Why Should We Tolerate Even One Bicycle-Car Accident?

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Frank Geefay

Would you consider it tolerable if even one bicycle-car accident occurred a year if it were your child or family member riding that unfortunate bike?  So why should we tolerate such accidents for any other member of our community?  Why aren’t we up in arms with City Hall about making our street safe if we or our children ride our bikes in town.  I am.  In fact there was a fatality  of one family’s child last year.  We have a zero tolerance policy for drugs and weapons in our schools.  So why are we so tolerant about bicycle accidents?  Are not these accidents just as deadly and devastating as drugs or weapons?

It always amazes me how tolerant we are about bicycle-car accidents, as if there is nothing we can do about it.  Naturally the bicyclists will always come out the loosing end regardless of whose fault it is.  Many improvements have been made in the survivability of car accidents.  But very little has been done for bicycles other than helmets.  Fortunately most bicycle-car collisions are not serious and many are not even reported but each has the potential of being deadly.

So what can be done to protect cyclists?  In terms of what they wear for protection, very little can be done without adding considerable weight. bulk, and cost to bikes and their riders but due to the shear force and energy contained in a car, it is like trying to protect a cyclists against a powerful gun.  It simply isn’t practical.

But there are many things that can be done in the way we design bicycle lanes and streets to eliminate such accidents.  Here is where our city can make a difference.  So is it a reasonable expectation to eliminate bicycle accidents between cars?  Experts believe we can achieve close to zero collisions between bikes and cars with the right designs of streets and bicycle lanes in conjunction with educational programs.  One must keep in mind that bicyclists are often the cause of accidents so responsible bicycling must be equally emphasized especially for kids.

But it is up to we citizens to emphasize the need for such protection for our children and bicycle riders.  We must make our case to City Council to make this a priority that the city need to invest in.  It is already part of the Cupertino’s Community Vision 2040 Mobility Element.  So citizens simply need to insist that the City follow its own vision for Mobility.  But currently the City has totally neglected to incorporate traffic issues in the General Plan.  So there is nothing to mitigate the increase in traffic that growth will bring.  We rightfully should be up in arms about this.

By making our streets safe to bike far more kids and adults will start riding their bikes.  Consequently streets will become less crowded with cars.  As more people bike there will be more demand for improvements to make riding more convenient thus encouraging even more people to cycle etc.  Consequently there will be fewer cars on the roads.  This is clearly one major step the city can take to both reduce traffic and virtually eliminate bicycle accidents.

So the City must making such accidents unacceptable as the goal of city planners and invest to make this possible.  Increasing the number of bicycles on our streets has all kinds of benefits.  In contrast increasing the number of cars on our streets as the city grows creates all kinds of problems.  Can anyone see any flaw to this argument?

So the City should have as its goal a zero bicycle-car accident policy.  To achieve this the city needs to implement best practice bicycle lane designs to eliminate collisions between bicycles and cars.  There are many solutions to this problem if the city is serious about zero accidents.  Many Northern European countries have worked out solutions for their countries and many cities in the U.S. are implementing solutions.  This website is packed such examples (see Video Clips and Photo Album).

It will cost money but ultimately it will save lives and reduce traffic congestion on city streets especially around schools even as the population grows.  But first we the people must provide City Council the Political Will to make this a priority worthy of investing money and resources on.

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Letter to City Council: Mobility Element missing from the General Plan – Bicycles as an Alternative to more Cars

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Frank Geefay

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!]

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Cupertino General Plan – There is no Mobility Element!

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Frank Geefay

The General Plan has as its foundation the Community Vision 2040 which is a guiding set of documents intended to assure that the General Plan remains balanced and contains the various key elements of this Vision.  Two of the elements most important to the future growth of our city are:

According the General Plan: “The Heart of the City Specific Plan provides specific development guidance for one of the most important commercial corridors in the City of Cupertino, for the purpose of creating a greater sense of place and community identity in Cupertino. The plan contains streetscape design, development standards and design guidelines for multi-unit residential and commercial/office projects.”  “The Monta Vista Design Guidelines implement the policies of the General Plan by outlining building design details, landscaping treatment, signage and public improvement details for the Monta Vista Commercial Area.”

The General Plan is All about the development of Commercial and Housing elements to encourage further growth in our city.  What is not covered at all by the current General Plan is how people are going to commute to and from these Commercial and Housing elements as the population of residents and commuting commercial business employees and visitors get to these Commercial and Housing establishments.  It also does not adequately addresses how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or making growth sustainable.  The assumed de facto mode of transportation is by car which causes traffic congestion so is not sustainable and produces greenhouse gases.

