One VTA Board of Directors’ member replaces another that retired after Super Bowl 50. A new Caltrain schedule will feature three bicycle cars on some trains. Cupertino and Palo Alto want their own local taxes to relieve traffic congestion. An online vote to help name a future BART station in East San Jose. Details on all this are below as we catch up on some recent transit news in Santa Clara County.
O’Neill Takes Matthews’ VTA Board Seat
Immediately after Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara ended, Santa Clara Mayor (and VTA Board of Directors’ member) Jamie Matthews retired from office. Matthews’ sudden retirement was originally reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Taking his place on the VTA Board of Directors: Vice Mayor Teresa O’Neill. Here is Vice Mayor O’Neill’s background and how to contact her.
Back in February, I wrote an email to the VTA Board of Directors’ secretary regarding how VTA Board Members are replaced should they leave office for any reason. The response I received follows:
In response to your question regarding process for board appointment, city groupings appoint Board Members and Alternate Board Members to the VTA Board of Directors. The cities have their own process in appointing a representative to the VTA Board and the city grouping collectively decide who will be the regular member(s) and who will be the alternate.
The VTA Board of Directors’ page has also been updated to reflect the replacement. (Photo above is courtesy of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee.)
Three Bike Cars, Other Caltrain Service Changes April 4
On April 4, Caltrain will publish a revised timetable for the rail service between San Francisco and San Jose. As part of the change, bicycle capacity on its two-door train cars made by Bombardier increases to 72 – a 50% bicycle capacity increase on those cars. A ceremony celebrating these changes takes place April 4 at 8am at Caltrain’s 4th and King train station in San Francisco.
Two Cities Want Their Own Sales Taxes For Traffic Fixes
Cupertino and Palo Alto are not waiting for VTA to help resolve their cities’ traffic woes. A March 9 story in the San Francisco Chronicle featured Barry Chang, current Mayor of Cupertino, pitching a business tax. This business tax would charge employers of 100 or more workers $1,000 per employee. Revenue from the tax would go towards projects like additional shuttle buses between Cupertino and Caltrain in Sunnyvale. (Note that VTA already provides two bus lines linking Caltrain in Sunnyvale and Cupertino – the 53 and 55 – with the 55 running 7 days a week.)
Mayor Chang, as of this writing, is also running for California State Assembly. Per a San Jose Mercury News story, Chang paid a $3,500 fine to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for failing to disclose campaign contributions during his 2014 Cupertino mayoral and State Assembly campaigns.
Meanwhile, Palo Alto is considering its own local business tax. A San Jose Mercury News story highlights how this tax will supplement any county 1/2-cent sales tax raising $6 billion over 30 years that passes. Palo Alto feels that county tax won’t be enough to fulfill its needs. To qualify for the November ballot, Palo Alto City Council must approve the ballot language for this tax before going on summer break July 2.
Both cities – and others in Santa Clara County – must heed advice in a recent Mountain View Voice editorial on transit priorities. In particular, don’t ignore public transit for short-term highway fixes. Citizens in these and other cities need to better educate themselves on where their money goes for transit and highways in Santa Clara County. One way to know: read the VTA’s 2016-2017 fiscal year budget:
The reading and its knowledge will do you good.
Name That (East San Jose) BART Station
An online runoff vote for the future BART station is taking place. Voters have until April 8 to cast their ballot for what the future BART station in the Five Wounds Church area of East San Jose. Input from the vote will help VTA in naming the future BART station.
Things To Consider
- What do you think of Teresa O’Neill being on the VTA Board of Directors? How effective will she be (if any)?
- What are your thoughts on the additional bike cars on Caltrain starting April 4?
- Will Cupertino and Palo Alto get their sales tax proposals on the November 2016 ballot? If so, will you vote for or against them? What alternatives for raising revenue do you think either city should have?
- What will you plan on naming the upcoming BART station in eastern San Jose?
Put your thoughts – and ideas – in the Comments section below.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users
Great news on the additional bike capacity. We’ll see what the Vice Mayor does.