Dear Honorable Mayor Rod Sinks and City Council members,

As an observer of what has transpired in the General Plan Amendment meetings and workshops it occurs to me that they are mostly about Commercial and Housing elements.  There is nothing about Mobility and Biking alternative to driving cars to all of these new commercial and housing developments.  As a matter of fact looking at the General Plan there is virtually nothing said about how people are to get to these Commercial and Housing developments and how to mitigate increasing traffic created as these developments grow over the years.  Traffic is already problematic in part of town.

The City’s Community Vision 2040 is supposed to act as a guide to the General Plan to take into considerations such things as traffic as outlined in Chapter 5: Mobility Element to counter the effects of Chapter 3: Land Use and Community Character Element.  Yet in the current General Plan there is no Mobility Element.  There is no plan for dealing with increasing traffic and traffic congestion problems.  There are only plans for building parking structures for parking more cars.  This seems an oversight that needs immediate attention and logically should be made part of the General Plan Amendment so the city can allocate money and make long range plans to deal with this growth.  Apple, Main Street, and the Valco renovation will very soon overburden the Wolf Road exit to HW280.  What are the City’s plans to mitigate this looming problem?

I would suggest the City give serious consideration to public transportation and especially Biking as alternatives to more cars on our roads.  Why can’t the city put aside $10-20Million for enhancements to our streets for bicycles and pedestrians to encourage more people to ride their bikes and walk our streets and even a public shuttle in the next couple of years.  There are many things that can be done throughout our city to make biking more safe and attractive.  How about making street safe for kids to bike to schools so more kids will be encouraged to bike instead of being driven causing traffic congestion and dangerous street conditions for those biking and walking to school.  How about subsidizing schools to bus children living far from schools.  Many of our sidewalks are missing or in disrepair.  How about fixing them or subsidizing residents to make repairs?  How about making bike lanes far safer by physically isolating bike lanes from traffic?

There must be a plan for dealing with Mobility and it should be incorporated into the General Plan Amendment if Cupertino is to have any chance of Sustainable Growth as outlined in Chapter 5: Mobility Element.  The alternative it to become a sea of congested streets in the future.  The city should set aside $10-20 Million every couple of year to enhance these alternatives.  Let us truly be a Bike friendly city, unique in the Bay Area, for those of all ages and riding abilities.  It will put us on the map of uniquely bicycle friendly cities, something to be proud of.  I am not saying to replace all car with bikes.  What I am suggesting is to encourage more residents to use their bikes when possible to effectively reduce the number of cars on the roads.  Other cities like Portland Origin are doing it.  So why can’t we?

Best Regards,
Frank Geefay
Cupertino Resident

[Refer to Cupertino General Plan – There is no Mobility Element!]