It is clear from the Community Vision 2040 that Mobility is a key consideration for sustainable growth as Commercial or Housing people need to get to these places.  Yet Mobility is strangely missing from our General Plan.  So how does the city plan to deal with such Growth if it is not part of the City’s General Plan?  Deal with it peace-meal as traffic becomes progressively congested?  What is the city’s plan for reducing traffic congestion when the new Apple campus, Main Street project, and Valco renovation are completed all within one mile of one another?  Wait until the streets and highway exit on Wolf Road become plugged with traffic?

It is clear that the majority of our City Government has not given this serious consideration or that it was not important enough for consideration of adding to the General Plan.  Where is the wisdom of ignoring traffic as outlined in Chapter 5: Mobility Element of the Community Vision 2040?  Am I the only one who is alarmed that mitigating traffic is an egregious oversight that needs immediate attention and Must be made part of the General Plan Amendment?  Cupertino needs to reduce traffic and traffic congestion, not increase it.

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Taking That First Step

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Frank Geefay

The most import thing about doing anything new is deciding what first to do and taking that first step.  It doesn’t have to be large but it is a start that will lead to the next step and so on.

Late last year a 15 year old boy was struck and killed by a large truck while riding his bike to school.  Citizens were outraged and demanded that the city improve traffic conditions to prevent such things from happening.  One of the primary reasons most students and citizens don’t ride their bikes to school and elsewhere is because there is a perception that our streets are too crowded with cars and bike lanes are inadequately designed to give the feeling of safeness.  I agree with those perceptions as a adult senior bicycle rider.  I have had several close calls and feel unsafe when riding many if not most of our streets.

Laws have been tightened to require cars to drive 3 feet from cyclists but I have experienced many drivers who ignore the law.  There are simply not enough law enforcement officers to enforce such laws.  The Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission is starting to paint bike lanes neon green but I’m not sure if this is going to make parents feel the crowded streets any safer for their kids to bike to school or more casual cyclists to bike around town.  Paint and laws are simply not enough.  They only succeed to make streets a little safer for experienced bicyclists.

My objective is to increase the number of residents casually or otherwise riding their bikes throughout our city as well as students riding their bikes to school.  So how are we to encourage more people of all ages to ride their bikes?  The most effective way is to make this a citywide priority among our City Council Members.  But I fear that this might not be such an easy task.  The crisis of the tragic accident last year has passed and few are demanding improved bicycle safety.  There are a few advocates like myself, Walk and Bike Cupertino, Cupertino2040, and perhaps a couple of Bicycle Pedestrian Commissioners advocating for more bicycling but we cannot even come together and form a coalition since each has their own agenda.  But it takes a concerted effort of focused advocacy to sway civic leaders who have other priorities such as a new Civic Center and Steven Creek Corridor.

So the first important step needed is organizing a concerted effort to effectively convince city leaders that bicycling is a viable and important solution to our traffic problems.  Granted it is not the only one.  Walking and public transportation are other weapons in the arsenal to fight traffic congestion but it is the least talked about and the one I am most focused upon.

Advocates need to organize into a coalition of advocacy.  There must be strong and committed leaders to lead others towards a more bicycle friendly city for all citizens to safely and pleasurably bike around town.  But how are we advocacy leaders going to put aside our differences to join together and act as one?  What can we all agree upon that can be our central theme that benefits all our interests?

I say let us make it our theme “To make bicycling a citywide priority so bicycle routs throughout Cupertino can be made safe and appealing for people of all ages and riding abilities.”  What say you?

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Alleviating Fears that Cars will be Ban from Streets

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Frank Geefay

It occurs to me that some people may be interpreting my intentions expressed in this website to start banning cars from the streets.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I know so well that it is unrealistic to ban cars from streets.

As a matter of fact withing the next 10 to 15 years people will notice only very subtle changes.  The primary changes express on this site is that bike lanes and pedestrian pathways would be made far safer for people of all ages from accidents between cars than it currently is so people will feel safer walking and riding their bikes.  It is hoped that this would incite more casual bicycle ride their bikes on a daily basis and that especially students would walk and ride their bikes to school reducing traffic jams around schools.

