HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpposition Letter - AB 1976 (Wicks) - 08.24.2026MAYOR KITTY MOORE
kmoore@cupertino.gov
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-1389
CUPERTINO.GOV
August 24, 2026
The Honorable Buffy Wicks
Member, California State Assembly
1021 O Street, Suite 8140
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 1976 (Wicks) Streets and Highways: Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities. Notice of
OPPOSITION
Dear Assemblymember Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I am writing to express our opposition to Assembly Bill (AB)
1976, which would impose new statewide restrictions on how cities and counties receive public
input and exercise local discretion over pedestrian and bicycle safety projects. As amended June
17, 2026, the bill would limit certain community input meetings after a project has reached 90%
design, restrict when a local agency may terminate a project after construction has been
authorized, and establish statewide requirements affecting local traffic-calming petition
processes.
The City of Cupertino supports efforts to improve safety for people walking and bicycling and
recognizes the importance of delivering transportation improvements efficiently. However, AB
1976 would achieve streamlining by constraining local public engagement and decision-making
at stages when site-specific concerns may still require meaningful review.
Local transportation projects can affect emergency access, school circulation, loading and
deliveries, accessibility, neighborhood traffic patterns, parking, construction sequencing, and
other conditions that vary substantially from one community to another. City councils and local
staff must be able to respond to changed circumstances and new information while remaining
accountable to the residents they serve.
The City of Cupertino is particularly concerned that AB 1976 would:
•Limit Meaningful Public Participation: Preventing certain community input meetings
after a project reaches 90 percent design could foreclose useful feedback before
construction, even when residents, businesses, schools, or emergency responders
identify legitimate implementation concerns.
•Undermine Local Control and Accountability: Restricting a city’s ability to reconsider,
modify, pause, or terminate a project substitutes a statewide rule for the judgment of
locally elected officials who are responsible for balancing safety, mobility, fiscal, and
neighborhood impacts.
•Create Rigid Procedural Mandates: The bill’s prescribed thresholds and findings could
add administrative burdens and procedural risk while reducing a city’s flexibility to
tailor public engagement and traffic-calming processes to local conditions.
Cupertino believes pedestrian and bicycle safety projects are most durable and effective when
they are developed through transparent local processes that preserve both timely
implementation and meaningful community participation. State law should support local
agencies in delivering safety improvements without unnecessarily limiting the discretion of
local elected bodies.
For these reasons, the City of Cupertino opposes AB 1976.
Sincerely,
Kitty Moore
Mayor, City of Cupertino
Cc: The Honorable Josh Becker
The Honorable Patrick Ahrens