Council directs staff to send Stevens Creek corridor vision study to both Bike & Ped and Planning commissions

The Cupertino City Council on April 15 directed staff to send the Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Vision Study to both the Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission and the Planning Commission for review and comment prior to returning to the council.

Vice Mayor Moore moved that the staff include the Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission (where the item was already scheduled) and also route the study to the Planning Commission. "I move that... include the bike ped as already scheduled, and include the planning commission," Moore said. Councilmember Wong seconded; the clerk recorded the motion as carrying unanimously.

Why the decision: the corridor study includes multimodal recommendations (transit concepts, bus-rapid options, sidewalk and streetscape changes) and several council members and public speakers urged dual review. Supporters of routing to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission said the commission's focus on bike and pedestrian infrastructure is relevant to the safety and mode-shift elements of the plan. Others said the Planning Commission should review the study because it addresses mobility in the context of land use, the General Plan mobility element and streetscape and right-of-way changes.

Public input at the meeting included conflicting views about the study's scope and local effects. Several residents and bike safety advocates urged expedited safety improvements and protected bicycle infrastructure. Some speakers urged a planning-centered review and raised concerns that the study's language and proposed corridors could be misconstrued as immediate lane reductions or as decisions that would remove parking without fuller planning-level review.

Staff noted the study has interjurisdictional aspects the corridor work involves neighboring cities and VTA and cautioned that implementation would require coordination, funding and further study. The council did not adopt any specific design change or project at the meeting; the council's direction is procedural: obtain both commissions'input before resubmitting the study to council for policy direction.

Ending: staff will cancel the Bike & Ped item if the council had instead directed a single commission, but under the chosen path staff will allow the scheduled Bike & Ped discussion to proceed while also placing the study on the Planning Commission agenda for review.