As more people ride their bikes, fewer will drive their cars.  This is a totally volunteer choice people will make.  As there is more interest in riding bikes and walking the city will invest more resources to improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructures such as beautifying these routs and developing more trails for pedestrians and cyclists as well as convenient shortcuts.  These gradual improvements will entice even more pedestrians and cyclists not to drive but to walk and ride their bikes further reducing the number of cars on the road.  This will be a gradual process taking decades.

The Vision expressed on this website is that of a community long into the future perhaps 75-100 years from now.  This process of increasing biking and reducing cars is an evolutionary process where people will increasingly, by choice, ride their bikes instead of drive their cars due to the many advantages of riding bikes and its advantage for the long terms sustainable growth of our community.

Changes to our values and way of life evolve gradually.  This blog simply proposes that the city take a sustainable long term outlook for directing growth and make gradual changes to the city to align with such a long term Vision.  It is being suggested that this star with making our streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.  Road will not be closed to traffic until that time such road are no longer used by cars which could be many decades into the future.  No one will be forced to do anything.

Keep driving your cars if that is what you want to do.  But I feel that in the long term adding more and more cars onto our streets as the population grows cannot last more than a couple of decades.  There will become a time that the city will be a perpetual parking lot of traffic jams and extreme hazard for bicycles and pedestrians.  I also realize that developing a public transportation system that brings buses close to the homes and destinations of all residents will be very expensive and likely cost an enormous amount of money to establish and run and is not sustainable because many streets cannot be reduced in size.  But riding bikes short distances (less than 5 miles) is very inexpensive, practical, allows the reduction or shrinking of streets, and is sustainable.

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Evolution into the Bicycle Community of the Future

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Frank Geefay

In the community of the distant future people will primarily do most of their shopping in the community where they live or online.  Shopping centers that exist in our rural culture will be largely a thing of the past as will be rural communities.  Neighborhoods will be mixed use where residential and commercial/business property will be intermingled.  Staples such as food and clothing will be within easy commute by bicycle or walking in these future mixed use communities.  It also includes eating establishments and shops with consumables.  This also provides jobs where people live.  Other jobs will largely be done online.  Long energy consuming commutes will disappear.

However this process of evolving into these sustainable communities will be very gradual and take 2-3 generations.  Little will happen today other than perhaps streets becoming safer for pedestrians and bicyclists if civic leaders have a vision of a carless society of the distant future. 

Perhaps in the lifetime of our children they will witness bicycle routs being made progressively more attractive and convenient.  As more people start using their bicycles for short distance commutes, pleasure rides, and shopping fewer cars will be seen on our roads, not because people are forced not to drive but because people will start finding that cars are a far better no energy, no pollution, no cost, healthy, and more enjoyable form of commuting.

It will be our grandchildren who will witness the most dramatic changes as bicycles start to take hold and acceptance as a way of life and as public transportation become more efficient and effective as longer distance transportation (high speed rail).  The drive to reduce greenhouse gases will have by then achieved universally acceptance discouraging anything using energy.  As cars disappear roads will be closed and be made smaller for bike traffic and the occasional emergency vehicles of the future.  Obsolete streets, parking lots and parking spaces will become available for more buildings as the population grows.  Old rural housing will be replaced by energy and space efficient apartments/condos.

As our great grandchildren become adults cars will be a thing of the past and totally replaced by bicycles and public transportation.  Rural areas will be things people see in pictures or read about.  Modern-day energy efficient mixed use cities will become the communities of the future with subways with shopping areas for bicycles, pedestrians, and public transportation.  Many things will exist that are beyond our imagination today for communicating, entertainment, making living at home more convenient, comfortable and comparable with living in smaller housing units of the future.

The primary source of energy will be small compact and safe fusion reactors located in every community to provide both heat, cooling, and electricity for local residents and for boiling/condensing water for recycle and reuse.  This energy will also replace solar cells and wind turbines.  Public transportation of the future will be run with fusion generated power.  It will be a very different world.

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Bicycle Subway of the Future

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Frank Geefay

I have a vision of a Bicycle Subway of the distant future where subway tunnels run underground throughout the city with exist at convenient locations.  These subways will have mechanized ramps of the future which aid bicycles up to the surface level and down to subway levels as if one were cycling on level ground like cycling escalators.  These subways would be lit all the time with future energy efficient lighting with security device like cameras for safety and crisscross under the city.  They would be maintained naturally at a constant temperature of about 65-70 degrees and protected from the outside weather by air curtains at each surface exit.

