Philbrick: The future of mobility in Santa Clara County

Valley Transportation Authority’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II — the largest single public infrastructure project ever constructed in Santa Clara County — broke ground in June.

This long-awaited project — which will extend service 6 miles from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San Jose and end in Santa Clara — is more than just another leg of transit. This project completes the transit ring around the Bay, connecting all of us to each other and boundless opportunities. It’s the next step in a shift toward a deep transformation of mobility and opportunities for the surrounding communities and has already spurred transit-oriented developments for a more sustainable, inclusive future.

When the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District was first formed in the 1960s, Santa Clara County passed on the opportunity. However, increasing traffic congestion in decades to follow created mobility challenges that necessitated innovative solutions.

Groundwork for the BART-Silicon Valley extension program began in the early 2000s with overwhelming support, kickstarted by the 70.3% of voters who approved Measure A, a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax to fund transportation improvements — including the extension. Further local funding came in 2008 and 2016 when voters again pushed for more transit. The project also has state funding allocated for the extension and is in the final process to qualify for a large federal grant. It stands as a strong expression that the majority of the community recognized — and was willing to pay for — the potential benefits of this project.

This massive undertaking has experienced delays and an increasing price tag, partly because of inflation, with the cost of construction materials increasing almost 20% since 2020. Still, Phase I, completed in 2020, brought service from Alameda County into Santa Clara County, with stops at Milpitas and North San Jose. In June, Phase II broke ground at the site where a tunnel boring machine will dig beneath the earth to create the 5-mile underground tunnel that is the backbone of this extension.

Although a number of hurdles have lengthened the project’s timeline, this has brought a few unexpected boons.

VTA’s Phase II Chief Megaprojects Delivery Officer Tom Maguire — who previously oversaw the completion of the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $2 billion Central Subway — told Mineta Transportation Institute staff about major advances in tunnel-boring technology that will make this much-anticipated project less disruptive. For example, current tunnel-boring technology and construction techniques make it easier to build the infrastructure for an off-street station. That means, unlike in previous years, there is no need to shut down multiple blocks of busy streets for weeks, months or even years at a time.

Additionally, insights about the benefits of transit-oriented developments and multimodal transportation have become increasingly apparent in recent years, especially as the industry begins to shift away from fossil fuels and the car-centered history of American transportation. The future of transportation must be sustainable, inclusive, safe and efficient. We are making slow but steady progress toward this future becoming a reality through transit-oriented developments, electrified rail, high-speed rail, electric vehicles and other innovations.

Gas-powered personal vehicles are such a ubiquitous American experience that we have made getting a driver’s license and a car a coming-of-age rite of passage. But this tradition needs to change, and like the rest of us, teens will benefit from cleaner air and safer, faster transportation options. By now there is no need to explain the hazards of air pollution emitted from transportation, which contributes to smog and poor air quality and has negative impacts on the health and welfare of U.S. citizens because that, too, has become ubiquitous.

Piece by piece, we are making a change. Transit-oriented communities and multimodal transportation encourages walking too, which benefits our long-term health. These shifts can remedy past transportation-driven injustices by connecting marginalized communities to more opportunities and improving accessibility.

The Phase II project will generate 75,000 jobs, expand economic growth, bring significant environmental benefits and increase mobility options for tens of thousands of students, tech employees, frontline workers, families and all of us. Over the last two decades, Santa Clara County communities have continued to support the project by generating $4.6 billion in funding from local tax measures because ultimately we know these benefits and know how badly they are needed.

It’s been a long time coming and we have a way to go, but the future of mobility we want and need — with safe, inclusive, efficient transportation — is here.

San José Spotlight columnist Karen E. Philbrick is the executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, a research institute focusing on multimodal surface transportation policy and management issues.