PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-5732
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3354 • FAX: (408) 777-3333
CUPERTINO.GOV
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Date: November 4, 2025
Subject
An update on the development of the Active Transportation Plan, including a summary of Phase 1 activities and an overview of what to expect during Phase 2.
Recommended Action
Receive an update on the development of the Active Transportation Plan and provide feedback on the draft project prioritization criteria.
Background
With substantial progress already made on the implementation of recommended projects from the 2016 Bicycle Transportation Plan and the 2018 Pedestrian Transportation Plan, a new, comprehensive Active Transportation Plan (ATP) was necessary to build on those improvements and address evolving community needs. Staff also recognized the importance of creating a unified, citywide plan to align bicycle and pedestrian initiatives while accounting for the needs of motorized vehicles. This coordinated approach ensures consistency across policies and projects, avoiding duplication, aligning initiatives, and addressing overlapping concerns.
On April 4, 2023, the City Council approved the FY 23/24 City Work Program (CWP), which identified the ATP as an item “to be considered” for inclusion in the following year’s work program. The City Council approved the FY 24/25 CWP on April 3, 2024, with the ATP included as an approved project. City staff then identified Transportation Development Act Article 3 (TDA3) funds as an external funding source to support the development of the Plan. With funding secured, staff advertised a Request for Proposals for consultant services to assist in developing the Plan. On December 3, 2024, the City Council authorized the City Manager to award a contract to Alta Planning + Design, Inc., for development of the Active Transportation Plan.
Reasons for Recommendation and Available Options
Phase 1 of the Plan occurred between March and June 2025. It included policy review, community outreach and input, and analysis to develop data-driven project recommendations.
The first step of Phase 1 was developing a Plan Review Memo to ensure the ATP is consistent with and supports local and regional policies, including Cupertino plans like the General Plan’s Mobility Element and Vision Zero Action Plan, the Countywide Active Transportation Plan, and other relevant documents.
Building on that policy context, the project team then conducted a Needs Assessment, supported by an Existing Conditions Review. These documents examined the City’s transportation network in detail, identifying where walkers and bikers feel stressed or disconnected. Analyses such as Active Trip Potential and Level of Traffic Stress were applied to estimate how many short driving trips could realistically shift to walking or biking. Together, these data-driven methods established a clear picture of where gaps are greatest and where investments could have a significant community impact.
In parallel with the analysis work, staff reached out to the community to learn what destinations they want to travel to and what barriers prevent them from walking or biking.
Between March and June 2025, the City held 12 outreach events, engaged with more than 1,300 residents and gathered close to 3,000 individual comments. Residents expressed consistent concerns about safety on the Vision Zero High-Injury Network, the need for improved connectivity between neighborhoods and schools, the need to consider the potential project impacts to drivers, and the importance of designing facilities that are for people of all ages and abilities. Feedback from the community helped validate the technical analysis, and together these two sources informed project recommendations. All the outreach performed in Phase 1 is summarized in the Public Participation Memo, which is available on the City’s project webpage.
Phase 1 also resulted in a Vision, Goals, and Objectives Memo. This document captured the shared vision that Cupertino should be a community where walking, biking, and rolling are easy, safe, and comfortable for everyone. The ATP’s vision, goals, and objectives were developed by consolidating similar and overlapping statements from existing Cupertino plans and then refined using the input gathered during Phase 1 outreach to also reflect today's community needs and concerns. The community ranked these goals in order of importance, as shown below:
1. Safety: Consistent with the Vision Zero Action Plan, pursue an active transportation network that reduces the number of serious and fatal crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and other active transportation users to zero. Enact measures to anticipate human error and minimize the impact of traffic crashes for all roadway users.
2. Accessibility: Provide a well-connected multimodal transportation network that offers comfortable and convenient walking and biking options to key destinations for all residents and visitors in the City.
3. Maintenance: Active transportation needs should be considered and integrated in all City roadway maintenance activities.
4. Sustainability: Advance environmental quality and economic prosperity for the City by providing inviting active transportation facilities that encourage frequent usage and improve adoption of all non-vehicle modes of travel, resulting in a reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs).
5. Multimodal Balance: Consider multimodal priorities and impacts of all projects to improve sustainable transportation options throughout the City. Limit impacts to all other modes whenever possible, including transit and personal vehicles.
6. Fairness: Provide a multimodal transportation system that is equally distributed across all neighborhoods in Cupertino.
In alignment with the Plan goals, draft project prioritization criteria were developed to assist in ranking the projects identified in the Plan. This ranking will occur following Phase 2 public outreach once the public has evaluated and commented on the recommended projects. The criteria were selected to align with community goals and VTA Measure B funding requirements. These criteria are being presented to the Commissions and Council for review and public comment. The draft project prioritization criteria (Attachment A) include the following metrics to rank recommended projects:
• Collision History
• Stress Level
• School Proximity
• High Frequency Transit Proximity
• Parks & Other Destination Proximity
• Active Trip Potential
• Roadway Impact
• Public Input
Next Steps
As Cupertino transitions into Phase 2 of the project, public engagement will continue throughout this stage, with opportunities for residents to review and comment on the draft project recommendations. The outcome will be a comprehensive, actionable Active Transportation Plan that the City Council can consider for adoption by spring 2026. All Phase 1 deliverables and Phase 2 outreach information can be found on the City’s project webpage at www.cupertino.gov/atp.
Sustainability Impact
The Cupertino ATP will have positive sustainability impacts because the Plan will develop infrastructure improvement recommendations that increase safety and accessibility for all non- motorized roadway users. Additionally, the ATP will include mode shift strategies to promote walking and bicycling to reduce personal automobile dependency, which will reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Overall, the ATP will help create a healthier, more sustainable community.
Fiscal Impact
The project is fully funded through the City's TDA3 direct allocation in budget unit100-88-844 750-243.
City Work Program (CWP) Item/Description
Yes, FY 24-25
Active Transportation Plan: This is a consolidation of existing and new transportation efforts aiming to further goals outlined in the City’s Vision Zero Initiative, including:
18.1 Review and update bike plane
18.2 Review and update pedestrian plan
18.3 Review current Complete Streets Policy and propose adjustments to create a better interface between all modes of transportation
Council Goal:
Transportation
California Environmental Quality Act
No California Environmental Quality Act impact.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Matthew Schroeder, Senior Transit and Transportation Planner Reviewed by: David Stillman, Transportation Manager
Chad Mosley, Public Works Director
Approved for Submission by: Tina Kapoor, Interim City Manager Attachments:
A – Draft Project Prioritization Criteria