Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager to chair VTA

This evening Ken Yeager will assume the role as VTA (Valley Transportation Authority) chair representing the County of Santa Clara. Ken represents the 4th District, which includes the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara, as well as west San Jose and the Burbank and Cambrian neighborhoods.

Ken previously served six years on the San Jose City Council, first elected in November 2000 and re-elected to a second term in March 2004. Prior to that, Ken served two terms as a Trustee of the San Jose Evergreen Community College District, from 1992-2000.
Ken is an avid cyclist as well as a long-time advocate for expanding parks and trails throughout the County.

In December 2008, Ken was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the board of the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the statewide agency responsible reducing air pollution and combating global warming. He also sits on the local Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

Ken also sits on the Joint Policy Committee that coordinates the regional planning efforts between ABAG, BAAQMD, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and the Bay Conservation and Development. He also serves as the MTC appointment as Director to the Caltrain Joint Powers Board.

Ken will be taking over the board at a time when the county is seeking to expanded its demographic and political power within the area. Santa Clara is seeking additional representation on the regional MTC Board of Commissioners. With one quarter of the San Francisco Bay Area's population Ken hopes to increase representation to about a quarter of the Board. Doing so would increase funding for key transportation projects, which county transportation officials believe is long overdue.

Ken will be replacing Mountain View Council member Margaret Abe-Koga who will remain on the VTA board.

Margaret Abe-Koga

Santa Clara to Diridon Station capital improvements almost complete



New underground passageway
 is now complete.



South Terminal Station Improvement Project

Phase I - Construction is almost complete at the Santa Clara and Diridon San Jose Caltrain Stations on track, signaling, and platform improvements. These improvements fit into a larger plan to upgrade the Caltrain system in preparation for electrification in 2015. With a new signal and track improvements between the two stations track capacity will increase. Due to the current reduced capacity a slight delay in the Caltrain system can have effects on other train lines. The total cost of Phase I of this project is $52 million which is funded through Federal, State, Regional, and Local sources.



View from Santa Clara Station

 SE to downtown San Jose. New platform

improvements are visible in the background

 (just before the train).



Most riders coming into Diridon station have noticed that the train slows to a crawl on the last two miles before reaching the station. Now with the new system trains will not only come into Diridon faster, but the system will allow for additional trains. The new improvements also added an additional track to the Santa Clara Station which will require not only an additional platform but a safe passageway to the platform as well.





Two new tracks (four platforms at 1,200 feet in length) are being added to Diridon Station. With five different train operations (Caltrain, Amtrak Coast Starlight, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, ACE, and Union Pacific freight trains) using the station it can get a bit hectic at times.

Phase II - This phase will consist of the addition of an additional mainline track which will allow for operational flexibility north of the station benefit the Caltrain, ACE, and Capitol Corridor systems. This will allow these train lines to increase service levels in the future. The total cost of Phase II of the project is $37 million.



New platform

improvements are

almost done.



Caltrain by the Numbers

Passengers: 11.9 million annually

Trains: 98 weekdays, 32 Saturdays, 28 Sundays

Stations: 32

Track Miles: 50 mainline and 27 - commute hour only.

Terminals: San Francisco, San Jose, and Gilroy





Looking North.
Concrete work on right
will include skylighting
within the passageway.



Happy New Year

High Line Park
Photo: High Line Park

Happy New Year

I hope everyone was able to take some time off at the end of the year and reflect on the inspirations and challenges that we experienced over the last 12 months. Hopefully you were also able to sit and figure out new goals and challenges for the new year.

I've spent some time thinking about how to make this blog both interesting and relevant to those who desire to see positive changes in their communities. Living in the Silicon Valley area of the San Francisco Bay, I have come to expect dynamic changes in certain areas especially the technology sector; but in other areas, well change and innovation is a bit disappointing. In a land blessed with ideal weather, great soil and beautiful mountains and shores we still spend much of our time indoors, inactive, eating overly processed foods that are grown more than a time zone away. It's sad to see that outdoor dining is more common in Quebec, Canada (where it is 0 degrees Fahrenheit right now), or that an outdoor activity such as cycling is more popular in places like Copenhagen and Portland than in the Santa Clara Valley.