Shopping areas would be scattered at intersecting tunnels throughout these bicycle subways and limited pedestrian traffic permitted.  These subways would also intersect major mass transit hubs with bicycle racks for parking bikes and commuting to distant locations.  Mass transit would consists of pneumatic ram trains that are run by compressed air that push these trains in tunnels like pneumatic tubes used for delivering receipts.  Pressure ports would be located every few feet throughout the tunnels and pressure controlled but future super-computers so that various trains can stop and start individually or as a large group of trains.  These ram trains will be designed to efficiently accommodate a certain number of bicycles that can be hung from the ceiling or located under the sitting area.

These Bicycle Subways may be more than one level deep and would supplement the surface bicycle streets and provide year round sheltered cycling conveniently throughout the city and beyond.

Perhaps a century from now many people might actually live underground in communities along these underground tunnels to allow for more population density.  A century from now our spacious houses on spacious lots will be viewed like old Victorian Mansions are viewed by us today.  The conveniences and technology of the future will compensate for the apparent lack of space.  In reality we live in a very space environment compared to many in extremely large and crowded cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York City or even areas of San Francisco.

Reference:  A Reader’s Concern about Bicycle Subway Safety and the Handicap

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Growth Projection

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Currently Apple is building their new space ship campus expected to employ 13,000 employees.  This may bring as many as 8,000-10,000 more cars on the streets of Cupertino in the next 2-3 years once the campus is open.

The General Plan Amendment proposes that 1,400 units of high density housing be added to the City in the next 8 years.  This does not include any single family home construction that may occur in this time.  Each new housing unit will bring in about 2 additional cars or at least 2,800 more cars in the next 8 years.

New companies will come to our city bringing employees who will likely live outside the city but drive to work daily.  So even more cars will be constantly added to our ever increasingly crowded streets.

Given Apple employees and the number of people expected to move here based upon the General Plan Amendment housing units a minimum of 11,000 cars will be on the streets of Cupertino in 8 years averaging or roughly 1,375 cars/year.  But some of this will be in bursts such as when Apple opens it new campus.  This is an extremely conservative number and will likely be much higher, more likely more than 15,000 cars in that time or about 1875 cars/year.  This is more cars added to our roads than students attending most of our schools.

So less than 10 years from now we will truly have a nightmare in terms of traffic if nothing is done to deal with all the added cars.  Just think how much more crowded our streets would be today of 17,000 more cars were on our roads.  It would be far easier to sell people on this vision.

Right now people are in denial and are simply hoping that technology will find a solution.  Yet in the last 30 years no solution has been found and the traffic has gotten progressively worst.

So we have a choice, hope for a solution some time in the future and simply do nothing or come up with a plan for dealing with it today in the likely event that a solution cannot be found later.  It is much easier to be proactive and make plans now for tomorrow than procrastinate until tomorrow when the situation is far worst and deal with a solution then.  Any solution that comes when things become desperate is going to be dramatic, very costly, and extremely disruptive for everyone.  Of course miracles are always possible.

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Strategies to Increase the Level of Bicycling in Communities

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Frank Geefay

A list of suggested things that could entice people to bike more.

Screenshot 2014-12-08 10.28.03

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Sustainable Growth

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Sustainable Growth implies that the City can grow into the foreseeable future without suffering the previous Consequences of Growth which have been defined as:

  1. Traffic Congestion;
  2. Car accidents between bicyclists and pedestrians;
  3. Overcrowded schools.

By removing cars from the equation the major source of growth consequences is removed and replaced with bicycles which have no significant consequences at least for the foreseeable future.

Overcrowded schools is dealt with on three levels two of which are relatively near term and one the ultimate goal:

  1. The continued passage of bonds will finance the necessary building of classrooms (Near term);
  2. The reduction of parked cars at schools will permanently free up parking space which can be used for classrooms;
  3. Ultimately technology will allow each child to receive all of their instructional education at home through customizable technology of the future being developed.  Social, labs, extracurricular, and athletic activities can be done a nearby neighborhood facilities.

The saving of real estate usually taken up by cars in terms of roads and parking spaces can be used to build more housing units, businesses, shopping and other venues.

Current homes with large lots and specious houses with garages will over time be replaced with condominium-like housing units which will be much smaller and space efficient.  Generations of the future will become used to living in much smaller quarters than today out of necessity in order to sustainably grow in population.  It will resemble more closely many large cities today.

Roads will be only one narrow lane wide to accommodate small emergency and delivery vehicles consisting of 2/3 bike road and 1/3 sidewalk all at the same level but marked by color coded flashing lights on the ground of the future for indicating traffic direction, nighttime illumination, emergency vehicles, etc.

