Parking in some East San Jose neighborhoods is so difficult that residents place traffic cones along the curbs just to reserve a spot. A fed-up planning commissioner has a solution: parking permits. Planning Commission Chair Rolando Bonilla, who represents East San Jose, is proposing a pilot parking permit program for some residents. The pilot program proposes two to four permits per household at...
What does Santa Clara County’s transit agency lobby for?
VTA’s priorities were dramatically shaken following a mass shooting in May, but the transit agency continues to lobby for its bread-and-butter projects. In the first two quarters of 2021, VTA paid $86,000 to its state lobbyist, California Advisors LLC. VTA paid $80,000 to its federal lobbyist Van Scoyoc Associates for the first half of 2021. Neither...
Silicon Valley transit agency lacks COVID vaccine mandate
VTA has a substantial number of unvaccinated employees, but the South Bay transit agency isn’t taking any steps to require a COVID-19 vaccine. As of Tuesday, 1,258 workers are fully vaccinated, while 1,470 are at least partially vaccinated—69.37% of VTA’s workforce. The agency has about 2,100 employees. Since the public transit agency is an independent...
UPDATE: Busy Central San Jose intersection gets safety measures
Seven traffic-related deaths in the past year have finally prompted the city to take action at a busy intersection in Central San Jose. Monterey Road and Curtner Avenue—part of one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in the city—will have barriers installed as part of a safety pilot program. City officials estimate the cost to be...
Santa Clara County paratransit riders want service improvements
Zsa Zsa Taylor has been doing everything possible to keep her joy alive after a diagnosis of MS and cancer. But her commute makes that tough. Like other Santa Clara County residents with disabilities and mobility issues, Taylor travels around the region using VTA Access, a paratransit program that normally services more than 500,000 riders...
VTA chugging toward full light rail service in Santa Clara County
It’s taken months, but Santa Clara County’s public transit agency is almost fully back in action. Starting this weekend, VTA officials said the entire light rail system will be back on track. The agency announced an expansion of light rail service earlier this week to include the entire Blue Line, which runs from Baypointe to...
San Jose councilmember proposes ‘seamless’ public transportation
Public transit riders in Silicon Valley have a lot of agencies to keep up with: VTA, BART, Caltrain—and that’s if you take public transit at all. And if you plan on traveling to places like the North and East Bay you’ll have to wade through 27 different public transit agencies. San Jose Councilmember and VTA...
Panel supports idea to drop San Jose parking requirements
San Jose wants to lower its greenhouse gas emissions and is looking at eliminating required parking spaces to get there. But the plan is already facing heated debate and concerns about land use and public transportation. Land use advocacy group Catalyze SV, the Mineta Transportation Institute and transportation and affordable housing advocacy organization TransForm sponsored...
‘VTA is not a family’: San Jose transit agency seeks help to fix toxic work culture
After weeks of allegations about VTA’s toxic work culture, the agency plans to hire a consultant to figure out how to improve conditions for employees. The VTA Board of Directors on Thursday moved forward with a referral to look for a consultant who can review VTA’s work culture and find ways to improve the experience...
Study: Privatizing San Jose airport could solve debt problem
San Jose could cash in upward of $2.47 billion by leasing its airport to a private investor or company, a new study suggests. The study, conducted by Los Angeles-based think tank Reason Foundation and published last week, projects that 31 cities with medium to large airports could generate as much as $131 billion through leasing. Cities could...