During Oral Communication at the last two Cupertino City Council meetings, there have been many residents who have expressed their support of the proposed Regnart Creek Trail.
On May 15, four local community members spoke how they wished the trail to be built, and how their experiences living in Cupertino supported that desire. Anne Ng, a resident living in eastern Cupertino, explained how she would use the trail as a better pathway to the library. Her current route takes her on an indirect route and on streets with speed limits of up to 30mph. Also speaking that day were local residents Connie Cunningham, Helene Davis, and Emma Shearin. Connie spoke on how the trail would be a valuable part of our ‘Loop’ plan to connect all the parts of Cupertino with biking routes, and Helene spoke on the recreational possibilities of connecting three parks with the trail. Emma Shearin, a rising sophomore at University of California-Berkeley, discussed how she would have used the trail when she was a student at Cupertino High School for student meetings. She stated, “This trail would give a more direct and safer way to travel without a car across a part of Cupertino, whether for school or for meeting friends.”
Six more speakers spoke at the Council meeting on June 5, including two former Bicycle-Pedestrian Commissioners, Geoff Paulsen and Alan Takahashi. Alan urged the City Council to not miss this opportunity—this “could be the council’s legacy”—and explained that residents that are initially resistant to these kinds of trails end up liking them once they are built. Geoff Paulsen discussed the usefulness of the trail for our aging residents for recreation. Jano Banks, local resident who lives on the Creekside Trail, across the street from the start of the proposed Regnart Creek Trail, spoke on how neighbors who back to the trail could work with the city to gain the necessary privacy and security as he did 20 years ago during the building of the Creekside Trail: “…we worked very closely with the Public Works team to come up with the solution you see today that I believe has benefitted the city, residents, and those of us who live next door.” He furthermore stated, “I am in favor of the Regnart trail because I believe it will treat residents to a very pleasant and dedicated walking and biking path connecting Creekside Park with Wilson Park and the Civic Center Fields and Library. Such a path is better than sharing a road and even better than sidewalks, as sidewalks can be uneven and present car-backing-out hazards. The Regnart Trail is also a very important segment of the larger Loop Trail vision for the City. “
Several students on June 5 also told the City Council of their support, including two fifth graders from Eaton Elementary, one of the schools that would be most positively affected by the construction of the trail. Teen Commissioner Juliet Shearin also spoke on the Teen Commission’s support for the trail and also how the trail would help school traffic. “The Regnart Creek trail would make it much safer, faster, and easier for many students to bike or walk to school. If more students don’t drive to school, that will also help traffic around the high school.”
Discussions with Walk-Bike Cupertino Advisory Board members and local residents indicate that more speakers will be coming forward during the City Council’s Oral Communication to express their support of the plans for the Regnart Creek Trail. If you wish to express your support, please sign our WBC petition (http://bit.ly/Regnart-Trail-Petition), send an email to City Council (citycouncil@cupertino.org), and/or contact a Walk-Bike Cupertino Advisory Board member to discuss speaking at an upcoming City Council meeting. Opinions expressed in this post are by the author as an indenpendent resident of Cupertino and do not represent any organization other than Walk-Bike Cupertino.