With proper engineering the city can easily accommodate 10 times its current population.  By that time other technology will replace bikes as smaller and more efficient means of transportation, perhaps teleportation or flying devices 100+ years into the future.

It is sufficient to plan about 50 years into the future before change will be too far beyond our imagination.

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Think BIG, Ask BIG, Be Convinced

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Frank Geefay

So often we undersell ourselves by thinking too small and only asking for small amounts of resources or money giving those on the giving end the impression that what you ask is insignificant.  Management is generally stingy and will generally give no more than requested unless they feel the request has potential of being very beneficial.

How they perceive the benefits to them are based in part on how we present the proposal.  If we make it seem small and petty because we are afraid to ask for more we will likely get less than asked for.  But if we give the impressions that this is something significant and worthwhile there is a chance that we may get more than we ask for if they perceive it having the benefits you claim.  So its all about the merits of your claims and how convincing you market your proposal as to how receptive the audience is about the benefits to them.

It’s really a marketing opportunity.  So don’t ask for too little and make your, case.  How infectious you are counts as much as how factual you are.  So talk more than show visual aids though aid can help, but they must only be there as placeholders and highlights to your audience, not the center of your presentation.  You are the center of attention.  Let your audience focus upon you and what you say.  The fewer visual aids the better.

So Think Big and ask Big.  But first be convincing.  In order to be convincing you must first be fully convinced and invested yourself.  You must be the biggest believer of what you say or you will have difficulty convincing others unless you are skilled at conning others.

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The Hardest People to Convince

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Frank Geefay

History is full of examples of People with new ides running up against opposition.  Surprisingly it is the Experts of the time who are the most difficult to make a Paradigm shift to a new way of thinking.  Experts have so much time invested in their beliefs that it becomes part of their belief system blocking their minds from believing that there may be another alternative.

When Galileo said that the Earth was not the center of the universe the Catholic Church persecuted him and his followers for such ungodly thoughts.  When Darwin proposed his theory of Evolution is was rejected by the scientific and religious community.  When Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity it was rejected by the Newtonian scientific community.  When Neal Bohr proposed the theory of Quantum Mechanic Einstein rejected is as in violation of his theory of Relativity.  In all these examples they are now commonly accepted by the experts as truth.

So it will be no surprise to me that those who claim to know the most about bicycle riding will be the most difficult to convince that bicycle riding can be the future for a sustainable community and that bike riding and paths should be designed for the casual and less experienced rider before it will ever gain popularity for daily use.  But I am proposing far more than that.  I am proposing that one day bicycles will be the primary means of transportation and will totally replace cars.

For me it is a matter of how soon this process will happen.  I have already outlined the important that bike riding must be Safe, Attractive, and Convenient before its total acceptance by society.  This will take time.  We must change how people think about transportation as well as make the needed infrastructural changes.

Bike riding may seem uncomfortable and expose people to doing more work peddling and exposing themselves to the elements, but these can be beneficial in terms of exercise and getting some vitamin D badly lacking in those who seldom get exposed to nature.  Simple put on some sunscreen to reduce UV exposure.  It is a way of life in countries such as Denmark where the Winters are very cold and snowbound and the Springs and Falls quite wet.  We live in an almost perfect climate of little rain and almost no freezing cold.

But there are still those bicyclists who are used to making left terns in the car turn lanes outright suicidal for kids under 13, adults without much cycling experience, and senior over 70 who need a curb to stand on and who have trouble getting started from a standstill such as myself and I’m in decent shape for my age of 70.

So I hope you strong and experienced cyclist who cycle almost daily and are streetwise and hardy can have some sympathy for the rest of us and consider a cycling world more designed for the casual cyclist if bicycles are ever to become the primary means of transportation for everyone.  You are the 1-2% who cycle regularly.  I represent the 98-99% who need to make bicycling a Safe way of life.

Give us a break and lend us a helping hand.  It is as much in your interests as it is in ours that biking become more universally accepted and that cars be removed from the road.  Cars are bad news for all cyclists of all ages and skill levels.  Let us work together to get rid of those dreaded enclosed steel contraptions as quickly possible.  For every person we get to ride a bike regularly one less car is on the roads we share.  So let us work together on those 98-99% who are still driving cars.

