Some recent reads: books, blogs, and other marginalia

High Line Park, New York

Some recent reads. Not all of them directly related to urbanista stuff.

Books

Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier by Edward Glaeser 

Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen

The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs

The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City by alan ehrenhalt

The Rise Of The Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community And Everyday Life by Richard Florida
The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life by Marion Roach Smith

Brew to Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy by Charles Heying

Human Transit: How clear thinking about public transit can enrich our communities and our lives by Jarrett Walker

The High Cost of Free Parking: Donald Shoup

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Guwande

Blogs and Websites

Strong Towns

The San Jose Blog

The HighLine

Other Marginalia

SPUR - San Jose

San Jose Bike Party

Tactical Urbanism

Pecha Kucha

San Jose Bikeshare announces 20 proposed stations

Last Tuesday, May 22, San Jose Bikeshare announced 20 proposed locations to place Bikeshare pods within the downtown and Japantown areas (see Google Map below). Obvious key locations such as City Hall, SJSU, Diridon Station, and the HP Pavillion were included but other key areas of downtown were included as well.

The stations extend from Japantown in the north, Gore Park in the south, Diridon Station in the west, and 9th and San Salvador on the eastern edge of downtown. For those of you who missed the news this summer the city is planning to begin work to close the eastern streetside of Gore Park, South 1st St. to through traffic creating (after Paseo de San Antonio) one of San Jose's few permanent street closures or Paseos.

What do you think of the locations? Could you do any better? Let us know what you think.

For the latest in San Jose Bikeshare news follow them on Twitter.

View San Jose Bike Share - Proposed Locations in a larger map

San Jose Trails update from City Trail Manager Yves Zuetty

View San Jose Trails - Updates from Yves Zuetty in a larger map

San Jose Trails Update - May 2012

Highway 237 Bikeway Construction

Construction of the bikeway project between Zanker Road and Coyote Creek (north side) continues. Asphalt paving, striping and fencing are in place. Opening of the trail is delayed until early June as final work items are completed – installation of bollards, new wheelchair ramps and restoration of a vehicle detection loop at the nearby freeway off-ramp traffic signal. Follow “SanJoseTrails” on Twitter for notification of the trail’s reopening and get more detailed updates and photos by following the Construction Updates.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail Construction

A construction contract has been awarded and the pre-construction meeting occurred on May 23. The City will provide a project schedule and details about phasing during the week of June 4. Weekly project updates are posted on the Construction Updates link found on the Trail Program homepage: www.sjparks.org/trails.

Lower Guadalupe River Trail – Tasman Under-Crossing

A grant has been secured to elevate the under-crossing at Tasman Drive so that it is flooded less frequently from seasonal rains and tidal flows from the Bay. The project is within the limits of the larger Lower Guadalupe River Trail project, however, the City has postponed construction until after the larger trail project is completed. In this way, the 6.4 mile trail project is not subject to a possible seasonal closure that would only occur due to flooding at the under-crossing. The California Transportation Commission approved a grant extension on May 23, 2012. Work on the under-crossing is to get underway immediately after completion of the Lower Guadalupe River Trail project.

Thompson Creek Trail (Tully-Quimby)

Preparation of construction documents is on-going. PG&E has issued a permit and the City has positively identified all utilities along the trail alignment. Funding is in place to construct the 0.65 mile trail (improving the existing interim gravel surface). A schedule for construction will be provided once construction documents are completed.

Doerr Parkway

Two community meetings have occurred for Doerr Parkway project. The west San Jose project will develop a landscaped trail along a short 500' parcel currently used as a utility corridor. Design work is now underway – you’ll find conceptual drawings of the future trail posted at: http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/TrailsMeetings.asp

Los Gatos Creek Trail Under-Crossing (San Carlos Street)

The City has secured $1.6M in grant funding to prepare environmental and construction documents for the under-crossing that will span beneath the West San Carlos Street bridge, active Caltrain/Amtrak railway bridge and future High Speed Rail alignment. A Request for Qualifications was issued on May 24 to hire a design consultant for the project. A schedule will provided at a later date when the project team is hired. A conceptual image of the under-crossing is available.

More locked bike racks downtown… “Bike lots”?

Found this brief post at the blog ThinkBiggerSanJose.

With the movement of the San Jose Bike Party and more bicyclists downtown, there is a growing need for parking lots for bikes or “bike lots. San Jose should take an idea from SJSU, which uses key-card access for enclosed bike racks creating safe places for students’ bikes. These bike spaces should be used within downtown but especially in the SOFA district where South First Fridays happen monthly. Also it would allow tourists to rent bikes and have a safe place to park while shopping or eating. “Bike lots” would give a greater peace of mind than just a bike locked on the street. Let’s make it happen!!!

