San Jose is trying to protect public dollars while still moving forward on a next generation transportation project connecting the city’s airport and downtown train station.
The San Jose City Council unanimously approved plans March 25 to move forward with a more detailed ridership study, financial forecasting and initial construction plans for the airport connector, which will go between San Jose Mineta International Airport and Diridon Station. While city employees initially recommended looking to VTA for funding the estimated $14.7 million second phase, councilmembers left it up to the project’s private group, San Jose Connection Partners, to find funding.
A memo from Mayor Matt Mahan, Vice Mayor Pam Foley and Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, David Cohen and Michael Mulcahy proposed having the project’s private partners look for funding. It also stressed the importance of better understanding the airport’s future growth and connector’s potential ridership.
“There’s no question in my mind that the project’s success hinges on understanding long-term airport growth needs and securing external funding, as the city of San Jose cannot and should not allocate additional funding at this time,” Mulcahy said during the meeting.
Councilmembers are eager to protect the city’s budget, in light of the projected multimillion-dollar shortfall discussed last month. In the memo, councilmembers shot down VTA funding by pointing out the agency’s need to prioritize the BART expansion and perserve its existing public transit network.
The much-anticipated airport connector will use a fleet of futuristic four-seat vehicles separated from traffic by an exclusive gateway. San Jose Transportation Director John Ristow presented the feasibility report’s findings to councilmembers and said the report confirmed the new technologies would be ready by the time construction is projected to start in about three years.
The feasibility report found the benefits of the connector would outweigh the project’s costs — now estimated at $800 million — if it only travels to both terminals and the airport’s long-term parking lot.
Ristow said the expansion’s costs and ridership will be more thoroughly researched as well.
San Jose Airport Commission Chair Joe Head voiced multiple concerns with the project during public comment, urging councilmembers to focus on the connection between the airport and train station rather than inter-airport transit.
“Historical use of the airport looks to be changing, and if it is then the answer of who would use the connector and why would also be changing,” Head said.
The airport’s long-term expansion plans include adding a hotel and new gates, so Head pushed councilmembers to focus on the external connector, as well as more modern passenger data. He suggested the airport has seen an uptick in leisure travel, meaning more families with children, which might not be able to fit into the envisioned four-seat vehicles.
Ridership information would be collected as part of the second phase of research, which could take anywhere from one to three years, Ristow said.
Ristow said the city has applied for a $12.9 million federal grant, but it’s uncertain if and when the money will be received. He added not receiving the grant funding would delay the project. He pushed for help from VTA, even though councilmembers are not on board.
“We totally understand where VTA is right now,” Ristow said. “Because this is a multi-year project, we were still recommending we would seek other funding from VTA from the Measure A dollars as well as outside grants.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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