The Historic San Jose (Holiday) Trolley is back

A 96-year-old trolley filled with holiday spirit will be running on weekends before and after Christmas. Rides on the 32-seat trolley are free. It's the VTA's gift to the community.

I have ridden it several times and it feels more like an amusement attraction than public transportation. It's a fun experience, especially combined with Christmas in the park.

The trains will run from Diridon Station to the Civic Center, on December 21, 22, 28, and 29.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

VTA providing funding to help build transit villages in San Jose

The VTA is going to provide 14 grants up to $175,000 to help spur housing and commercial development within a 10 minute walk from three key VTA light rail stations. Those neighborhoods are Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara Street, 28th Street.

Funding will come from ground leases on land the VTA already owns. No new taxes are required.

This is a great initiative as we absolutely need to densify areas around key transportation routes. It is the only way to grow without contributing to the ever-worsening Silicon Valley traffic. 

Source: NBC Bay Area

Bascom Station has started leasing

Bascom Station appears to have started leasing their apartments. This is a 590 apartment project in an 8-story building. It's located right next to the Bascom VTA Light Rail station at 1350 S. Bascom Avenue. There are also several retail pads on the ground floor available for lease and a 200,000 SQFT office building next door that is still under construction.

This is a great example of a mixed-use infill project near transit. Previously this area just had 76,894 SQFT of commercial space.

Source: RebecaG from Skyscraper City 

VTA's old campus will become housing

What will become of the old VTA office space when they move into the shiny blue tower at 488 South Almaden in Downtown San Jose? They currently have over 200,000 SQFT of space in North San Jose. It turns out that the 17-acre campus at 3331 North First Street will likely become housing. 

The VTA is not planning to sell the property after moving into it's new home. Instead they are planning to ground lease the land for transit-oriented development projects. VTA has not announced which developers they plan to work with.

The property could support up to 1,300 new homes and the location is in the Golden Triangle near thousands of San Jose tech companies. 

In order for this project to move forward, VTA will have to move into it's new home first. This isn't expected until 2026.

Source: SVBJ

VTA moving workers into one of Downtown San Jose's nicest office buildings

The shiny blue tower at 488 South Almaden (forever in my mind as the Sobrato Tower) has a new owner. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) has chosen it as it's new home. They had previously been looking for up to 500,000 SQFT to lease with an option to buy.

The 17-story tower has 379,000 SQFT and stunning views of Downtown San Jose. I attended an event on the penthouse floor many years ago and at the time it was by far the nicest office building I had ever been to.

The VTA has taken advantage of a challenging office market with over 3 million SQFT of office space up for grabs in Downtown San Jose. This purchase will certainly make a dent in office vacancies when VTA workers move in around 2026.

The new office space will be just minutes away from two VTA Lightrail Stations and several bus routes.

Source: SiliconValley.com

Blossom Hill housing project moves forward

A parking lot at the Blossom Hill VTA station is getting one step closer to becoming a 328 home project. The six-story building will have 239 market-rate homes and 14,000 SQFT of retail on the ground floor. A five-story building across the street will have 89 affordable housing units. The project would also create a new transit plaza for South San Jose VTA riders and a walking/biking trail along Canoas Creek.

While the project was approved in 2022, not a lot has happened. The affordable housing component just received a $5.5 million boost from the government.

In a best-case scenario, the affordable housing piece will start construction in the summer of 2025 with the market rate portion to follow.

Source: SVBJ

VTA will get $5 billion from Federal Government to extend BART to Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara

Yesterday a huge step was just taken to secure BART's subway and four station extension to Little Portugal, Downtown San Jose, Diridon (Downtown West), and Santa Clara. The Federal Transit Administration has made a commitment of $5 billion towards the BART SV Phase II project. This was the second largest financial commitment of all time to a single transit project.

The total cost is still $12.7 billion. Nearly $5 billion will be funded by taxes and the state will also chip in nearly a couple billion. The VTA believes they have now secured nearly all of the required funds and closing the remaining gap is within reach.

The estimated completion of the long-awaited project is now 2037. During construction, the project is expected to support 75,000 jobs.

Source: VTA

VTA board green lights Eastridge Light Rail extension

Finally, the Eastridge Light Rail extension is officially approved. The project will extend VTA Light Rail from the Alum Rock Station to the Eastridge Transit Center, which is 2.4 miles further down Capital Expressway.