Upcoming Cycling Events May 23, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Scarlet Johansson has been invited
to the Legs Ride.

San Jose Bike Party

"Legs Ride"

Friday, June 15, 2012

Wheels hit the street at 8:00

Test Ride #1

Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012 at 7:00 PM

Start: Dick's Center, 1390 S. Bascom Ave. San Jose.

Test Ride #2

Thursday, May 31, 7:00 PM

Start: Winchester and Olsen Dr. across from Santana Row.

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San Jose Fixed SJF
15-25 mile Bike Ride
Every Tuesday 6:45 @
Meets @ IMinusD Fixed Gear Boutique
112 Paseo de San Antonio (See Map Below)

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San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, June 1, 2012
http://sfbikeparty.wordpress.com/

Bicycle Music Festival 2012
June 23, 2012

For more info:
Facebook
Previous Post on this site


San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride
Test Ride #1
Saturday, June 2, 2012 3:00 PM

Join us for the first test ride of the upcoming 2012 Ladies Ride! We will be exploring a possible route for the Ladies Ride, which is scheduled for July 14. This test ride will be a slow cruise pace. Meet at Ceasar Chavez Park.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/356714104390658/

San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride

Test Ride #1
Saturday, July 7, 2012 3:00 PM

Details to follow
San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride
July 14, 2012 - (Sorry guys, ladies only)

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Help Clean your community
Bike Oriented Community Cleanup in Willow Glen
Saturday, June 9, 2012 9:30am to 12:30pm
See this post for more information

Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Bicycle Music Festival coming to San Francisco

Pedal Power Brings Bicycle Music Festival to Golden Gate Park. San Jose Bike Party got a taste world's largest bike powered music festival last month in Japantown. This great festival will be completely powered by bicycle.

There will be three parts to the event; the Day Venue, Live on Bike, and the Night Venue. There are great opportunities to get that dream roadie job or other volunteer gigs if you'd like.

From the BMF Website:

The mission of the Bicycle Music Festival is to promote sustainable culture in general and bicycle culture in particular, by physically engaging and immersing our community in the magic of bike culture, and cultivating and nurturing a network of local sustainable musicians, through our staging of free, community participatory, bicycle-based music events.

The Bicycle Music Festival is the largest 100% bicycle-powered music festival in the world. The free, all-day (and late into the night) event takes place annually in San Francisco, California on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice.

The Bicycle Music Festival features: a 2000 watt pedal-powered PA system, as many as 15 bands, multiple festival stops, outrageous Critical Mass-style bicycle party caravans between festival stops, and zero use of cars or trucks.

With its completely bike-haulable stage, the event is packed up and deployed numerous times: staged sequentially at different public parks and also on a moving “Live On Bike” stage which rolls down city streets.

Upcoming Cycling Events May 16, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley

Thursday, May 15, 2012

Scarlet Johansson has been invited
but may not show for the Bike Party's
90's ride.

San Jose Bike Party - The 90's Ride
Friday, May 18, 2012 8:00PM
Route Sheet (PDF)

http://www.sjbikeparty.org/

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San Jose Fixed SJF
15-25 mile Bike Ride
Every Tuesday 6:45 @
Meets @ IMinusD Fixed Gear Boutique
112 Paseo de San Antonio (See Map Below)

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San Jose Bike Party - The 90's Ride
Friday, May 18, 2012 8:00PM

Maker Faire
May 19th and 20th
Help SVBC provide valet bicycle parking at Maker Faire,
San Mateo County Event Center

Valet Bicycle Parking is one of many ways that SVBC encourages people to bike to public events and volunteering to park bikes is a ton of fun! Sign up with some friends and make a date of it. Cyclists arriving at the event are always happy to see you and fun to talk to. For more details visits Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalitions calendar at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/event/2459.

San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, June 1, 2012
http://sfbikeparty.wordpress.com/

Bicycle Music Festival 2012
June 21, 2012
Facebook

San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride
Test Ride #1
Saturday, June 2, 2012 3:00 PM

Join us for the first test ride of the upcoming 2012 Ladies Ride! We will be exploring a possible route for the Ladies Ride, which is scheduled for July 14. This test ride will be a slow cruise pace. Meet at Ceasar Chavez Park.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/356714104390658/

San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride
July 14, 2012 - (Sorry guys, ladies only)

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Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

SJ Mercury News columnist looks back on five years without a car

Jenny on her Univega
photo: Richard Masoner
Cyclelicious

Last week in a Bike to Work Day column, Joe Rodriquez looked back on his five years in the Silicon Valley without owning a car. Like my experience it began when someone crashed into my car and turned me into a full time cyclist. As Joe relates in his article  "if I could find her today, I'd thank her for countless hours of pleasure over a cup of coffee, so long as the cafe is near a bike route to work."