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Close Off Bubb And McClellan during Peak School Traffic

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Why not close off Bubb Rd. from Rainbow Dr. to McClellan Rd. and McClellan Rd to just before Orange Ave. from let us say 8:00am to 8:30am and arrange with all schools in that area to start classes at 8:30am.  Post warning signs on McClellan Rd. and Stelling Rd. about the closure of Bubb Rd. and McClellan Rd. during the time slot to stop vehicles from going to that intersection.  That will be a 30 min window that no one can drive on those 2 streets.  Also do not allow high school students to park their cars in the school parking lot during that time slot.  During that window of time the streets are open only for cycling and the sidewalks will be completely safe for walking.  Parents do not have to worry about the safety of their children because there will be lots of kids biking and walking at the same time and No cars on the road or crossing at intersecting streets – complete safety from vehicular traffic.

That means that if anyone wants to drive their kids to school or park in the Monta Vista High School parking lot they must do it before 8:00am.  That also excludes drop off problems.  Parents might drop their kids off at the back of schools like Monta Vista High but if this become too much of a problem then those streets can also be closed off so parents have to drop them off further away.  Making driving inconvenient encourages the use of alternatives and reduces or eliminates traffic and all its associated consequences.

I one day trial experiment could be performed.  If the City could compare the total number of people waling and cycling on that day and compare it with what it is like on a typical day one can estimate it potential impact on solving the traffic problem and safety problems in this area.  For every student that normally is driven to school but walks or rides their bike that day is one less car on the road.  This is only 30 min. in which these roads are closed.

This solution is simple, elegant and would have definitely saved the life of Ethan Wong.  It could well save the life of the next potential student victim.

Suggestion contributed by Hung Wai Chien
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Bicycles and Shopping

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Frank Geefay

I have already commented upon Mixed Usage – Housing Mixed with Small Businesses.  I’d like to elaborate.  In a bicycle culture shopping needs to be dispersed and decentralized to make it more convenient for neighborhood shopping regarding daily or frequently shopped items for example food.  Small Mom and Pop store are good for the local economy because in addition to making good and services close to the community they are frequently owned by local residents and hire locals, usually students, keeping money in circulation withing the community.  Such micro-economies are also good for bringing in local tax revenues.

Items not needed daily such as appliance and furniture having them sold in a centralized shopping area is appropriate.  Many large items such as TVs can be delivered by cargo bikes.  Hardware store can also be centralized as long as common small items are available in 7/11 like stores that carry small emergency or frequently needed items.

It should be noted that these kinds of community shopping areas will likely develop later in the evolutionary process of building a biking community though some small areas can develop as opportunities present themselves.

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Biking for All Seasons

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Cupertino is located in an area of Mediterranean climate.  It has a short rainy season from November through February and our rain is comparatively light relative to much of the rest of the country.  It rarely snows, perhaps once every 20-30 years and the snow melts within minutes.  So we have almost ideal weather for outdoors activities.  Yet people here complain that biking exposes them to the occasional rain.

Contrast that with Denmark were more than half their population cycle to work or shop rain, snow, or shine.  Denmark has either rain or snow in just about all seasons.  Yet people there cope quite will.  They hold an umbrella in one hand and steer their bikes with the other.  Its almost as natural to them as riding itself.  And for cold, there really isn’t any comparison.  Their most mild winter is colder than our most severe winter cold yet they still ride their bike through the snow.  So why are we complaining?

In New York City where one of my children went to graduate school she used to walk 5 block to the subway in the snow or rain then 6 more block to shop.  She simply carried an umbrella when it looked like it would rain.  Then she carried her heavy bag full of groceries back to the subway then from the subway back to where she lived.  She also had to walk to school 5 blocks away every day.  She said the exercise made her feel really fit.

People rough it out elsewhere in this country and other parts of the world.  Because of that they are more healthy than we are in this car-centric culture.  We are truly spoiled and are paying a huge price in terms of obesity, diabetes, coronary disease, and cancer with our sedentary lifestyle, shortening our lives and limiting our mobility.

Wake up and get outside Cupertino.  Breath some fresh air and enjoy nature close up.  Bikes are far more closer to nature than cars, especially after the advent of air conditioned cars which are more airtight than a safe.  Enjoy our great weather rather than being isolated from it as cars now so effectively do.  All your senses are suppressed inside our insulated and isolating steel horse.  There are people who would love to live here and bath in our mild climate every day if they could only afford it so we are truly fortunate so get on your bike and ride.

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Bicycles of all Flavors

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Bicycles come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations.  There are bicycles and tricycles which can carry several people.  Some of these utilitarian tricycles are referred to as cycle trucks or cargo bikes since they are designed to carry cargo.  There are electrical assist bicycles and tricycles even seniors and other can ride.

