Santa Clara County’s largest public transit agency will be audited by the state as one lawmaker looks to change up how it’s run. A state committee voted Wednesday to have the California State Auditor review the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) related to concerns about the agency’s governance structure, planning and fiscal management. Assemblymember...
Transportation
Transportation
Amid ridership drop, VTA defends BART extension
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is working to reassure taxpayers their dollars are not going to waste after a federal agency undercut its ridership estimate for the BART extension through downtown San Jose by more than 20,000 passengers per day. “I want to make sure that the public understands concepts thoroughly and doesn’t have...
‘We will sue you’: VTA strong-arming San Jose property owners to sell
As the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority prepares to bring BART through downtown San Jose, some property owners claim the agency is refusing to negotiate terms. The second phase of the BART extension to San Jose brings the Bay Area rail line through downtown along Santa Clara Street, a stretch that will displace a number...
Deadly San Jose road to get makeover
San Jose is gearing up to address safety concerns along one of the region’s deadliest roads. Congressmembers Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo and Jimmy Panetta announced last week San Jose will receive a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help convert Monterey Road from a highway into a boulevard in an effort to...
San Jose’s low-budget airline could boost tourism
San Jose Mineta International Airport is adding Spirit Airlines to its carriers—and some say that’s not necessarily the best news. “I’ve flown on Spirit a couple times, and it wasn’t a good experience,” said Christian Hoang, a San Jose resident going to school out of state. “If you’re looking for the best price, they have...
Broken East San Jose traffic light signals disparities
A traffic signal in a busy intersection still hasn’t been repaired, and residents said it’s part of a long line of disparities in East San Jose. A temporary signal at Ocala Avenue and Capitol Expressway has been operating at the intersection since last September, after a traffic accident on Sep. 24 knocked the original signal over. While...
San Jose commuters losing time in traffic
San Jose commuters spend roughly three days a year sitting in rush-hour traffic, and local advocates worry it will get worse. Residents are seeing their daily trips between work and home extended by more than 17 minutes each day because of rush-hour traffic—nearly 7 minutes in the morning and more than 10 in the evening. That translates to an...
Time’s up: San Jose reinforces limited parking rules
The grace period for timed parking in San Jose is over. The city is ticketing violators again starting tomorrow. San Jose stopped enforcing time-limited parking during the COVID-19 pandemic. It phased in partial enforcement in the summer for parking limits of less than two hours. Now the city will also enforce parking restrictions on spaces with limits...
San Jose airport travelers caught in holiday nightmare
For thousands of travelers, holiday cheer turned into a sack of coal due to massive flight cancellations caused by a “once in a generation” weather event and ill-prepared airlines. Flight cancellations started on Christmas Eve and continued to increase throughout the week, Mineta San Jose International Airport officials said. Southwest Airlines, one of the airport’s...
Santa Clara brings back parking permit enforcement
Santa Clara residents might find an unexpected new year surprise—they’ll need permits again to park in overcrowded areas. Residents on more than 50 streets, including neighborhoods near the Alameda, Levi’s Stadium and Rivermark Plaza, pay for street parking permits to prevent non-residents at nearby businesses from parking in the area. Santa Clara stopped enforcing permit...