I too have experienced many of the physical benefits of riding a bicycle daily but I would add one other as well. During my time spent on a bike I have meet numerous people (both cyclists and not) in my travels both in this country and Canada. For some reason being on a bicycle not only makes you more accessible but more approachable as well. You also begin to see your community in a new light; both the good and the bad. You notice and discover things that you had not seen before. You also notice that when you talk of certain places or location most drivers don't really see or understand those subtle differences in their neighborhoods.

As Jose further states in his column, "If everybody biked to work once or twice a week, we could reduce traffic and wouldn't need so many freeway lanes or gigantic parking garages. We could mute road rage, clean more air. The price of gas might drop. Big Oil would have a fit, but given its brazen hypocrisy, the industry would throw token public relations money into bike lanes and brag about its largesse in television commercials. As a big fan of bike lanes, I'm not that proud. I'd take the money. "

Yes imagine fewer of those ugly parking lots, imagine more people out walking and cycling. Not a bad idea Joe.

Bike to Work? Me? San Jose Mercury News

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley - May 10, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley

Thursday, May 10, 2012

San Jose Bike Party - The 90's Ride
Friday, May 18, 2012 8:00PM

http://www.sjbikeparty.org/

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San Jose Fixed  SJF
15-25 mile Bike Ride
Every Tuesday 6:45 @
Meets @ IMinusD Fixed Gear Boutique
112 Paseo de San Antonio (See Map Below)

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Bike To Work Day

Bay Area Wide - 18th Annual Bike to Work Day
http://www.youcanbikethere.com/
Thursday May 10, 2012


Bike Away from Work Bash at the Art Ark Gallery,
Thursday, 6 – 8pm
Recharge in San José after a great cycle-centric day with some food, beer, and people-powered art with friends new and old. Admission is free for SVBC members, and non-members can get a first-time membership discount at the door. Visit the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition calendar at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/event/2458 for all the details.



East Bay Bike Party
Pajama Party
Friday, May 11, 2011 7:30 PM

http://eastbaybikeparty.wordpress.com/

San Jose Bike Party Bike the Limits Ride
Saturday, May 12, 2012 -  8:00 am - 11:00 am
Ride Start: San Jose City Hall Rotunda
Save the date for San Jose Bike Party's third annual Bike The Limits Ride! Bike The Limits get its name from 2010's routing, which rolled along the San Jose City Limits for 30, 60, or 100 miles!

For more info and ride prep, click here (Bike the Limits Ride details)

Route will be posted on Thursday, the day before the ride at
http://www.sjbikeparty.org/

Amgen Tour of California San Jose to Livermore
May 15, 2012

King of the Mountain Challenge
May 15, 2012 -
Join SVBC and 400 amateur cyclists, including CEOs of major Silicon Valley companies and elected officials, as they climb the steep Sierra Road hill in East San José for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's King of the Mountain. Then stay and watch the Amgen Tour of California! Contact Monica Schwenke at monica@bikesiliconvalley.org for more information about registering and joining the SVBC team


San Jose Bike Party - The 90's Ride
Friday, May 18, 2012 8:00PM

Maker Faire
May 19th and 20th
Help SVBC provide valet bicycle parking at Maker Faire,
San Mateo County Event Center
Valet Bicycle Parking is one of many ways that SVBC encourages people to bike to public events and volunteering to park bikes is a ton of fun! Sign up with some friends and make a date of it. Cyclists arriving at the event are always happy to see you and fun to talk to. For more details visits Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalitions calendar at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/event/2459.

