The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is holding
a series of public meetings to update the community on the BART
extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is holding a series of public meetings to update the community on the BART extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara. With information gathered at the meetings, the VTA will vote on Sept. 24 deciding how many stations to build.
The system initially included plans for seven BART stations but those could be reduced to four because of budget shortfalls from federal funding. The four stops suggested by Friday’s VTA staff report include Milpitas, downtown San Jose, the Diridon Station and one in Santa Clara.
Stops near San Jose State University, Berryessa near Highway 101 and eastside Alum Rock station are all suggested for delay.
The report said that the stops still scheduled for construction would have the highest ridership; those delayed are expected to attract fewer riders.
Public reaction to delays in building the eastside and SJSU stations will be the focus of the public meetings.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently recommended that VTA develop a BART extension minimum operating segment (MOS) scenario to be included in the Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and the new starts process for evaluation purposes.
In an MOS scenario, VTA would build the BART Extension in phases; VTA is currently evaluating multiple scenarios for each phase with different project elements and capital costs. The FTA believes that the MOS approach will make the project more competitive for receiving federal funds by reducing the overall project cost and the federal funding share.
VTA remains committed to the full BART extension as approved by the voters of Santa Clara County in November 2000.
During the community meetings, the public will have an opportunity to provide input on various MOS scenarios. Evaluation factors for the MOS scenarios include ridership, costs, key markets served, connections with other transportation, joint development opportunities, maintenance facility needs, and community acceptance.
The BART extension policy advisory board will consider public comments when recommending one MOS scenario for further analysis in the EIS/EIR and federal new starts process.
The first meeting was held Monday night at Milpitas City Hall.
Other meetings are:
• Downtown San Jose: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:30-8:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church 24 N. Fifth St., San Jose. This location is served by VTA Bus lines 22, 64, 65, 72, 73, and 81.
• Santa Clara: Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Santa Clara Senior Center, Room 3 1303 Fremont St., Santa Clara This location is served by VTA Bus lines 22, 60, and 81.
• Hostetter/Alum Rock: Monday, Sept. 15, 7:30-9 p.m. San Jose High Academy 275 N. 24th St., San Jose This location is served by VTA Bus line 81.
• Milpitas City Council: Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. Milpitas City Hall, Council Chambers 455 E. Calaveras Boulevard, Milpitas This location is served by VTA Bus line 70.
• Northern San Jose: Thursday, Sept. 18, 6-8 p.m. VTA River Oaks Administration Building Auditorium 3331 N. First St., San Jose This location is served by VTA light rail.
Details: www.vta.org
