Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a set of innovative bus system enhancements that can provide high quality rapid transit service similar to light rail, but at a fraction of the cost. The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is proposing to introduce over 30 miles of BRT service along Silicon Valley's busiest bus corridors, including El Camino Real. Thanks to dedicated bus lanes, traffic-signal priority, and rapid all-door boarding BRT on El Camino Real can cut transit travel times by half and maintain reliability even in the coming decades when traffic congestion is projected to increase. As part of the transit improvement project, VTA can integrate colored bike lanes, similar to what’s planned on Stevens Creek Boulevard, at no cost to cities, and the agency is considering high-tech transit vehicles with on-board bicycle storage. The Santa Clara City Council voted last week to endorse the Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) plan for BRT along El Camino Real, and over the next few months other city councils along the 17-mile future grand boulevard will vote on whether to give VTA the green light.
The next City to vote on whether or not to move forward with VTA’s proposal is Sunnyvale. If you live, work, or shop along El Camino Real, make sure to express your opinion at the following meetings:
- Sunnyvale Cool General Meeting: Councilmember Chris Moylan talks Bus Rapid Transit
- When: 5/2/12, 7-8:30pm
- Where: Sunnyvale Toyota, Second Floor Classroom, 898 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale CA
- Sunnyvale City Council Study Session on BRT
- When: 5/8/12, 6pm
- Where: Sunnyvale City Hall, West Conference Room, 456 W. Olive Ave
- Sunnyvale City Council Meeting – Council vote on BRT
- When: 5/22/12, 7pm
- Where: Sunnyvale City Hall, West Conference Room, 456 W. Olive Ave
Whether or not you can attend the following meetings, make sure to email your elected representatives and “like” the Silicon Valley BRT Facebook page.
For more information or to get involved, contact TransForm’s Silicon Valley Community Planner.
Comments
Robert Neff
May 4, 2012 - 9:54am
Permalink
As a bus rider, I think BRT
As a bus rider, I think BRT is great.
As a cyclist I have mixed feelings. In Mountain View and Sunnyvale the proposal is to remove a lane of auto traffic on El Camino in favor of 5 buses/hour each way. During the commute, where will that traffic volume go? It will spread out to neighborhood streets adjacent to El Camino, like California in Mountain View, Fremont, Remmington, and Central in Sunnyvale. These parallel streets are very good for cycling now, but narrowing El Camino will make conditions worse on the parallel streets.
I don't see support of cyclists for BRT as a slam dunk.
Jarrett
May 6, 2012 - 4:08pm
Permalink
That's why it's important
That's why it's important that during the environmental review process we ask that mitigation measures be included on parallel streets that ensure they don't become a speedway alternative to El Camino Real and instead traffic is directed to more auto-oriented alternatives like Central and Foothill.
Also, El Camino Real is going to change quite a bit over the next 20 years. It's the primary corridor that's been targeted for infill development which means many more people are going to live and work along the street. If all they have are car lanes in front of their building, then the message will be loud and clear– you need to drive. However, if they have a multimodal street with great bike infrastructure and reliable transit, they won't drive as much. Heck, they may even cycle more and become interested in this organization!
Ed M.
May 24, 2012 - 1:54pm
Permalink
I read in today's Mercury
I read in today's Mercury News that Sunnyvale has backed out of this plan. Does that spell the end of it, since Santa Clara and Mountain View would be separated by an auto-dominated no man's land?
Chris Lepe
May 24, 2012 - 2:27pm
Permalink
Yes, I think this effectively
Yes, I think this effectively kills the hopes for true BRT service west of Santa Clara, although because Santa Clara unanimously approved moving forward with BRT planning, it may be that the VTA Board could develop dedicated lanes, buffered bike lanes, and ped improvements within the boundaries of that City. Because Sunnyvale has voted against the project it's also likely that Mountain View will vote against the proposal and possibly Los Altos as well. We were banking on Sunnyvale saying yes to dedicated lanes to have a fighting chance in the other cities. As far as next steps, I think VTA is trying to figure out exactly how to move forward - stay tuned for the next VTA Board meeting where the project will be discussed. For the agenda: http://www.vta.org/inside/boards/packets/2012/06_jun/bod_060712_packet.pdf. You can also stay plugged into the organizing effort by "liking" TransForm's "Friends of Silicon Valley BRT" Facebook page or emailing Chris Lepe at clepe@transformca.org. On our part, I think the focus will now turn to San Carlos and Stevens Creek to make sure we have a successful model of BRT in Silicon Valley that the El Camino cities can then look at and say "wow, we want that!". Big thanks to SVBC for endorsing El Camino BRT and helping spread the word. We hope to work more closely with you on Stevens Creek as that planning effort gets kicked off within the coming months.
Chris Lepe
May 24, 2012 - 2:32pm
Permalink
Just to clarify, BRT on El
Just to clarify, BRT on El Camino Real could potentially be re-visited in the future, especially if the auto dealerships that came to kill the project are engaged and a win-win agreement could be made with them. Also, several Councilmembers were adamant about improving N/S service before investing on El Camino - perhaps if VTA addresses those needs, El Camino BRT could be explored later on. It's just sad that the Council didn't think that the highest ridership VTA transit route and that people that depend on it didn't deserve this level of an upgrade at this time.