San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, June 1, 2012
http://sfbikeparty.wordpress.com/

Bicycle Music Festival 2012
June 21, 2012
Facebook

San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride 
Test Ride #1
Saturday, June 2, 2012 3:00 PM

Join us for the first test ride of the upcoming 2012 Ladies Ride! We will be exploring a possible route for the Ladies Ride, which is scheduled for July 14. This test ride will be a slow cruise pace. Meet at Ceasar Chavez Park.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/356714104390658/
San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride 
July 14, 2012 - (Sorry guys, ladies only)

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Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Calling all transpo wonks - the new adovocacy calendar list

National Train Day San Jose
San Jose Diridon Station
Saturday, May 12, 9:30am - 2:00 pm


San Jose City Council Meeting
May 15, 2012 1:30 Regular Session
Agenda (Note: No Transportation items on this weeks agenda)
San Jose City Hall
Council Chambers
200 E. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, California

Caltrain Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Caltrain Headquarters
Bacciocco Auditorium, 2nd Floor
1250 San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, California

SPUR movie night - "Urbanized"
Thursday, May 17, 2012 7:00 pm
Location:
Camera 12 Cinemas
201 South 2nd Street
San Jose, CA 95113
More than half the world’s population now lives in an urban area, and 75 percent will call a city home by 2050. But while some cities are experiencing explosive growth, others are shrinking. The challenges of balancing housing, mobility, public space, civic engagement, economic development and environmental policy are fast becoming universal concerns. Yet much of the dialogue on these issues is disconnected from the public domain. Urbanized looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. Join us after the movie to continue the discussion at one of downtown San Jose's urban hot spots.
Co-hosted by San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio

Free, however registration is required.
Register here

See the event website: http://www.spur.org/sanjose/events/events-1

Greenbelt Alliance and the Grand Boulevard Initiative presents
"An Evening with Gil Penalosa"
June 4, 2012 6:00
Cubberley Community Center Theater
4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

Gil Peñalosa, the former Commissioner of Parks, Sports, and Recreation for the City of Bogotá, Colombia, has led the effort to create one of the most successful and celebrated parks and recreation systems in the world. He has effectively initiated the “new Cicolvia” – car-free Sundays – where over 1.3 million people come out weekly to walk, run, skate and bike along 121 kilometers of Bogotá’s city roads.

This event is free, but registration is required. Don’t miss this chance to hear from Gil Peñalosa, internationally renowned city advisor and active public spaces advocate. Download the flyer for more information

Caltrain Joint Powers Board
Board Meeting
Thursday, June 7, 2012 10:00 am
Caltrain Headquarters
Bacciocco Auditorium, 2nd Floor
1250 San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, California


San Mateo County Transportation Authority Meeting
Board Meeting
Thursday, June 7, 2012 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Caltrain Headquarters
Bacciocco Auditorium, 2nd Floor
1250 San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, California

San Mateo County Transit
Board Meeting
June 13, 2012, 2:00 pm
Caltrain Headquarters
Bacciocco Auditorium, 2nd Floor
1250 San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, California

VTA Board Meeting
June 29, 2012 9:00 am
**This Meeting Has Been Cancelled**

Amtrak now using smart phones on the operations side as well

In line with National Train Day this Saturday, Amtrak has announced the introduction of an  iPhone ticket processing app to be used among conductors on select Amtrak routes.

In this blog I have chronicled some of the great ways Amtrak has slowly introduced new technologies and features within the nationwide national passenger rail system. In addition to the ample legroom, extremely comfortable seats I also highlighted the great bike accessibility to the California Corridor line linking the Bay Area to our state capitol in Sacramento.

In November of last year, Amtrak California announced the addition of Wi-Fi on its  Capital Corridor, San Jaoquin, and Pacific Surfiner routes. The next month Amtrak unveiled their new e-ticketing system on their Downeaster line linking Boston to Maine. This new system allows Amtrak customers the ability to change their reservations at the last minute. It will also give Amtrak the ability to have an updated passenger manifest at all times.

The unique environment of train operations which is unlike airlines, allows for passengers to get on or off at any number of stations along the way, making difficult to keep track of not only the passenger manifest but the seating arrangements as well. With airlines, their is only one check in point to collect this essential data but on trains, with multiple train cars and conductors collecting the ticket information, the task is trickier.

Conductors along the Capitol Corridor line (from San Jose to Sacramento) and Downeaster line have been using the new systems since November according to the New York Times article. This new e-ticketing system is currently available on the iPhone system but will soon be introduced on the Android system as well.

Let us know what you think.

SV TUG and One Square Mile to Cohost San Jose's first National Train Day Celebration

Silicon Valley Train Riders and 1 Square Mile to Celebrate National Train Day

Join Silicon Valley Train User Group, One Square Mile, the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, and members of the Caltrain Bicycle Advisory Committee to celebrate our first National Trail Day Celebration.

With the extension of BART, Caltrain electrification, and California High Speed Rail, San Jose's historic Diridon Station will be the busiest station west of the Missisippi. We will host an information table in the historic station along with history displays highlighting train travel in the Silicon Valley. With the recent groundbreaking on the extension of BART into San Jose, the city is exicited about this national celebration.