The total cost will clock in at a whopping $653 million, which is $122 million over the original budget. This amount will be covered by the VTA's debt reduction fund.

There is one nice silver lining. The extension is expected to be completed 350 days faster than originally estimated. Trains should be running to the new station by 2028.

Source: SVBJ

Estimated BART costs go up again

If you thought $12.2 billion was astronomical for a 6-mile, 4-station extension... I don't have good news. The Federal Transit Administration now thinks the project will cost $12.8 billion and the timeline will be extended to 2037. Reasons behind the cost increase are primarily the volatility of labor and supply costs.

13 years is a long time. We might be living in a post-AGI word (artificial general intelligence) where costs for design and construction could be significantly lower than expected or perhaps new transit options will arise that were not feasible in the past. While I have voted for the BART extension every single time, the consistent increase of cost estimates and timeline adjustments is concerning.

Source: SVBJ

VTA partnering with Beep on autonomous shuttle pilot program

The VTA is leaning into transit innovation by testing out new options for getting people from point A to B. They announced a partnership with a company called Beep that provides a low-speed autonomous shuttle service in a geofenced area.

The first test pilot would be at the Veteran Administration's office in Palo Alto and the autonomous shuttles would replace golf carts that are currently used to move people from building to building. The shuttles will still have a human attendant that can over-ride anything the shuttle is attempting to do.

The pilot was supposed to start several years ago but was delayed by covid. Hopefully it will be one of many as there are several places where a shuttle like this would be useful (Downtown San Jose, Willow Glen, Japantown, perhaps even suburban areas like Evergreen with limited public transit options). I rode a similar shuttle on Treasure Island by a company called Loop and it was great.

Beep also has another pilot in the area. They partnered with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority on a similar shuttle that goes through San Ramon's Bishop Ranch business park.

Source: SVBJ

The VTA is getting their first batch of new hybrid buses

While metro and rail line extensions are very exciting, they also now cost billions of dollars these days. If you look at the amount of value per dollar in public transit, it is still very tough to beat investing in buses. 

The VTA ordered up 92 "state-of-the-art" hybrid buses that cost $822k each. The buses can operate in all-electric mode for up to 10 miles and improve fuel economy by up to 25% over the old diesel buses they are replacing. Each bus has a 36-passenger seat layout with USB mobile charging ports and wireless stop request buttons.

The first two buses have already arrived and the VTA is now expecting six new buses each week.

Source: San Jose Inside

 

RIP Apollo tower, site of proposed San Jose high-rise sold to VTA

The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has purchased two parcels of land that were meant to meant to become a 20-story, Las Vegas-style, 472-unit tower at the corner of Stockton Avenue and Santa Clara Street. The design was quite striking as you can see below.

The VTA is going to use this parcel for the first phase of California High Speed Rail, which might actually beat BART to Downtown San Jose. If the tower was built, the costs to complete Diridon would rise exponentially.

Hopefully this design could be reused on another Urban Catalyst project in Downtown San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Tamien Station broke ground

A 555-unit midrise project just broke ground in the Tamien neighborhood just south of Downtown San Jose. It's a partnership between the VTA, Core Companies, and Republic Urban Properties and will cost around $270 million to build across three phases.

Phase one is 135 affordable housing units with a 3,000 SQFT daycare. It'll have 20 studios, 44 one-bedroom, 37 two-bedroom, and 34 three-bedroom apartments.

One of the highlights of this project is it will have immediate access to a Caltrain, VTA Lightrail, and multiple VTA bus lines.

Source: SF Yimby

Latest San Jose BART Updates

VTA released a new conceptional video of the new BART station planned for Diridon. The teal accents are a nice nod to the San Jose Sharks. Below the Diridon video is an older one showing the plan for the Downtown San Jose Station, which is just a half-dozen blocks or so away from Diridon.

Hat tip to MrAronymous from the San Jose Development Forum.

San Jose is a top city for public transit ridership increase

Between 2010 and 2017, public transit ridership increased by 11% in the US while car use only increased by 6%. What is more interesting--and perhaps shocking--is that San Jose's use of public transit shot up by 46.7%. This was the largest increase in the country during this time period.

