Uncategorized

San Jose Mayor calls for design review for BART-Silicon Valley; following calls by advocates, BART board

At this evening’s VTA board meeting, in the agenda item to approve the first stage of the major construction contracts for the BART Silicon Valley Extension (item 7.7), Mayor Liccardo has submitted a memo calling for reviews of the project to explore important improvements to rider experience and the urban fabric of San Jose, including:  […]

Uncategorized

Caltrain board contemplates challenging postpandemic budgets

At a board budget workshop on March 21, the Caltrain board will contemplate challenging years ahead with the prospect of changed post-pandemic travel patterns. Business surveys predict that office workers will be commuting an average of three days per week, reducing Caltrain’s pre-pandemic ridership base.  Federal funding has kept transit afloat in the Bay Area

Uncategorized

MTC proposes coordinated plan to pursue $30B in new federal rail funding

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will consider approving an integrated strategy to pursue funding from the recently passed federal infrastructure law.  This strategy would fund a set projects that improve and connect rail around the bay, including  Completion of Caltrain electrification The Downtown Extension connecting Caltrain to the salesforce terminalDiridon Station upgrades to accommodate High

Uncategorized

January Link21 Discussion Video

What travel needs would be met by a second transbay rail crossing between San Francisco and the East Bay?  How might the project benefit or impact equity priority communities?  What opportunities for housing and access to jobs? On January 26, transit groups including Friends of Caltrain, San Francisco Transit Riders, Transbay Coalition, Streets for People,

Uncategorized

Sunday 1/16 3pm – Annual All Aboard Transit Advocacy Workshop

Want a bus-only lane on the Bay Bridge? Bus lanes and bus speedups where you travel? Stopping freeway expansion and making highways better for buses and bikes around the region? BART to Silicon Valley? Making transportation around the Bay Area Seamless? Want to learn the latest about and get involved with these campaigns and other

Uncategorized

MTC starts to explore regional transportation funding measure

On Monday, December 13, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission convened a “listening session” to start to consider the potential for a regional funding measure for public transportation in 2024. The slides and recording are here. Transit services face a fiscal cliff in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, when Federal relief funding that has kept

Uncategorized

Coalition seeks to halt freeway expansion in South San Francisco

Contributed by Sustainable South City The next phase of the 101 managed lanes project, a segment through South San Francisco, is in the works.  A coalition in South San Francisco, coordinated by members of Sustainable South City wants the project to avoid adding a new lane to the highway.   Rather than adding these lanes by

Uncategorized

San Jose City Council seeks improvements to BART rider experience and urban design, doesn’t question deep tunnel

On December 7, multiple public commenters spoke in support of the memo from San Jose Mayor and colleagues seeking welcome improvements to rider experience and urban design including additional station entrances and better transit connections, and urging review compared to the previously studied twin bore design, which would make it easier to solve the problems.  

Uncategorized

Renewed opportunity for bus lanes on Stevens Creek

On Monday December 13th at 10am, the Stevens Creek Corridor Transit Steering Committee is meeting to discuss opportunities to bring rapid transit to Stevens Creek boulevard. The committee, composed of representatives from San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino and Santa Clara County, along with VTA will discuss a study to create a vision for the corridor,

Uncategorized

BART board supports review of BART Silicon Valley project for design, safety and cost

On December 2, the BART board supported a review of the BART Silicon Valley project to assess the current design against the twin-bore alternative studied in the EIR that may be able to deliver better rider experience and safety at lower cost.   Directors Saltzman and Li expressed concerns about the ballooning cost estimates for the

Uncategorized

Transit agencies face fiscal cliff; MTC contemplates 2024 funding measure

On Monday, December 13 at 2pm, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is convening a “listening session” to start to consider the potential for a regional funding measure for public transportation in 2024. According to MTC analysis, transit services face a fiscal cliff in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, when Federal relief funding that has

Uncategorized

San Jose Mayor and colleagues seek to improve BART San Jose for riders and for urban design

This afternoon, San Jose City Council will discuss the project bringing BART to San Jose.  Mayor Sam Liccardo authored a memo joined by colleagues Jones, Peralez and Davis urging VTA to take steps to improve the projects from the perspective of urban design and transit connections.  The memo elevates a number of needs that have

Uncategorized

Caltrain electrification price tag increases by $100M; delivery date still 2024

At a special board meeting on December 6, the Caltrain board approved updates to the price tag and schedule for the electrification project.   Based on an in-depth review, and a settlement of disputes with the contractor Balfour Beatty, the price tag has increased by an additional $100 million, and the scheduled delivery date is

Uncategorized

ACTION: 10/12 6-8pm Community Meeting Focused on Station Access and Parking Strategies

BART is hosting a community meeting on October 12 from 6-8pm via Zoom. Registration is required in advance by clicking this link. We encourage everyone to register and attend the meeting to learn about BART’s plans and make your voice heard. According to BART, the meeting will start with a presentation covering: The proposed maximum

Uncategorized

East Palo Alto to consider trip cap, bus lanes, and congestion pricing for Ravenswood Business District Specific Plan

East Palo Alto is in the process of updating the Ravenswood/4 Corners TOD Specific Plan. Recently, four significant development proposals within the plan area that total roughly 4 million square feet (MSF) have been submitted. This greatly exceeds the 1.2 MSF of the remaining development allowed in the existing, environmentally cleared plan. Given that East

Uncategorized

East Palo Alto greenlights pilot program to speed buses on University Avenue for 2021/22

The East Palo Alto city council has authorize an intelligent transit signal priority (iTSP) pilot program on University Avenue. The project will allow non-profit Sustainable Silicon Valley to implement transit signal priority, which involves extending the green light for buses, to five traffic signals between Bay Road and Woodland Avenue. This will speed up bus

Uncategorized