Outdoor dinning in Montreal

I plan to continue to discuss and write about key transportation, land use, and urban and livability issues. The need for effective and dynamic leadership in this area is crucial if we expect to continue to attract talented and creative workers to the area. In 2011, I was amazed at the positive changes taking place in other parts of the country. In a recent "Dream City" series Salon writer Will Doig  highlighted 12 bold and imaginative projects in the works right now across the country (The Bold Urban Future Starts Now). From the Millennium Reserve Initiative in Chicago to the taking back of the Los Angles River down south the author highlights imaginative steps taken in these financially tough times.

Instead of running from our urban, transportation, energy , and livability issues, Americans are beginning to confront and embrace these issues head on. New residents are migrating to abandon inner cities which have been neglected for over 40 years and remaking them to reflect new values such as community, sustainability, local production and agriculture, and especially exercising new powers in local leadership.

Much of this is due to the localizing effects of new and mobile technology. Some of it is due to a new generation that eschews the suburbs, shuns auto ownership and seeks to connect to others not just online but in their neighborhoods as well. With ubiquitous Wi/Fi, who wants to drive one hour to work isolated and unproductive. That time could be spent with someone else doing the driving, freeing up time to catch up on reading, work, or just to talking with a fellow passenger.

Of course I plan to cover local issues as well, such as regional transportation plans, policies, and financing (Wonky), BART to San Jose, Caltrain, highway and road funding, and of course bike culture such as San Jose Bike Party. In addition I plan to cover issues of a national concern such as:

• Bike Sharing
• The drop in auto usage and ownership.
• The shift to local retail.
• The resurgence of intercity bus travel
• The New Urbanism - New ways of living, working, playing and raising families in America's new urban frontier.
• The challenge of infrastructure funding
• New ideas in livability.

So feel free to contact me to add any additional ideas. These are exciting times.

San Jose's coming of age?

As San Jose passes the million resident mark several key indicators reveal that this bedroom community in the valley may actually be growing into a real city. The last few years have witnessed the proposal, planning, and design of several large projects, including a sports venue and transportation projects including high speed rail, a new ballpark, a BART extension, a major freeway interchange makeover, and Bus Rapid Transit.

With a world renowned high tech industry, a growing population, and those key infrastructure projects just mentioned, San Jose has recently sought the need to flex its political muscle. Assembly member Jim Beall has introduced AB 57 which seeks to increase Santa Clara County (as well as Alameda County) representation on the Board of Commissioners at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). As Assembly member Beall states, "about 40 years ago, the [state] legislature created the MTC and its voting membership based on a 1970 snapshot of a San Francisco dominated Bay Area. Today, the Bay Area population and employment clusters have shifted. Santa Clara County has become the technological center of the world."

This same reasoning is VTA's argument in requesting Caltrans to open an office in San Jose. Caltran's 12 state-wide districts and district office map was drawn in 1961 when San Jose was one-fifth the size that it is today. VTA, the area's Congestion Management Agency (CMA) has cited the growing importance of the region as well as previous delays in getting approvals on key projects for the request. Except for the Bay Area district (No. 4), all Caltrans district offices are located in the district's largest cities. In the Bay Area San Francisco is only six miles away but San Jose, the largest city in the nine-county district is over 40 miles away.

The map below show another disadvantage in getting late to the political party. Whether it be transportation agencies, planning agencies, non-profit, or even key civic groups, not one is headquartered in Santa Clara County. Except for Caltrain's offices in the city of San Carlos, Bay Area agencies and non-profits are all located in either San Francisco or Oakland.

Until MTC representation gets resolved or a new office is opened, at least one positive change in the works is the 2012 opening of a SPUR office. SPUR is a San Francisco based urban planning and research organization that has been at the forefront of many of the city's key issues such as the central subway, park funding, a new Transbay Transit Center, the transformation of mid-Market St., as well as many others. Although a small step this will be a great first step in seeing the "power" center of gravity move further south along the bay.