Bikes have been designed for all kinds of amazing tasks.  They come in all shapes and forms.  I have a small adult fold up electrical bike with a tow cart for carrying large loads of food and other items.  It is rated at 150 lbs. so can carry some heavy loads.  It detaches and converts into a shopping cart that I can easily bring into the store to place items in.  It has detachable inflated wheels and fold up for easy storage in the trunk of our car together with my fold up electric bike.  So I can go conveniently anywhere.

It’s simply amazing how clever people have been in designing bikes.  I’m not sure if there are any laws governing the design and safety of bikes, perhaps there are none since there is no licensing of them, but I’ve see custom made bikes or modified bikes from very tall ones to very small ones and very long ones to very short ones.  A few have one wheel, most have two wheels and some have three wheels.  Some are designed light weight for speed, some for touring, some for everyday use, some for on trail used, some for acrobatic use, and some for fold-up and travel use.  Some are enclosed and resemble small three wheel cars with electrical motors and some have seating for up to 4.

The more they are used the more forms they will come in.  The word Bicycle is somewhat of a misnomer because they can come in one to three wheels, two wheel bikes being by far the most common so Cycle is far more an accurate description though I use bike, bicycle, and cycle interchangeably.

Because bikes are so simple to maintain they can typically last decades.  I have a bike I bought when I got my first job and still have it.  I bought it in 1973 for a little over $200 a lot of money for that time.  So not only are bikes by far less expensive than an inexpensive car but they can last far longer.  From a financial point of view there is really no comparison.  If you only own a bike you save thousands of dollars every year.  So 10 years from now if Cupertino becomes a truly cycling friendly city for the casual cyclists one can save on the cost and maintenance of a car for other expenses.  And they really take up almost no space at all.

So it kind of makes you think why we so dependent upon our cars?  There really is a very feasible alternative that can take care of a large portion of your transportation and utilitarian needs especially around town, if only Cupertino was Safer, more Appealing for riding a bike, and more Convenient for biking.  Now is the time for the City to start for reasons of Sustainable Growth.

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Public Transportation

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Frank Geefay

In order for a bicycle culture to work without cars there must be a decent public transportation backbone for commuting over longer distances.  Extensive buses to neighborhood streets are not necessary around a bike culture because bikes can easily travel several miles to a transit terminal.  Transit terminals need plenty of bicycle parking space.  In Denmark there are bicycle racks that can stack bikes two high so crowded are they with parked bikes.

It is best that public transit systems be located around the periphery of cities or along a major thoroughfare through the center of the city physically separated from cycling traffic so that bicycles are not in danger of being struck by transit vehicles.

Public transit systems should be capable of carrying bicycles for those riders who need to use their bikes at their transit destination.  This means that transit systems need to have adequate parking space for the storage of bikes aboard the transit vehicle.

It would be nice to have shops and grocery stores inside some transit terminals so that commuters can shop on their way home.  This will reduce the need for commuters to make special trips to shop saving time.  Without a lot of cars on the road, roads can be make more narrow and occupied by shops.

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Union Pacific Railroad Trail for Bicycling and Walking

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Frank Geefay

There is an unofficial trail along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks that is used by bikers and walkers daily.  People have been using this trail for more than 4 decades.  The Union Pacific has never band people from bike riding or walking this trail.  However there are portions of this trail where culverts are located that force people to bike and walk within a few feet of the tracks presenting a potential hazard.  During the winter months rain often make the dirt trail difficult to navigate.

If the City could work out a deal whereby the railroad would lease or loan a strip of this trail and allow the city to make a formal paved trail with bridges over the culverts, this could serve as a very nice trail going through the city and joining with Joe’s trail which is being developed by the city of Saratoga.

This would provide a relatively long bicycle trail away from car traffic except there it crosses streets which could have special bicycle crossings.  This will make it far safer from the train and year round use.  It would encourage more people to cycle in a safe place away from car traffic.  There has been no known accidents with the train which at most runs once a day at about 20 mph and can be heard miles away blasting its horn at every intersection.

It could serve as a safe shortcut to some of our schools in the Tri-School area.  It can also serve as a shortcut to other locations around town at the various street intersections.  Saratoga has already done years of study on their portion of the trail so Cupertino can benefit from this.

