Wednesday Wishlist: Light Rail Tunnel

The Achilles heel of the VTA system is unfortunately the Downtown segment where trains slow to a 5mph crawl. My wishlist item for the week is to move all of the light rail track in the Downtown area underground. Some benefits:

• It would cut ~5min from most light rail commute times
• Downtown would be safer as patrons wouldn't have to look over their shoulder for trains
• It would open up key spaces along 1st and 2nd St. (perhaps for kiosks)
• Less noise (wheel squeaking and bells)
• Traffic flow could be improved for cars, bicyclists, and pedicabs
• Easier to keep homeless people from using it as a free transit system

A project like this would have massive costs, but perhaps some of those could be shared with the BART tunneling project. What do you think? Would you miss seeing/hearing the trains?

SJC Lends Helping Hand to SFO

Last week there a ground hold at SFO due to "inclement weather" (i.e. fog). Flights ended up getting diverted to SJC, an airport that stares at you confoundedly when asked about severe weather conditions. Every single flight I've taken out of SJC over the past few years has either left on time or early, and the 3 flights I've had out of the new terminal have been extremely convenient. Dec 26th is one of the busiest travel days of the year and I was able to park, check bags, go through security, and get to the gate in less than 30min. On the flip-side, every flight I have taken out of SFO over the past few years but one has been either delayed or cancelled. The convenience and consistency are why I always try to book out of SJC even if it ends up costing a little bit more.

Thanks Tom for the tip and for the photos below of SFO flights sitting in SJC waiting for the fog to clear up north. I would love to see Virgin planes land here all the time!

Time Lapse Video of Driving in San Jose

Mt. Umunhum Access Coming in 2012

A mountain peak in South San Jose that use to house the Almaden Air Force Station will be open for limited public access starting in 2012. A few years later in 2016, it should be fully open to the public who can come an enjoy panoramic views of Silicon Valley and the Monterey Bay. Check out the videos below for more information:

Happy New Year San Jose! Best Wishes For 2011!

My New Year's Resolution

A couple months ago I stumbled upon a wiki page for Global Cities (also known as World cities). Wikipedia describes a global city as "an important node point in the global economic system" and the criteria include:

• Economic characteristics (corporate headquarters, financial output, cost of living)
• Political characteristics (active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs)
• Culture (notable museums, galleries, lively cultural and music scene, strong community, major sports facilities, educational institutions)
• Infrastructure (advanced transit systems and freeways, extensive mass transit, high-speed communications, prominent skylines).

It turns out that there is actually an organization called the GaWC that tracks all of these characteristics for cities around the world and ranks cities into categories. You have Alpha world cities like New York and London, followed by Beta and Gamma world cities, then you have cities with Sufficiency and High Sufficiency when it comes to these criteria. Spoiler Alert, we didn't do so well. In fact the 2008 report pegged San Jose as being only in the Sufficiency category.

My New Year's resolution is simple. I'm pledging to do whatever I can over the course of my life to help San Jose, regardless of how small it may seem, get from Sufficiency to Alpha World City status. It's a lofty goal, but I'm hoping that doing simple things such as promoting our vibrant culture and new developments will have a snowball effect and encourage more of the things that will put San Jose on the global radar.

The 88 Achieves a Perfect Walk Score!

Walk Score is a website that lets you know how walkable a particular home or neighborhood is. Proximity to restaurants, grocery stores, retail, parks, schools, transit hubs and entertainment all factor into the score. Getting a perfect 100 is near impossible, even in very dense cities. However, one of the downtown San Jose condo projects managed to pull it off. Thanks to being located in the middle of the downtown core, The 88 achieves a perfect 100/100 walk-ability score. After the San Pedro Square Market opens, I imagine Axis will also be very close to 100 (right now it's at 89). For more details, just click here.

Wednesday Wishlist: Flagship Chain Restaurants

If you read this blog regularly, you might have done a double take on the title. I usually promote unique restaurants that bring something new to the city over chain restaurants, but I think there are a few must-have chains that you will only find in fully developed and popular cities. I would call these flagship chains because they are usually gigantic and offer something else besides food to patrons, so even those that don't enjoy the cuisine can still have a great time. They also draw shoppers and tourists like magnets.

Here's my list of Flagship Chain Restaurants I would like to see in San Jose someday:

• Rainforest Cafe
• Hard Rock Cafe
• Planet Hollywood
• House of Blues (Downtown was so close to getting one)
• ESPN Zone  

Do you have any to add to the list? Post in the comments.

Maxim is Moving their Global HQ to San Jose!

Maxim, a multi billion dollar high-tech manufacturing company, is moving their headquarters from Sunnyvale to North San Jose's Golden Triangle (area between 101, 880, and 237). They are also gaining about 150,000 sqft of new space as part of the move, letting them expand operations by up to 20%. Some of the reasons why they are excited about their new space:

• Immediate access to 3 freeways
• Lightrail and ACE access
• Future retail and housing along 1st St.

They should be in their new home by 2012.

North San Pedro Development

It looks like the Barry Swenson housing development in the North San Pedro area downtown is one step closer to breaking ground. The San Jose City Council has approved the sale of 7+ acres for the project, which would encompass 3 high-rises and several townhomes. In total, there will be at least 730 units, 2 new parks, and a realignment of Julian Street back to a traditional grid. Barry hopes to start construction by Summer 2011 and have the first tower open by the end of 2012!