To find out about future SPUR - San Jose events, join their mailing list.

View San Francisco Bay Area Agencies and Organizations in a larger map

Transportation in the news - the Bay Area and beyond

Here are some key headlines around the Bay Area and beyond...

In local Bay Area News....

VTA Board approves first phase of BART extension to the Silicon Valley. Highlighted in a post last week, Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog, a joint venture of three construction design firms was awarded a $772 M contract to build the first phase of the BART extension to San Jose's Berryessa district. Santa Clara County's VTA board approved the contract to build the 10 mile extension in a unanimous vote last week.

Supervisor Chuck Yeager has been choosen to be the new the VTA Board chair the upcoming year. In a KLIV-AM radio interview Yeager stressed the need to keep bus and light rail ridership up due to the high fixed operating costs for the systems. Key projects for the year in Santa Clara county will be getting the Interstate 880/280 interchange project back on track (see below), the county's first BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), and the viability of Caltrain.

In another sign that the Silicon Valley continues to flex its political muscle, local transportation leaders have asked Caltrans to open a local office. Local VTA officials cite recent delays in major projects such as the Interstate 880/280 interchange, toll lanes on 237, and improvements to the south county portion of 101.

San Francisco County Transportation Authorities will conduct an open house this evening to highlight plans for the Bay Bridge western span. Earlier studies have concluded that the best option is to cantilever a path to the sides of the existing bridge.

A Napa County task force  (Napa County Register) representing commercial, agricultural, and taxpayer interests within the county have recommended the agency put a half-cent transportation sales tax on the ballot next November. Napa County is one of many Bay Area agencies that have had to tackle the increasing cost of road maintenance.

Other Transportation News

Amanda Eaken comments on a recently published report by the Urban Land Institute.  In a recent blog post titled "Has the sun set on suburban sprawl in Southern California?", she states that from now into the near future; or at least until 2035 the supply of single family homes on traditional lots will far exceed demand. Demand will come from central cities and concentrated developments near transit.

Proving that political and financial support for solo occupant auto commuting is often the unintended consequences of ill conceived policies, a recent New York Times article traces the history of this gift to suburban drivers. For those of you who read last week's posts, I recently mentioned my own bewilderment over such a anachronistic policy.



And don't forget this Friday, December 16th....San Jose Bike Party's Pajama ride on the East Side...don't forget to dress weather appropriate.

Clipper Card Tutorial

Most San Francisco Bay Area residents have heard of "Fas Trak" but a smaller group has heard of the "Clipper" card.

FasTrak is an electronic toll collection (ETC) system that allows you to prepay your bridge tolls, eliminating the need to stop at the toll plaza. The system has three components: a toll tag, which is placed inside your vehicle; an overhead antenna, which reads the toll tag and collects the toll; and video cameras to identify toll evaders.

Clipper is a similar prepaid card that is non-contact, meaning you don't have to swipe it like your debit card at the grocery store. Think of the Clipper card as your Fas Trak card for car-free or car light families.

The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) goes on to describe the clipper card in more detail:

Clipper is an all-in-one transit card that keeps track of passes, discount tickets, ride books and cash value that you load onto it, while recognizing and applying all applicable fares, discounts and transfer rules. It is now accepted on Muni, BART, AC Transit, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit and Ferry, and SamTrans.

Named for the clipper ships whose speed revolutionized travel from the East Coast to Gold Rush-era California, the Clipper card gives you quick access to all major forms of Bay Area transit with one easy-to-use card.

The card allows you carry only one card for most Bay Area transit services such as Caltrain, BART, SamTrans, VTA, AC Transit, SFMTA, and most ferries. You can either carry cash balances and apply the balance to all of the transit systems (similar to paying cash), or you can load on passes. So if you currently carry a VTA Adult Flash Pass this can be converted to the Clipper form.

