Santa Clara County transportation projects could be hurt if a regional tax measure to fund public transit is rejected by voters on Nov. 3, but the impact would be less than other parts of the Bay Area — and the details of service reductions are unclear. Senate Bill 63, also known as the Regional Transit Measure,...
VTA workers offered affordable housing built by transit agency
For VTA workers, living in Santa Clara County might become a reality in the future due to a unique piece of state legislation. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law a bill co-authored by Silicon Valley Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Patrick Ahrens that gives VTA employees preference to buy or rent an affordable home built...
Civil Grand Jury raises concerns over Silicon Valley BART extension
VTA officials will provide more clarity about the finances and long-term costs of the massive Silicon Valley BART extension in response to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that criticized the agency’s management and oversight of the project. The June 17 report raised concerns about VTA’s financial planning and oversight of the roughly $13...
VTA broke ridership record during Silicon Valley World Cup matches
VTA carried 230,000 passengers across the six FIFA World Cup matches hosted in the Bay Area since last month, setting its all-time special event ridership record. The public transit agency also reported setting its single-event ridership record on June 25 for the match between Paraguay and Australia, when nearly 42,000 fans rode transit to and...
Bay Area public transit tax heads to November ballot
A highly touted Bay Area sales tax measure to fund public transit joins 14 other referendums that have qualified for the November election — and South Bay leaders said strong community support made it happen. The transit sales tax measure — which proposes a 0.5% increase in Santa Clara County — collected an estimated 241,964...
Will Bay Area transit tax measure qualify for November ballot?
Transit advocates say they’ve surpassed their signature-gathering goal to put a sales tax on the November ballot, which would raise $1 billion annually for public transit service across five Bay Area counties and could save some stations from closure. Representatives for the Connect Bay Area campaign on Tuesday said canvassers gathered nearly 306,000 signatures — roughly 120,000...
San Jose truck company loses eminent domain case
A commercial truck company based in San Jose has lost its bid to gain additional compensation from VTA in an eminent domain case stemming from the planned BART extension project through Silicon Valley. Monarch Truck Center executives have argued their business has been severely harmed following its forced relocation two years ago. But after a weeks-long...
VTA touts spending plan for possible Bay Area sales tax increase
South Bay transportation leaders aren’t waiting for the November election to draft a wishlist of projects to make car-less commuting more bearable. But it depends entirely on voters passing a regional sales tax increase — and saving the Bay Area from transit station closures. The sales tax measure — which proposes a 0.5% increase in...
San Jose starts clearing homeless camp known as ‘the Jungle’
San Jose has begun dismantling its last large homeless encampment after weeks of outreach and offers of housing. Workers on Wednesday tore down tents and makeshift homes along Coyote Creek across from Happy Hollow Park & Zoo — an area known as “the Jungle.” As the city started clearing the encampment, which had become home to...
State housing law could change Campbell’s small city vibe
Campbell could add 40,000 homes — more than tripling the city’s current population — under a new state law aimed at boosting housing near public transit stations. The City Council is working on plans to manage the huge surge in potential development being triggered by Senate Bill 79. The bill, effective July 1, could massively...