I am a father of two daughters—one in middle school, one in elementary. Every morning is a pain to fight the traffic to drive my daughter to Kennedy Middle. The traffic is beyond insane. Parents can easily get stuck in the traffic and can’t get in and out for 30 – 40 minutes. My daughter is old enough to be able to ride an e-scooter to Kennedy Middle on her own, and she really wants to be more independent. Yes, it’s just a less than 15 minutes ride from Varian Park through Blackberry Farm to Kennedy Middle. But I just cannot feel comfortable letting my daughter ride her e-scooter to Kennedy Middle by herself. I just can’t let her risk crossing at Stevens Creek Blvd without a safe crossing, as we witnessed too many tragedies in the past, including seeing her own classmate get killed by a car last year. It’s the constant fear that overshadows our walks or rides to Blackberry Farm, as we nervously navigate the traffic roaring up and down Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The Crisis on Stevens Creek Blvd and Major Corridors
Stevens Creek Boulevard has become a painful symbol of danger in Cupertino. For years, this main corridor has been the site of far too many tragedies, turning a route meant to connect us into one that divides us and puts our families at risk.
The numbers and personal stories are sobering. The boulevard is one of Cupertino’s most dangerous roads, frequently flagged in safety reports.
According to the Vision Zero Dashboard, 1,950 crashes happened from 2018 to 2024, resulting in 10 fatalities and 47 severe injuries along the city’s major corridors, including Stevens Creek and De Anza boulevards, as well as Homestead, North Wolfe and Bollinger roads. The data showed that 8 out of the 10 deaths involved a collision between a car and a pedestrian or cyclist, highlighting the extreme danger on this road for vulnerable users.
Sept 19, 2024: A woman was killed when crossing at Hanson Avenue on Stevens Creek Blvd. (CBS News)
Apr 27, 2024: An 11-year-old girl (my daughter’s classmate) was killed and 8, 7, 4 year old children were seriously injured while walking home from Monta Vista Park along Foothill Blvd. (County of Santa Clara)
Sheriff’s reports show repeated injury collisions at Stelling, Mary, Bubb, and Stern — all along Stevens Creek Blvd.
A serious pedestrian accident occurred on September 5, 2025, at the Phar Lap crossing of Stevens Creek Boulevard (near Blackberry Farm entrance), resulting in a Monta Vista resident’s hospitalization. Despite community-wide discussions (e.g., on Nextdoor), the incident has not been officially reported by local news or the Sheriff’s Office. Tragically, the neighbor’s dog ran off during the accident. It’s concerning how many serious accidents in our area go undocumented.
As I was writing this blog, I heard another accident happened today on Oct 7th, near Bubb Rd & Columbus Ave, where a boy was hit by a car when biking from Kennedy Middle. My family’s worry is shared by many of our neighbors. We are all paying the cost in time, anxiety, and lost opportunity:
- Parents are losing valuable time, stuck in 30 to 40 minutes of traffic for daily school drop-offs and pick-ups.
- Grandparents are losing the simple joy of walking their grandkids to Blackberry Farm, intimidated by the high-speed traffic.
- Bikers and hikers are losing access to our beautiful trails because there is no safe route to reach them without risking a collision.
The Vicious Cycle: Why Our Kids Aren’t Biking to School?
We have a simple problem with a complicated answer surrounding our local schools like Kennedy Middle and Monta Vista High. Kennedy is one of the five middle schools in the CUSD (Cupertino Union School District), and every address in the District is assigned to a neighborhood elementary and middle school. Similarly, the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) zone works on a residency-based attendance system.
As I estimated based on the information that I learned from my daughters’ classmates, likely 70% of students live within the ideal “bikeable” range. That’s a huge opportunity for healthy habits, cleaner air, and less traffic. Yet, despite this perfect distance, we’re seeing alarming trends: walking, biking, and carpooling are all declining, while single-student car trips are rising. You can read the data from two references: (1) National: Demographics Of Biking & Walking and (2) Headed Out Less: Analyzing Teen and Young Adult Travel Trends in the 21st Century.
It’s no surprise that congestion in school zones is getting worse every year.
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Unsafe Roads
The root cause isn’t laziness; it’s fear. The perception that our roads are unsafe for children to navigate independently is very real, and it has created a dangerous, self-fulfilling problem:
Fewer children walking/biking → more cars → more congestion → greater risk → less walking/biking.
When parents choose to drive their children to keep them safe, they inadvertently increase the danger for everyone else, reinforcing the initial belief that the roads are too hazardous. This cycle traps us in gridlock.
The Looming Challenge on Our Corridors
As the area continues to develop and commuter traffic increases, the pressure and danger on major arteries like Stevens Creek Blvd will only intensify. The current infrastructure cannot handle this demand safely.
Breaking this cycle requires more than just encouragement; it requires action. We must invest in infrastructure that makes walking and biking the safest, easiest, and most attractive choice for students and parents alike. We are all crying out for relief. The good news is that we don’t need to invent solutions; two real, practical options have already been identified to create safe, off-street connections.
Two Solutions to Transform Safety
These two projects would allow children, seniors, bikers, and hikers to travel safely without crossing the heavy traffic at Stevens Creek Blvd, easing school-hour congestion and supporting our climate goals.
2. Carmen Road Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge
This is a City-sponsored concept for a bridge that would span Stevens Creek Blvd, creating a direct, car-free path for our community.
- The Goal: To safely connect neighborhoods north of the boulevard with key destinations to the south, including Stevens Creek Elementary, Kennedy Middle School, Monta Vista High School, and Blackberry Farm.
- The Status: The project was identified as a priority in the 2016 Pedestrian Transportation Plan, and a feasibility study was completed and accepted by the City Council in 2019. We need the City to move this plan into the design and funding phase.
1. The Lowenthal Undercrossing (Varian–Blackberry Connection)
This project would upgrade an existing trail to create a formal, accessible route that passes beneath Stevens Creek Boulevard.
- The Goal: To link Varian Park, Blackberry Farm, McClellan Ranch, and Linda Vista Park into a continuous, car-free trail network.
- The Status: The land is already available and open to the public, thanks to former Mayor Richard Lowenthal. The City needs to accept ownership of the land and fund upgrades for surfacing, drainage, and safety to formalize the undercrossing.
Now Is the Time to Act
We cannot wait for another siren or another tragedy to force action. We must raise our voices now to make Stevens Creek Blvd safe for everyone.
Here’s what you can do today:
- Email the Mayor and City Council at citycouncil@cupertino.org. Tell them you demand safe crossings on Stevens Creek Blvd and ask them to hold a public study session so residents, PTO/PTAs, and advocacy groups can be heard.
- Support both projects. Ask the City to fund the Lowenthal undercrossing upgrades and move the Carmen Bridge into design.
- Share this message with your neighbors, PTO/PTAs, and all your biking, walking and hiking groups.
Let’s work together to make our community safe, connected, and resilient.