By Robert Haugh
The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will give an update on the “BART Phase II Project” at a Santa Clara City Council study session tonight.
Last year, the VTA staff couldn’t answer some big questions about a Santa Clara Station that was promised to voters in sales tax campaigns.
That’s when Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilwoman Karen Hardy asked about how the community could trust the VTA when they proposed cutting the Santa Clara BART station in the past.
The VTA staff made it clear in last year’s presentation that they need tracks in Santa Clara for a maintenance facility. But they couldn’t offer any guarantees that there would be a station.
Last year, VTA hadn’t purchased a key property on Brokaw for the Santa Clara site.
Let’s see if they’ve made any progress this year. If they haven’t, it’s a sign that they’re not serious about the station.
The BART Phase II Project is expensive and will require federal funding. But according to transportation experts, it has low ridership. So that means it may not get federal dollars. We’ll have to vote on another BART tax to fund this project.
Dear Community,
That is the exact same scenarios being used by VTA to cut out the Promised and approved Light Rail Station at Ocala Avenue and Capitol Expressway.
VTA came to the Community telling and showing us a nice new pretty Light Rail Station at this very populated corner in the East Valley.
Now VTA,using ten year old Transit Ridership Numbers says its not practical to put a Station there.
But I order to get approval for BRT and BART, they used FUTURE Ridership Numbers.
Our position is this – since the last Community Counts – the Numbers of Families have Doubled, Tripled, and Quadrupled in our Community.
Not to mention the Future Housing at the Reid-Hillview Airport.
Be very assured that VTA will not follow through on promises.
This is my opinion.
In Community Spirit,
Danny Garza
President
Plata Arroyo Neighborhood Association and Eastgate N.A.C.
Why would we trust anyone from the govt?
The same govt that tells us to save water in a bucket but takes our tax money for increasing reservoir capacity and does nothing?
No BART to Santa Clara—-it’s redundant we have Caltrain electrified to Santa Clara buses etc. 1 billion to go 1 mile where so many ways electric to get there. And the maintenance yard in Hayward was just improved with lots of tax money just use that maintenance yard . Climate crisis demands degrowth. Realign meAsure b… stop BART to Santa Clara!