By Robert Haugh
Valley Fair, the successful shopping center shared by Santa Clara and San Jose, will start to charge for parking on February 8.
The first two hours are free. But after that, shoppers, restaurant patrons, and moviegoers will have to pay.
Here are the new parking charges:
- 0-2 hours FREE;
- 2-3 hours $1;
- 3-4 hours $2;
- 4-5 hours $3;
- 5-6 hours $4;
- 6-7 hours $5;
- 7-8 hours $6;
- 8-9 hours $7;
- 9-10 hours $8;
- 10-11 hours $9;
- 12+ hours a maximum daily rate of $10.
ICON Theatre movie watchers will get validations for four hours of free parking. After that, the first $1-per-hour charge kicks in.
In a press release, Westfield Valley Fair Sr. General Manager Sue Newsom said that there are “substantial number of vehicles left on site each day by individuals heading off to work elsewhere in the Silicon Valley community or embarking upon travel plans at the nearby San Jose International Airport.”
But employees will have to pay, too. It’ll be $40 a month, or $3 a day, for designated employee parking spots in the subterranean Stevens Creek garage or at any of the mall’s rooftop levels.
The employer or the individual employees may purchase the parking passes.
Valet Park is also an option at the mall’s South Valet Station on Stevens Creek Boulevard and its North Valet Station on Forest Avenue.
Valley Fair also has a designated drop-off and pick-up station for Uber and Lyft vehicles.
(Waving my arms in the air like a blind fortune teller): Given that this is a part of San Jose that is going to “densify” without sufficient parking spaces (i.e. less than 2 parking spaces per unit) — I foresee massive irritation directed at San Jose City government. No, people won’t bike to the airport or to their jobs when those jobs are further away than 5-8 miles or when someone needs to make multiple trips due to needing child care or when someone has a job that requires a vehicle, etc. This is stupid planning. Smart planning wouldn’t try to Frankenstein existing infrastructure along auto traffic arteries. Smart planning would place, at least at first, small dense areas off to one side of existing traffic arteries — allowing people to use existing auto infrastructure in order to go to work, etc., while building “utopia” in small starter regions for those who plan to live their lives within 5 dense square blocks (or whatever). As for public transportation – well Ok but make it work well. Smart planning would create an express style transportation, let’s say bus for the heck of it, with sufficient parking available on its ends, that goes quickly to major common locations, such as to a hospital or to the airport.
Sigh. Due to a family member’s disability, we usually take more than 2 hours. This should be illegal, but they know I won’t pay a lawyer to enforce the ADA. It’s all about the money….