VTA needs to study rail on 85

By John Chen

Because of suburban sprawl in the South Bay with high numbers of low density, single-family units, mass transit must become competitive with the automobile by being ubiquitous and time efficient. $1 billion for rail in the West Valley is a small sum compared to $6 billion for a BART extension to downtown San Jose.

The $6 billion BART extension to Milpitas and Berryesa is being financed partially from these funds. There is a $900 million federal grant. State funds and money raised from sales tax measures passed by county voters in 2000 and 2008 represent over $1 billion dollars up to 2010. Modern mass transit doesn't work well if it doesn't try to match the automobile's "go anywhere" convenience. That 80% of commuters drive mostly single occupancy vehicles speaks to the success of the growth of automobile use to the point that roads are congested and cannot be easily expanded. Building a BART extension in the East Valley uses the little space left for a good solution. Not reserving the little space left in the West Valley for rail, is extremely short-sighted. Adding highways lanes along SR-85 in the median reserved for Light Rail only keeps cars on the road and doesn't effectively address the goals of reducing air pollution, traffic congestion and, ultimately, greenhouse gas emissions. Large employers such as Google and Apple have addressed the mass transit issue in the West Valley on their own with comfortable, private buses. What about the rest of us?

While better bus service so that West Valley residents can access CalTrain, Light Rail and BART is a good start, $1 billion for a Light Rail line on SR-85 is a paltry sum compared to the $6 billion that will be spent on BART to downtown San Jose. Having only highway lane expansion in the West Valley without addressing congestion points is crazy. It just increases the traffic overflow into local roads in Saratoga and diminishes our quality of life. It doesn't address the long-range transportation demand for moving commuters from South San Jose to Mountain View. In the business world, competition promotes best-in-class solutions. As Santa Clara County voters we should expect the same from our public transit agency. Be visionary and innovate in the tradition of Silicon Valley.