The true value of a Clipper card will be in extending the universality of the card. Not only would it be convenient for any payments within Bay Area Transit systems, but the other outlying systems as well. Why not the ability to use it on the San Jose to Santa Cruz route 17 bus, the San Jose to Monterrey MST route 55, or the MST route 79 bus to the Monterrey Presidio. Other excellent uses would be:

• the proposed Bay Area bikeshare system
• bike lockers at Bay Area BART and Caltrain stations or even
• car share systems (City Car Share or GetAround)

VTA board approves contractor for BART extension to Santa Clara County

Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog, a joint venture of three construction design firms was awarded a $772 M contract to build the first phase of the BART extension to San Jose's Berryessa district. Santa Clara County's VTA board approved the contract to build the 10 mile extension in a unanimous vote yesterday.

Even though some board members juristiction's wont even come close to the expanded line, the sheer joy on many board members faces was appartent as the room broke into a loud and sustained applaus. Xavier Campos representing the city of San Jose stated that "This is the largest public works project since the airport and will put many people to work". Michael Burns, VTA General Manger touted the fact that the extension will "bring 13,000 jobs in addition to substantial trasnportation and economic effects".

Carl Guardino, Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group spoke publicly to thank the board for the hard work that they had accomplished, seeing that "this was only 60 years in coming to San Jose". The board also praised Mr. Guardino on his leadership in putting the measure on the ballot to be passed by county residents by a slim 2,122 voter margin with 66.78% of the total votes.

This segment will expand the BART system to 120 track miles with 47 stations throughout the Bay Area. In addition to building the right of way and tracks the joint venture will also build two stations and the accompanying parking structures. The Milpitas station will be located at Montague Express and Capital Avenue connection to VTA's light rail system. The station will have a street level concourse with below ground boarding platforms.

The Berryessa station will be located between Berryessa and Marbury Roads with an elevated platform 35 feet above street level. Both stations will have bicycle parking rooms similar to the bike station in Palo Alto. On the Caltrain Bicycle Advisory Committee on which I serve we have been asking for an entry/rental system based off of the clipper card for the existing bicycle storage lockers. (Feel free to comment on your ideas). According to the VTA's Berressa Extension Fact Sheet the stations will be within a 12 minute bike ride for 260,000 residets.

Father Michael Engh and Bill Coleman: Finally, construction will begin on BART to Silicon Valley - (MercuryNews.com 12/7/2011)

BART-to-San Jose extension could open 18 months ahead of schedule (MercuryNews.com 12/7/2011)

Urban Triage - Imported to Detroit

Recently Detroit (in this case the auto industry and more specifically Chrysler) has been using gritty images of the city of Detroit to sell cars. Using visual, musical, and deep throated vocal images of a city determined to make a comeback by building you a better car, the reality is much different.

The very product that Detroit produces has been one of the reasons for its current harsh reality. The reality is that the "Motor City" ceased to grow a long time ago. Its population peaked in 1960 at 1,849,000 and today stands at only 914,000.  That decline has left the sprawling city with thousands of abandon homes. Whole neighborhoods exist with only one or two households on a street.

With a crumbling infrastructure that is increasing expensive to maintain the city has created the Detroit Works Project to perform one of America's first cases of urban triage. The city will now make the crucial decision about which neighborhood will stay and which will be reverted to brownfield status.

In the last two years the city under the direction of Detroit Works has demolished 2,000 structures with an additional 6,000 planned demolitions in the next two years. As Rainy Hamilton of Hamilton Anderson Associates states in the PBS Newshour news segment, "it's a density issue". The city can no longer maintain roads, streetlights, and sewers where there isn't a sufficient tax base. Neighborhoods will be triaged into categories of "steady, transitional, or distressed in an attempt to order and prioritize scarce city resources. Many of the city's neighborhoods will be ceded and the city's perimeter brought in to a more manageable level.

The question is, is Detroit the only city, or just the first in what we will see to selectively prune inefficient and expensive infrastructure and development. in an effort to focus on the core.

The question remains; what parts of your city do you prune first? Cue commercial.

