traffic on The road for one lane traffic and it would lead to very heavy backups. There would also not be enough room for emergency vehicles to get through. The discussion of what happens in Bollinger Road is a joint process between all parties Involved which includes the people of Cupertino, San Jose (West San Jose especially) And Bike and Ped groups from the areas etc. Cupertino should not dominate the discussion Etc., Especially if there are grants . We are very much against the idea of reducing Bollinger Road to one lane in each direction Because of traffic load and emergency vehicle access. My mother-in-law and family members who Live on the West San Jose side of Bollinger Road by Hyde are very much against the reduction Of lanes also because of traffic load on Bollinger and the inability of emergency vehicles to Get down the road if there was only one lane in each direction. My mother-in-law and family Members have lived by Bollinger since the 1970s and are very familiar with the traffic conditions on The roadway. Please leave Bollinger with the two lanes in each direction. It is the best solution. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Jennifer Griffin From:Helene Davis To:City Council; City Clerk Subject:Writing in Support of the Lawson On-street Protected Bike Lanes at Lawson Middle School Date:Thursday, July 4, 2024 3:54:08 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear City Council, I am writing to voice my support for the new on-street protected bike lanes at Lawson Middle School. I am a concerned community member who whole heartedly believes that infrastructure encouraging walking and cycling contributes to a healthier, more sustainable, and vibrant community. The proposed Lawson bike-way is only one piece of the puzzle that will contribute to our city's Vision Zero goals. The best option is for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles to be separated. This is safer for everyone. This is also what CUSD staff prefers. There has been ample community outreach on this project and the separation is also what the community prefers. There has been some concern about loss of parking (this always seems to be a knee jerk reaction anytime bike lanes are discussed) but a city staff parking study determined that there will still be plenty of parking for residents, parents, and other visitors to the school. The cost is reasonable - an Apple grant is earmarked for this project and will cover the entire amount. Thank you for your consideration of my email. Regards, Helene Davis Long time Cupertino resident Advocate for walking and biking in our community From:Philip Nguyen To:City Council Cc:Cupertino City Manager"s Office; City Clerk Subject:Lawson Bikeway Support Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 3:53:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Honorable Mayor Sheila Mohan, Vice-Mayor JR Fruen, Councilmembers and staff, My name is Philip, an alumni of Monta Vista High School and longtime community member, and the purpose of this message is to express my deep support for safe bike routes and infrastructure. Being a fresh graduate from MV, I was still closeby when I heard the news of a student getting killed in an automobile accident while biking to school. The community expressed their heartbreak by quickly mobilizing and demanding for cement dividers creating a separated and safer path for bikers. The community historically supports safe biking infrastructure as many people utilize this separated bike lane on McClellan to get to school but also for leisure. We need this type of safe bike infrastructure everywhere in the city and especially near schools. Safe bike routes to school not only reduces car usage and traffic to school, but also reduces air pollution and emissions. Parents will see the biking infrastructure and know that their child has a reliable and safe method of active transport to get to class. This will only create a healthier, stronger community. City parking studies also show that even with the reduction in adjacent parking, the supply of parking spots will still be adequate for neighbors and teachers. Please do the right thing and support the Lawson Bikeway. Many thanks, Philip