For an update to this post go to Union Pacific Railroad Trail Update

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Mixed Usage – Housing Mixed with Small Businesses

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Frank Geefay

Mixed usage is good for the community and biking if done correctly.  The idea is to bring shopping closer to the community rather than centralizing it and placing it in a shopping mall development where everyone must drive to shop.  Centralized shopping venues are good for developers and suitable for driving but very space inefficient so far as parking lots are concerned and encourage traffic on the road.

Keeping shopping as local as possible encourages people to walk and bike to do their shopping close by instead of drive.  Small shops along a road with housing above or in back are most convenient and efficient for residential shopping even if prices might be a little higher.  Residents save by not having to drive.  It is convenient and transportation efficient.  It is even better if streets with mixed usage are closed to car traffic with only delivery trucks allowed making the streets part of the walking and biking experience.

This is the way it is in many places in other countries.  These areas attract many American tourist shoppers, so why not have such places in our city?  It would be a little like Santana Row but smaller and without the parking lots or cars located in many neighborhoods spread throughout town.  Residents living there could walk out their door and enjoy a coffee or meal next door or walk or bike to shop for groceries or other goods not far away.

Such small one or two block communities would bring everything closer to where residents lived instead of requiring them to drive to shop.  This would vastly reduce the number of cars on the street, reduce the hazards cars present to residents, and reduce noise and air pollution.  But most of all it would be very convenient to residents.  This is the way neighborhoods used to be before cars changed everything.  It is environmentally better and more convenient and safer for residents.  Most of all it would be most Growth Sustainable.

So why should the city start thinking about a lot of small such mix use communities spread throughout our city rather than encouraging huge centralized shopping areas with huge parking lots and cars driving there that add to traffic jams?

 

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Why shouldn’t the City have a Road Map into the Future?

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Frank Geefay

The City of Cupertino is embarking on two major projects, the Stevens Creek Corridor and a New Civic Center.  I know the New Civic Center will cost upwards of $52 million and from the size of the Stevens Creek Corridor it will cost tens of millions of dollars as well.

In light of what has been said on this blog about developing a Bicycle infrastructure for Sustainable Growth, I feel this will require many tens of missions of dollar as well spent money investing in an infrastructure to enable sustainable growth into the distant future that needs to start very soon.  It will make Cuprtino a leading City with a Vision towards health, fitness, economic prosperity, and most of all Sustainable Growth.  This has the potential of improving the health, financial welfare, and quality of life of every citizen in our city into the future.

More safe biking solves some seemingly insoluble traffic congestion and dangerous bicycle riding conditions around our schools.  It will save lives in the future.  Its benefits are extremely far reaching and hugely benefits for all citizens into the future as will as long term savings for the city.

In the short run it will be expensive to get started, but perhaps not quite as expensive as the two major project being considered.  It will happen in stages over many years and decades.  I’m sure our City is doing things to benefit Cupertino residents so if they could be convinced or at the very least consider the merits of the Vision being proposed on this blog perhaps they might think about investing resources into making Cupertino more sustainable into the future.  This Vision isn’t original.  Other city’s and countries are actively perusing it, some starting decades ago.  There are example and knowledgeable experts and consultants.  So what is the downside?

Perhaps if the City could make a road map of how it will deal with increasing and inevitable growth today it could make it sustainable into the future as well as solve many of the traffic issues and growing pains of today.  But first it must deal with our crumbling road infrastructure and associated traffic congestion and dangerous street conditions for bicyclist and pedestrians as well as cars.

Currently issues are being handled peace meal as crisis occur.  There is no long term Vision.  Why not have a Vision of the future and a road map showing us how to get there instead of stumbling into the darkness of the unknown?  Why not this be the First City Council to develop such a Vision of Sustainable Growth for the next 50 years?  Is that not a better legacy to leave the city rather than what is being done now?  There is money.  Why not leave a living legacy of a Vision toward the future for all generations instead of some edifices for a few to enjoy and no one to greatly impact?

Think of the future, the distant future, 50 or more years into the future and imagine how Cupetino will look regarding growth and traffic and space and the health and safety of citizens if the City continues down its current path.  Then compare it to the future that is proposing in the Vision on this blog.  See which make the most sense.

New and innovative ideas have always been frowned upon.  I’m sure Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ran up against their critics.  But innovation is the future when conventional wisdom fails.  Cupertino is no stranger to innovation.  Steve Jobs built his first computer in a garage here.  It is going to take innovation to solve our long term traffic and growth issued because conventional wisdom doesn’t work in the long term.  Even if this is not an entirely original idea it is new here and very different from our current way of think.  But that does not make it wrong.  So Civic Leaders think about it on its logical and comparative merits.

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