Transportation

Transportation

VTA committee recommends Measure B funds for Silicon Valley highways

VTA is poised to distribute nearly $200 million for projects to reduce highway congestion following a critical committee vote. The Congestion Management Program and Planning Committee is recommending VTA’s board of directors approve funding for a list of 13 highway projects in cities across Santa Clara County. The funding comes from Measure B, a sales...

Vision for personal rapid transit system stalled in Milpitas

Rob Means dreams of revolutionizing Milpitas’ public transit by creating an environmentally-friendly track system to whisk people to destinations in small vehicular pods. But getting others to share that dream is tough. In 2019, Means, founder and secretary of LoopWorks, pitched Milpitas’ mayor and City Council on the concept of personal rapid transit (PRT), a system...

Only one San Jose VTA board member uses public transit

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is dealing with tight budgets, low ridership and out-of-touch officials, even as they discuss expanding to new technologies. A San José Spotlight survey found that just one of the 18 lawmakers who oversee and govern the troubled transit agency—of those who responded—actually ride its buses and trains. San José...

Airlines shrug at costs from San Jose building policy

Airlines hardly notice the financial losses caused by a San Jose policy to raise building height limits in the flight path of some planes. Multiple airlines told San José Spotlight that their operations have not been affected by a 2019 city policy that raised the height limits for buildings downtown and in the Diridon Station...

San Jose wants to cut parking spaces in downtown developments

San Jose officials want to cut the level of greenhouse gas emissions downtown. The city’s solution is to eliminate parking space mandates for developers. The downtown area is expected to experience dramatic growth over the next decades, and officials want commuters to lean more toward public transit. City officials are also exploring the use of...