Now 46.7% of a small number is still a small number. San Jose didn't rank in the top 10 cities for actual public transportation trips even though we are the 10th largest city in the US. In fact, much smaller cities like Portland, Baltimore, and Boston pushed us to 13th place when it comes to actual usage. That being said, the growth rate is reassuring that things are headed in the right direction and one day we will have more options of getting from Point A to Point B.

BART may finally open in December and that will definitely help our standings. Traffic is getting out of hand, a robust transit system will benefit everyone including those that still want to drive.

For more info and stats, hit the link below.

Source: STORAGECafe

VTA's Holly Trolley is back for the holidays!

VTA has a special historic train all decked out for the holidays that loops around Downtown San Jose. The train runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from November 23rd to December 30th. It runs on the Light Rail tracks between the Civic Center and Diridon Station and is completely free. It is worth seeking out if you are visiting Christmas in the Park, Downtown Ice, or any other Downtown holiday attraction.

For a timetable, click here.

Downtown San Jose BART Station renders

Now that the construction methodology has been finalized for the BART subway in San Jose (single bore), let's have a quick look at the stunning station that is being planned for Downtown San Jose. To call the current design "open" would be a serious understatement. From the lowest point you can look up to the ceiling 145 feet or so above. The layout is modern and welcoming with high tech flourishes throughout. Check out the renders below of what will become one of the most iconic stations in the BART network.

Source: Robertee from the San Jose Development Forum

VTA moving forward with single-bore subway for BART

There has been a heated debate on whether to use a twin bore or single bore subway for BART's extension from Berryessa to Downtown San Jose. Proponents of the single bore argued that it would greatly minimize disruption to Downtown businesses as it would avoid gutting all of Santa Clara Street. It would also cut the construction timeline by as much as a year. On the other hand, this type of subway has never been built in the United States and would not be consistent with the rest of the BART system. In the end, VTA staff has officially recommended single bore.

The $4.7 billion tunnel will have a diameter of 47 feet, enough to accommodate two lines stacked on top of one another (see image below). This also means that all of the stations will be on one side of the street.

Two other important related decisions were also made. There a couple options for the Downtown Station: City Hall and on Market and 1st Street. By choosing single bore, VTA was able to select the more central Market/1st Street location without having to shut down the Light Rail line during construction. The second decision was the alignment of the Diridon station. With single bore the station can be built right under Santa Clara Street with easier access to SAP, all without having to close the street down during construction.

Source: SVBJ

New mixed-use project proposed off Bascom and Southwest Expressway

Bay West Development is proposing a significant residential and office development right next to Bascom Light Rail station. The 6.4-acre project would have 447 residential units and 200,000 SQFT of commercial space. Today the site is a half-empty strip mall and smog testing station. The residential building would be eight stories (respectable density outside of Downtown) while the office building would be seven stories. There would also be an undisclosed amount of retail on the ground floor and a landscaped public space connecting the two buildings.

Source: SVBJ

VTA's BART Phase II Update

Below is a webinar with the latest updates on the $4.69 billion BART Phase II project. This will be the most expensive transit project in Silicon Valley history and add a subway through Downtown San Jose with three stations along with a new terminus station in Santa Clara.

The video is 40 minutes long, but well worth watching if you are interested in transportation projects. One question that came up multiple times is why the heck we are building a completely redundant station in Santa Clara that is already serviced by Caltrain instead of evaluating running BART to San Jose International or Santana Row. Unfortunately, the response was very mediocre--it takes a long time to plan these projects and voters already voted for this specific alignment. I have to say that is a disappointing answer and is completely misaligned with the pace of change in Silicon Valley. It will be 9 years (at least) until this project is completed, so we should make sure we build that most effective system that will maximize utilization instead of making multi-billion dollar errors because we did the easy thing instead of the right thing.

BART itself is built on 45 year old technology. I have been a huge advocate and supporter, but honestly am starting to have doubts that BART will be the most effective transportation solution in 2026. Self-driving cars will completely change the transportation landscape within a decade, and costs will come dangerously close to public transit for point-to-point transportation in a private cabin. I hope that VTA is agile enough to keep up with transit innovations and make sure we are building these epic projects for the future and not for the past.

Video Link