As part of Governor Brown's focus on reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions while advancing the state’s public transportation system, $390 million dollars in grant money has been awarded to 14 transportation projects. One of these is the long anticipated expansion of BART to Santa Clara and San Jose.
The ultimate goal of this funding is to transform California's transportation system and, as part of that, reduce emissions, expand mobility options and create new jobs.
Image courtesy of BART.gov
The BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension is a piece of that puzzle. Phase II includes a 16-mile expansion of BART into Santa Clara County, 5 miles of which is a subway tunnel through downtown san Jose. The end of the line for Phase II will be near the Caltrain Station in Santa Clara.
Expanding BART into the South Bay opens up new transportation opportunities for those who commute up and down the peninsula for work as well as provides more options for public transportation for leisure activities.
Phase II also includes new BART stations:
1. Alum Rock
Located between US 101 and 28th Street in northeast San Jose. Station features include a ground-level plaza, below-ground concourse and boarding platform, bicycle storage facilities, passenger drop-off/pick-up areas, and integrated parking with development.
2. Downtown San Jose Station-West Option
Located between Market and Fourth Streets in downtown San Jose, the Downtown San Jose Station would consist of below-ground concourse and boarding platform levels with bicycle facilities. The station is planned to include multiple entrances and would be conveniently located at the convergence of VTA light rail service and several VTA bus lines.
3. Downtown San Jose Station-East Option
Located between Second and Sixth Streets in downtown San Jose, the Downtown San Jose Station would consist of below-ground concourse and boarding platform levels with bicycle facilities. The station is planned to include multiple entrances and would be conveniently located at the convergence of VTA light rail service and several VTA bus lines.
4. Diridon Station
The Diridon Station would be located just south of West Santa Clara Street, between Autumn Street and the San Jose Diridon Caltrain Station. This station would consist of below-ground concourse and boarding platform levels. Street level pedestrian connections would be provided to the San Jose Diridon Caltrain Station, and VTA’s Diridon and San Fernando light rail stations. This station would also include bicycle facilities.
5. Santa Clara Station
The terminus of the VTA's BART Silicon Valley Extension would be Santa Clara Station, located adjacent to the Santa Clara Caltrain Station and Santa Clara University. Santa Clara Station would be a ground-level station, with a below-ground concourse. The station would also include a bus transit center, bicycle storage facilities, passenger drop-off/pick-up areas, and a multi-level parking structure.
Additional projects that will receive funding include:
- Commuter and intercity rail projects in northern California, such as expanded ACE, San Joaquin and Capitol Corridor service, that will link the high-speed rail project to millions of Californians through shared stations in the Bay Area and the Central Valley
- Expanded capacity for Los Angeles Union Station
- Commuter and intercity rail projects in southern California, such as expanded Metrolink, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, and Coaster service that will link the high-speed rail project to millions of Californians through shared stations in the south
- Street car, light rail, and high-frequency bus projects all around the state that expand transit ridership with zero-emission vehicles well suited to the achievement of climate goals
- Investments in stronger integration between local transit and the statewide high speed, intercity and regional rail network, such as those underway in Fresno, that grow ridership and increase the utilization of existing services
- Expansion of the intercity rail network into new markets, such as the Coachella Valley and the Central Coast, and development of zero emission services on the intercity feeder bus network
More information available at CalSTA.gov and VTA.org
