In Silicon Valley — heart of the global innovation economy — it makes sense to have ambitions for both world-class transit and great urban places. That’s why extending service south from Fremont through Milpitas and into the heart of San Jose has been the aspiration of a generation of South Bay leaders, businesses and residents. Their dream is being realized, and two extension projects are now under construction. In Alameda County, the BART extension to Warm Springs/South Fremont will begin service in 2015. In Santa Clara County, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is building through to San Jose’s district. Service to these stations will begin in 2017.
But getting the next phase of the project funded has stirred up strong feelings — and provided a reminder of all we need to keep in mind when making decisions about long-term transit infrastructure investments.
As initially planned, would include four additional stations beyond Berryessa: Alum Rock, Downtown San Jose, Diridon Station and Santa Clara. A 5-mile long subway tunnel would serve the first three of these stations. This past fall, VTA was preparing to seek federal funding for the Phase II extension, hoping to build on the momentum of a successful application for the Phase I project, as well as a supportive administration at the Federal Transit Administration. (Phase I received $900 million in FTA New Starts funding to match $1.4 billion in local and state funding.) To make the project competitive for funding from the program, VTA presented a two-station project alternative, with stations in downtown San Jose and at Diridon Station only. But the possible removal of the Alum Rock station met with strong community opposition. Considering both the opposition and the need to develop a viable financial plan to complete environmental clearance, VTA is now , which the agency’s board of directors will move forward for federal funding in 2016.
The BART Silicon Valley Extension is the largest urban investment the South Bay will make for decades. Decisions made today will be a legacy for generations to come. The route alignment, station locations, station designs, surrounding land uses and sources of financing (both capital for the project and ongoing funding for the operations) will determine whether or not BART Silicon Valley actually achieves its promise. That’s why it was appropriate for and revisit the best way to make this extension a reality.
What Is the Promise of BART?
The BART system was dreamed up in the immediate post-WWII years to solve the . The Bay Area experienced tremendous growth throughout the 1950s and ’60²õ and in subsequent decades, but much of that growth was suburban and car-oriented. BART offered a promise of rail commutes and the strengthening of the traditional centers, downtown Oakland and downtown San Francisco.
Since BART began service in 1971, our expectations have evolved. The former suburbs that BART largely serves have become employment and commercial centers in their own right. The BART system is now valued as a tool for building great cities and neighborhoods, for addressing climate change and for improving social equity. BART’s impact on the region’s growth has been mixed. Some stations in the urban core saw little to no new development (e.g., North Berkeley). In other instances, BART may have helped fuel outward growth (particularly in Contra Costa County) since it enabled people to live farther from their jobs without increasing their travel time. There is no doubt that downtown San Francisco would not have (from 26 million to 55 million square feet) without BART.
The same evolution of expectations has been true for the BART Silicon Valley extension. What began as an approach to solve traffic on congested highways in job-rich Santa Clara County is now viewed by many as a way to develop thriving neighborhoods and job centers, enabling people to live a lifestyle where transit is a viable travel option.
The Original BART Plan
Source: From San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Supplemental Estimates, June 6, 1960, Parsons-Brinckerhoff-Tudor-Bechtel. UC Berkeley Library via .
In the 1950s, the BART system’s early designers conceived of a five-county district. But after San Mateo County opted out, Santa Clara lost its proximity and its ability to join the system. The final BART district included only three counties: San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa. The reasoning was that the Southern Pacific commuter line (now Caltrain) provided adequate rail transit for the peninsula and South Bay. In the 1980s and 1990s, enough South Bay planners and leaders were interested in connecting to BART that early corridor studies were done for some type of rail connection. Later, the focus shifted to a complete San Jose extension, which became more of a reality in 2000, when Santa Clara County voters approved , a half-cent 30-year sales tax for BART and other transit projects.
A compared options for mass transit from Fremont BART to San Jose Diridon Station. BART through east San Jose was chosen as the solution. But because BART is heavy rail and is not off-the-shelf transit technology, it costs substantially more to build and operate compared to other options considered. (For this reason, for the BART extension from Pittsburg/Bay Point to East Costa County.) A Santa Clara station was included because it added political support for BART from a third Santa Clara County city, addressed the need for a BART maintenance facility and provided a connection point for a people mover to the Mineta San Jose International Airport.
A lot has changed since the 2000 sales tax and the original BART studies:
- San Jose’s new general plan. In 2011, the City of San Jose adopted , a general plan that aims to fundamentally change neighborhoods and transportation to support walking and biking and significantly increase transit use. In fact, the plan calls for San Jose to reduce driving from 80 percent of all trips to only 40 percent. However, with the closure of state redevelopment agencies and the fiscal challenges of the Great Recession, the city has fewer staff and fewer resources to jumpstart achieving Envision 2040.
- A revolution in urban transportation. Urban transportation is going through the biggest paradigm shift since the automobile. Uber and Lyft — even Google Maps and the iPhone — did not exist when BART Silicon Valley was first planned. In the 1990s and the 2000s, a multi-modal or car-light lifestyle seemed out of reach — especially in more suburban areas. Today, autonomous vehicles are being developed right here in Silicon Valley and could .
- The urbanization of tech. Silicon Valley, and the innovation economy itself, is quickly urbanizing and becoming transit-oriented. The highest rents in the region are in transit-accessible places like downtown Palo Alto and San Francisco. Many tech companies are relocating to urban places to attract talent that wants to live and work in dense environments. New development is being built at higher densities, and companies are relying more on commute alternatives, including transit. However, little of this development is currently happening near future BART stations.
- A changed role for transit. Our view of transit has shifted. It is now seen as key to