There’s been a significant increase in pedestrian and cycling fatalities in California, and many cities have responded by creating Vision Zero Plans to reduce fatalities and severe injuries. California’s State Assembly has also responded, by allowing greater flexibility in setting speed limits. AB43 and AB1938 allow for a 5 mph speed reduction on roads that have a high concentration of pedestrians or cyclists, especially near schools or recreational facilities.
Why reduce speed limits
Reducing speed limits has been shown to be a simple low-cost action that can result in a big improvement in safety for all road users. Data shows that a speed reduction of just 5 mph can significantly reduce the severity of car collisions and the risk of serious injury of pedestrians and cyclists. For this reason, Cupertino’s recently approved Vision Zero Plan encourages speed reduction as a method to improve safety while traveling within our city.
The completion of pedestrian and bike infrastructure around the city, including the Regnart Creek Trail, Prospect Road buffered bike lanes, and the Mary Avenue, Bubb Road, and McClellan Road protected bike lanes has encouraged more people to bike and walk. In response, Cupertino Transportation Division has performed engineering and traffic studies along several road segments to see if speed limit reductions are warranted.
The results of the studies showed that the following roads merited a speed limit decrease.
All of the roads identified are residential roads, and most have a high concentration of school traffic. McClellan and Bubb Roads are near the “Tri-school” area (Lincoln, Monta Vista and Kennedy plus De Anza College); Mary Avenue is near Garden Gate and close to De Anza College; and Blaney Avenue is a school commute path for Eaton and Lawson. The segment of Prospect Road is not close to major schools, but it is near the Parker Ranch Trail and significant green space. The changes to these road segments should not only improve safety, but also create more enjoyable and quiet neighborhoods for our residents.
Blaney Ave. at the crossing of the Regnart Creek Trail has seen significantly increased pedestrian traffic.
Implementation
The speed limit changes will go into effect in the next couple months, when city staff will replace signs and pavement markings. Message boards will be placed on the roads to alert drivers to the new speed limits.
These changes are one step toward making our community safer for all road users, whether they drive, walk, or bike and making our residential neighborhoods more enjoyable in which to live.
The information in this article is solely the opinion of the author and Walk-Bike Cupertino and does not reflect the opinions of any other organization or entity. For more information, contact WBC at info@walkbikecupertino.org.