san jose | 511 Contra Costa

$40 Million Towards Silicon Valley BART Project

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Photo credit: miggslives 
Hot off the heels its 40th Anniversary it seems exciting days are ahead for BART. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) recently received $40 million to help fund an extension of the current BART system into San Jose, Milpitas and Santa Clara. The funds were obtained through the California Transportation Commission’s Traffic Congestion Relief Program.
Once completed, the 16-mile extension will finally provide BART service to the Bay Area’s largest city, San Jose, and help accommodate what appears to be an ever growing demand for public transportation.
Learn more about the project over at the Valley Transportation Authority.

Bikeshare Coming to San Jose Fall 2012

Good news! San Jose will be getting a bikeshare program as part of a larger, Bay Area wide bikeshare launch this Fall! The timing couldn’t be better, now that San Jose is finally getting more bike lanes.
Bikeshare bicycles
Bikeshare dock in D.C. Photo credit: Trinity Quirk
Of 1,000 rental bikes to be placed across the Bay area, about 400 will be shared among San Jose, Mountain View and Palo Alto in Santa Clara County. The bikeshare program will also be part of a newer generation of bikeshare, offering cool features such as wireless internet solar powered stations and GPS technology.
The Bay Area bikeshare program is expected to make bicycling a viable option for shorter trips around downtowns and close to transit, reducing car use, parking and pollution. This allows the program to be funded by various local and regional grants, including a 4.3 million dollar grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Climate Initiatives Grant program.
So where will you be able to get your hands (and feet) on these bikes? Currently there are no specific locations picked out but Aiko Cuenco, the Santa Clara County project manager for the bikeshare wants the program to be accessible, as she notes in this San Jose article:

“We’re really going to push to make the pilot program really marketable and accessible to people, so that everybody knows the program is out there and try it out and see if it works as part of their daily way of getting around town”

Read more about the bikeshare program over sanjose.com, and check out San Francisco Examiner for an update on bikeshare in The City

This Week's Headlines in Transportation and Transit: Nov. 26 – Dec. 2, 2011

Caldecott Tunnel workers see light, BART is one step closer to San Jose, local bike shops you should check out. Read our weekly news & events roundup for Contra Costa County, East Bay & Bay Area for transit, biking and transportation.