Every morning, a hundreds of students commute to school, with many walking, biking or driving through Calle De Barcelona, a small street that serves as a connection between the residents of Creekside Park and Cupertino High School. However, some students have expressed safety concerns with the three-way intersection between Calle De Barcelona and Finch Avenue. 

To address these concerns, Senior Kevin Guo and Junior Henry Widjaja have been collaborating with various school clubs and city communities, such as Walk-Bike School, Cupertino Interact’s Cycle 4 Change, Cupertino Rotary and Safe Routes to School, to promote and improve safer biking infrastructure.

Said Widjaja, “By driving to school, we heavily pollute the air. Thus, we have alternatives to driving to school – biking and walking -– but in order for this to happen, we need to be able to make the roads safer for all. A student was hit at the Barcelona and Finch intersection, which is currently our focus point for increased road safety.” 

The T-styled intersection of Calle De Barcelona and Finch Avenue requires cars and bikes on Calle De Barcelona to yield to oncoming traffic. During drop-off and pick-up times, the intersection becomes extremely crowded, causing frustration for drivers, bikers and pedestrians alike, who may feel compelled to take risks to get to class on time. 

Guo and Widjaja’s current plan is to garner enough support for the implementation of a stop sign on the Finch side of the intersection, which would make it safer for bikers and pedestrians.

Said Guo, “Our most recent effort was a result of a bicycle accident that occurred at the intersection, something that has unfortunately become a recurring trend at this intersection– especially given the fact that over a hundred bikes pass through this intersection on any given day.”

In addition to advocating for safer road infrastructure, Guo and Widjaja have also encouraged students to walk and bike to school by hosting school-wide events such as “Don’t Drive for Donuts” on April 7 and Free Bike Tune-ups on April 14. By promoting sustainable transportation, they hope to reduce traffic and carbon emissions in their community.