A popular foot and bike passage through West Valley School serves many in the community. This passage crosses Stevens Creek and connects Sunnyvale and Los Altos. For many students and community members, it is the safest and most pleasant bike + pedestrian route to get to destinations like West Valley School (WVS), Cupertino Middle School (CMS), and Trader Joe's. At the start of the new school year in August, the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) began installing fencing and gates to secure their schools against undesirable intruders. However, the fencing and gates also cut off access to the WVS passage for students and community members. The community mobilized and was successful at retaining access to the passage. Here's what happened leading up to this happy ending.
In August, without warning, CUSD brought in fencing crew to install new lockable gates at both ends of the WVS passage. Alarmed, community members contacted CUSD officials to voice their concern over the negative effects of closing off access to the passage. They explained the need for CMS students to use that passage, without which students would have to take unsafe alternative routes like Homestead Road. Until then, CUSD officials were not aware that the community, including CMS students, uses the passage to get to/from school and to destinations in Los Altos and Sunnyvale. After community members explained the importance of the passage, CUSD agreed to keep the gates unlocked and open for the benefit of CMS students and other community members. For people on bikes, it's important for the gates to be open, not just unlocked, so that people don't have to dismount to open the gate, roll through, then close it, which is akin to having a manual garage door. CUSD confirmed they will keep the gates in open position. As for securing the campus, CUSD will re-design fence placement to border the passage so that the WVS campus can be secured while community members have free access to the passage.
Thanks to CUSD Superintendent Stacy Yao and her associates, CUSD Board Member Sylvia Leong, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein, and proactive community members who saved the West Valley School passage! This story is exemplary of how valuable community involvement is. Without community activism, the route would've been cut off, to the detriment of all who use that route. The problem resolved in just a month. Sometimes, solutions can happen quickly.
About the Author
Mark Hlady is a father of 3 sons who attended West Valley School and Cupertino Middle School. He is Coach of the Black Mountain Composite Cycling Team, comprised of middle and high schoolers.