Information on the City's expanded plans for Diridon Station will be on display along with a presentation and walking tours of the station. In addition we will conduct and old style welcome of the 10:07 am arrival of the Amtrak Coast Starlight on its way from Seattle to Los Angeles. Come join us.

Tuesday Night SJ Bike Party Volunteer (BIRDS) meeting

Tuesday, May 8, 2012. 6:45 - 8:30 at the Rotunda in Santa Clara's Central Park

Come join us for our monthly volunteer mixer. We'll be talking about upcoming events, and how you can help! The parking lot is on Kiely Blvd near Kiely/Homestead. Meet at the rotunda.


View Larger Map
AGENDA
6:45 - Pizza and social time. If you want to bring a few dollars to kick in, ...our volunteers buy pizza with their own $$$.
7:00 - Introductions
7:15 - Discuss May-June-July BP themes from the last meeting
7:20 - Discuss regroup protocols
7:30 - Discuss the 90's Ride
7:40 - Plan the next BIRD event
7:50 - Prepping for the 100 mile ride8:00 - Announce upcoming SJBP events - ladies ride, etc
8:10 - Other announcements
8:25 - Cleanup

Tonight South First Friday's Art Walk Friday

Tonight will feature an eclectic evening of arts and culture in downtown San Jose's SoFA District (& beyond), tonight from 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm.

A self-guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses
featuring exhibitions and special performances- all venues are FREE & open to the public!

The People-Powered Art Exhibition is bringing bikes, walkers, skaters, and other human-fueled transportation to Art Ark Gallery Friday, May 4th from 6-9pm. Join host Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and musical guest Native Brew as they celebrate the beauty of an active world.

Stop by MACLA for an exciting evening of art. In MACLA’s Gallery: Latino Art Now: MACLA’s 14th Annual Art Auction and Exhibition.

More Joe Minicozzi and the simple math that can save cities from bankruptcy

Following up on the first two videos of a presentation Joe Minicozzi made I present parts III and IV along with a link to an insightful article on the basis of Joe's research.

The article appeared online at Atlantic Cities is entitled  "The simple math that can save cities from bankruptcy".

Part III




Part IV

Another great San Jose based urbanist blog



http://www.thinkbiggersanjose.com/

 As you know on this blog I cover mainly transportation issues at the city, county, regional (Bay Area), and state levels in addition to land use, placemaking and the ever increasing sums of money we commit to keeping a mono-modal (predominately car oriented) system going.  Transportation issues mainly cover transit (public and private), rail, bicycle, pedestrian, and other modes as well.

Another great local blog I think you'll like is one titled Think Bigger San Jose - San Jose, history, development and tourism (that's right tourism), along with his accompanying Twitter feeds under the name ThinkBiggerSanJose. When Mark is not so busy writing for his own blog, he also writes for Content magazine. In the current, 4.1 issue he has a story on Willow Glen real estate personality Michael Mulcahy and one on a Tetris skyline.

Can you give your input on VTA's Measure A?

On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 7:00 PM VTA invites you to speak out at a public hearing to provide input on the 2000 Measure A program. the meeting will be held at the County of Santa Clara Government Center, Board of Supervisor's Chambers at 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, Ca 95110. The Board Chambers are on the first floor.

Measure A, approved in November 2000, is a 30-year half cent sales tax devoted to improvement projects for the area's public transit network, including extending BART to Silicon Valley. the measure created an oversight committee, comprised of citizens from through the county to review measure A expenditures to ensure funds are being spent in accordance with the intent of the ballot.

This Citizens Watchdog Committee (CWC) is responsible for conducting an annual audit and for informing the community on its findings. Macias Gini & O'Connel, LLP, independent certified public accountants, conducted this years compliance audit and issued an unqualified or "clean" opinion, meaning that in their professional opinion VTA complied, in all material respects, with the requirements applicable to the 2000 Measure A Program.

Additional information on the Meaure A Program, the CWC, as well as the results of the independent compliance audit, is available at http://www.vta.org/. If you are unable to attend the upcoming hearing, written comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on May 9 by email to: board.secretary@vta.org or by mail to: Office of the Board Secretary, 3331 North First Street, Building B-1, San Jose, CA 95134-1927.

This location is served by VTA Light Rail and Bus Lines 61, 62, 66, and 181.

May 12th, help celebrate National Train Day

Saturday, May 12 is National Train Day. Help us celebrate the future of Amtrak San Jose Diridon Station.  More details to follow but here is a promotional video on this great event.