• What is the Project Background?
  
• What are the goals of the project?
  
• What will be included in the Station Area Plan?
  
• How will the Plan be prepared?
  

What is the Project Background?

The heart of the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County has historically been one of the region’s fastest growing employment and residential centers. While growth has been slow in the past five years following the dotcom collapse, projections indicate that growth in the County will remain strong over the next 25 years—population is expected to increase by 27 percent, while employment growth is expected to increase by 37 percent (ABAG Projections 2003).

With its strong concentration of high technology employment, Santa Clara County attracts workers from the East Bay and beyond, making the county’s Fremont-South Bay corridor one of the most congested corridors in the Bay Area. With increases in people and jobs over the next 25 years, work trip growth along the corridor is expected to increase 92 percent (VTA Countywide Model, 2005). As a result, alleviating traffic conditions, expanding transportation capacity, and improving future transit mobility will continue to be a high priority for both the county and the region. 

The most significant planned improvement for the Fremont-South Bay corridor is the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor (SVRTC) Project. Stretching over 20 miles from Union City to the cities of Fremont, Milpitas, San José, and Santa Clara, the SVRTC is envisioned as a key connection within the Bay Area transportation network. In November 2001, the BART Extension to Milpitas, San José, and Santa Clara was selected as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the SVRTC. The 16.3-mile extension would include six to seven proposed stations and one future station between Fremont and Santa Clara, with the Santa Clara Transit Center forming the terminus.

The Santa Clara Station Area Plan is primarily funded through grant funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).  In November 2001, MTC  adopted Resolution 3434 and the Transit-Oriented Development Policy, which include provisions for housing and ridership as criteria for receiving regional funding for the BART extension. According to the TOD Policy, each station along the corridor must meet an average threshold of 3,850 housing units within a half-mile radius to provide adequate ridership. However, some stations may accommodate more housing units than others, depending upon site conditions, access, and transit connectivity. These factors will be accounted for in each station plan and will help determine the actual distribution of housing units throughout the corridor.

Development and expansion of the Santa Clara Transit Center will play a critical role in supporting housing growth and ridership levels within the SVRTC. With the Transit Center’s multiple rail and bus connections, the new BART station is projected to be one of the busiest in the corridor, with over 19,000 estimated daily boardings and alightings, in addition to Caltrain, ACE, and Capitol riders (VTA Countywide Model, 2005).

What are the goals of the project?

Key objectives of the plan include:

• Develop Santa Clara Transit Center Station area as a vibrant destination where people desire to live, work, dine, shop, and be entertained.
• Enhance multi-modal connectivity for pedestrians, bicyclists, automobile drivers, and Caltrain, ACE, Capitol Corridor and VTA bus riders.
• Integrate the future BART and San Jose Airport People Mover into the Transit Center and local land uses.
• Create a well integrated transit center that is navigable, accessible, and adaptable using principles of Inclusive/Universal Design.
• Achieve high-density mixed-use Transit Oriented Development.
• Maximize and prioritize pedestrian, bike and transit access to the Transit Center.
• Create a barrier-free environment by integrating the Transit Center with future development, including the United Defense site and the FMC Corporation (FMC) site developments.
• Meet MTC’s housing threshold set forth in their TOD policy.
• Increase transit ridership by expanding transportation capacity.
• Generate revenue to support transit services through increased ridership and investment in joint development opportunities.
• Prepare a station area plan that will be a model for other regional transit centers/stations.
• Ensure that the Plan and the land uses are well integrated with the surrounding neighborhoods.

What will be included in the Station Area Plan?

The Area Plan will provide direction for land use, urban design, open space, streets, and other improvements in the area through a process guided by participation of community members and decision makers from San José and Santa Clara. The process will help identify key opportunities and challenges, a cohesive vision for the future and the means by which to achieve it. The Plan will include four major elements:

1. Land Use: The Plan will show where new housing, office, parks, and other uses and amenities will be located, and what densities at which these will be built.
2. Circulation and Access: The Plan will provide for safe connections across the rail tracks, and transit improvements and new streets to make traffic flow smoothly. The plan will also provide comprehensive circulation networks for both pedestrian and bicycle movement.
3. Parking Management: The Plan will seek to ensure that adequate parking is available and that new development does not impact existing neighborhoods.
4. Streetscape Plan: The plan will designate key pedestrian and bicycle access routes within the Planning Area, as well as traffic calming strategies and site-specific improvement projects.

How will the Plan be prepared?

The Plan will be prepared with active participation from community members and decisionmakers. The process will include five major phases spread over two years:

1. Evaluation of existing conditions, opportunities, and challenges;
2. Development of alternatives;
3. Preparation of the Draft Plan and implementation documents;
4. Completion of an Environmental Impact Report; and
5. Public hearings for adoption by the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose
.

The process will include public workshops and multiple stakeholder meetings with representatives from both Santa Clara and San Jose.

Designed and maintained by Dyett and Bhatia