"With Detroit on Brink of Financial Disaster, State Steps In" - PBS Newshour

Related article: Detroit needs a new app - hooking our youth back on cars

Congress, we can do better than this

Here in the San Francisco Bay area I, like many other employees have the opportunity to purchase transit passes (although we are slowly moving towards the Clipper Card payment system). Depending on your commuting needs these passes can be purchased for BART, Caltrain, several ferry lines, light rail, or one of the many bus systems in the Bay Area.

Three things are great about the program (in my case the administration is handled by WageWorks);

1. My company will pay half of the cost of my pass or Clipper Card purchases.
2. My contribution is deducted from my income over the year reducing my taxable income.
3. It's all handled through my paycheck. No need to make a separate payment.

Although I only purchase $70 in transit passes each month through my employer, there is a limit on the amount the IRS will allow an individual to reduce their income. Car commuters are also allowed to deduct car parking expenses from income but I was completely floored when I found this note included with my monthly statement from WageWorks.

Important Note: The temporary $230 monthly pre-tax transit limit set by Congress in 2009 will expire at the end of 2011. Beginning with the January 2012 benefit month, the pre-tax transit limit will decrease to $125 a month and any election amount over $125 will be deducted from your pay on an after-tax basis. Beginning with the January 2012 benefit month, the monthly pre-tax limit for parking will increase from $230 to $240.

So beginning next month solo (or not) vehicle drivers will have a greater tax advantage to use our streets, bridges, and freeways than public transit users

Contact your congress member today to tell them how wasteful this policy is, while also increasing traffic congestion and air pollution. Better yet go to this link on the Transportation for America website

Isaac Porras, founder of Solar Cycle takes his product on the road

Isaac Porras founder of Solar Cycle
Power at the start of last year's
start of the New York to DC
Climate Ride.

I first met Isaac a couple of years ago in San Jose at a key time in his young life. Armed with a recent graduate degree in engineering, a new job at a local Silicon Valley technology company, and a budding interest in cycling advocacy and transportation advocacy in general. He had recently decided to part ways with his car and use his bicycle as a primary mode of transportation.

Isaac is young man in motion. After founding Solar Cycle to produce solar kits for cyclists, his Solar Cycle product was recently featured in Wired magazine's Gadget Lab, and he currently has two projects listed on Kickstarter's website.

Isaac grew up in San Jose, California and earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University. His father owns a sheet metal shop and he learned most of his manufacturing and design knowledge making sheet metal parts for customers.

Most of his experience after college has been in the semiconductor industry designing parts for machines, however after being laid off in 2009, he got rid of his car to save money. The difficulties of transitioning from a car to a bicycle led him start Solarcycle and design USB solar charging devices that attach to bicycles.

Isaac came to the realization that a smart phone would run out of power using the phone for GPS navigation, taking pictures, surfing the web, using apps, making phone calls, watching videos and listening to music. The possibility of attaching a solar panel on a bicycle to charge a phone and any other USB enabled device  became apparent. That’s how Solarcycle was founded.

His product will allow cyclists to enjoy the advantage of their Smart Phones and other USB enabled devices on their trips without having to worry about running out of power. The lightweight, high-power, weatherproof Solar USB charger allows charging of any USB device directly from the sun.Isacc is extremely happy with the extent that is new product has sparked interest in the cycling community even among those of cloudy, rainy Portland, Oregon.  In fact, Solarcycle has signed up for the next charity ride in May and the new Solarcycle Delux Kit will  generate even more power!

TurningWheels for Kids big bike build this weekend

The great local non-profit Turning Wheels 4 Kids will be having their annual Big Bike Build this weekend at the San Jose Convention Center's South Hall.

Who is Turning Wheels for Kids?
TurningWheels for Kids provides free bikes for children in need, to support better physical and emotional well-being. The program serves low-income children who are at high risk for obesity and related health issues and whose families do not have the means to support an active lifestyle that includes regular exercise.


