Cupertino has an amazing opportunity for an off-street biking and walking trail connecting its east and west sides: the Tamien Innu, aka the I-280 trail. The Tamien Innu completed its Feasibility Study in 2019, and soon afterward Apple donated the full cost of $1.8M toward the design of the three segments of the trail (east, central, west). It appeared then that the trail would be moving forward to construction at a good pace. Unfortunately, this has not happened, with the trail still not yet fully designed after six years.
Slow Responses from Valley Water Are Causing Much of the Delay
Much of that time has been spent on city negotiations with Valley Water, which owns the trail land, and with Apple, which owns some of the adjacent land. These negotiations have mainly been over trail width, damage to roots of nearby trees, surface runoff, and retaining walls. One city staffer repeatedly described this process as “challenging”. Based on WBC’s quarterly status check-ins, it’s clear that Valley Water’s response time is driving the delay in the project. With every response taking a minimum of eight weeks from Valley Water, it’s easy to see how this project has been delayed so long. City staff are calling weekly to get a response from Valley Water’s Community Projects Review unit.
Soonest Opening For The First Segment is Likely To Be 2028
If the latest design proposal submitted to Valley Water meets with their approval, the eastern segment of the Tamien Innu still will likely not begin construction until 2027 as staff need to finalize the design, obtain required permits from local agencies, put the project through a competitive bidding process, and select a contractor to do the work. Start of construction on the central segment would be two years later at the earliest (2029 or 2030), as it already has passed its environmental clearance. The western segment would be still yet further out into the 2030’s, and with its major road crossing issues, there are no predictions as to how long it will take.
The city staff are fully completing each individual segment before they consider the next one. This segmentation of projects slows them immeasurably, reducing the possibility of the “connected pedestrian network” envisioned in the 2018 Pedestrian Plan. A comparable city project with segments is the Stevens Creek Boulevard (SCB) Class IV bike lanes. From completion of the first bike lane segment to the construction of a portion of the second one in January 2026, it has been over seven years. The Tamien Innu seems to be on a similar timeline to that project.
Key information
Click here to read more about this project
Current design
A paved Class I off-street trail of 2.91 miles in total. Short 2 ½ foot retaining walls will be in many areas on either side of a 12 foot wide trail. The project has been broken into three segments—east (Vallco Pkwy to Wolfe Rd), central (Wolfe Rd to De Anza Blvd), and west (De Anza Blvd to Mary Ave).
Funding
The cost of design for the eastern and central segments is covered by an Apple grant and Measure B funding. Construction for the eastern segment is also fully funded with Measure B and VTA grants. Some Measure B funds will also be applied to construction of the central segment.
Approvals
The eastern and central segments will need to have their CEQA paperwork refiled, but are not expected to need further work. Local agency permits will need to be filed before work begins.
No Commute Path for Kids in Educator Housing For At Least 5 Years
The Tamien Innu won’t just be a nice city amenity— it’s necessary to provide safe travel for our students. Instead of allowing residents of the new educator housing on Wolfe Road to have their children walk or bike to school through the low stress neighborhood, North Blaney residents instead have come out in force to keep the old wall between the educator housing and the neighborhood. They have cited the central segment of the Tamien Innu as their preferred route for these children, assuming that it will be built soon. If the eastern segment gets the go-ahead in the next month, this central segment of the trail is still likely five years away from construction, and six years away from opening. Meanwhile, these students will need to use 35mph Wolfe Road and 35mph Stevens Creek Boulevard to get to school—or, more likely, just be driven to school, adding to our city traffic.
The Tamien Innu will be great for everyone in Cupertino, providing safe and enjoyable travel and recreation for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages. We hope that our city staff are able to resolve the design issues quickly so this project can get moving again!