What: Big Bike Build 2011 – 2,400 bikes for distribution to local charities.
When: Saturday, Dec. 10, 8:00 a.m.- noon (or until work is finished)  
Where: San Jose McEnery Convention Center, South Hall
435 S. Market St., San Jose, CA (“Blue Tent” next to Marriott Hotel)

Sharkie, the San Jose Sharks mascot, will be on hand at 9:00 AM to pump up the crowd. We’re hopeful he’ll take to the track and race in the Great Tricycle Race, as he did last year

TurningWheels for Kids was the vision of Susan Runsvold, a nurse manager at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, who wanted to buy bikes at Christmas and give them to underprivileged children; children she believed might otherwise not receive any present from Santa.

Runsvold began what she hoped would be a tradition of collecting money from her friends and colleagues to purchase as many bikes as possible for holiday distribution. To date, TurningWheels for Kids has raised nearly $900,000, and it has recently started to visit local neighborhoods to assist with and teach children routine maintenance of the bikes. Thanks to two individual donors who pay all modest administrative fees, 100 percent of all public donations go to buying bikes and helmets.

Each year, TurningWheels for Kids buys flat-packed bikes from participating manufacturers, and rallies hundreds of volunteers for one day of group bike asssembly, with thousands of children receiving a brand new bike and safety helmet. A $100 donation covers the cost of a brand new bicycle, a kickstand and a well-fitting helmet.

For more information, visit TurningWheels for Kids.

Sign up now to participate in the fun. Go to the TurningWheels for Kids website to register for the fun!


View Larger Map

BICYCLE STOLEN OFF VTA BUS

STOLEN Surley Long Haul Trucker stolen at 9:55 PM right off the front of a VTA bus. DT San Jose

VTA driver describes suspect as white male 24 years old 5'11" blue ball cap.

Contact with info or seen on Craigslist

Amtrak announces initial rollout of e-ticketing service on Downeaster line

To those now accustomed to e-ticketing among the airlines Amtrak is now introducing the service on their Downeaster line. The Downeaster line which extends from Maine to Boston has initiated a new system in which travellers can print their tickets at home, or have them a pdf file emailed to their account. This would allow conductors to scan the barcodes from the file. Passengers with a smartphone would be able to open the pdf file attached to the email, display the barcode from the pdf file and show it to the conductor to allow her to scan the ticket information.

What this will also do is allow Amtrak customers the ability to change their reservations at the last minute. It will also give Amtrak the ability to have an updated passenger manifest at all times.  This will not apply to all passengers as those who are on group packages, or who purchased their ticket through a travel agent will still use the current paper ticketing system. On a recent Thanksgiving weekend trip I noticed that conductors now carry with them a scanner/printer set allowing them to scan tickets or issue new tickets on the spot.

Although Amtrak issued a press release introducing the service as well as issuing a November 3rd Twiter tweet, I could find nothing on the Downeaster website describing the service.

Amtrak plans to expand the trial to California in February, and if that goes well, the system could roll out on a nationwide basis as early as this summer.


Note: The Downeaster line has recently announced an expansion project to extend the line from Portland to Freeport and Brunswick. Construction was started in August of 2010 and is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2012.

USA Today - Amtrak tests e-ticketing on Downeaster service.

Record Amtrak ridership over Thanksgiving holiday

As I mentioned in a recent post (Rail Highlights - Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor), the Thanksgiving holiday season is the busiest time of the year for Amtrak. On my Thanksgiving weekend trip it was standing room only in several cars. Well, according to Amtrak estimates it looks like this year will set a new ridership record with an estimated 720,000 passengers over the Thanksgiving holiday travel week.

Amtrak's Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Emmet Fremaux stated that this was "due in part to increased capacity and the recent introduction of free Wi-Fi service on several of Amtrak's routes". Comparing Thanksgiving 2011 to Thanksgiving 2010, there was an estimated 2.2 percent increase in ridership nationwide. The previous Thanksgiving ridership records was set in 2010 with 704,446 passengers.

Amtrak gives credit to their operation of every available passenger rail car in its fleet and the scheduling of extra trains to accommodate additional passengers in the Northeast and on the West Coast. This was due in part to the slightly larger equipment fleet this year due to rehabilitated and refurbished railcars and locomotive engines that were recently restored to service.