From: J056600@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM
Subject: Re: Santa Clara Measure "A"?
Organization: Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 15:12:25 GMT

In <1992Oct12.234822.25072@leland.Stanford.EDU>, Gary Brainin writes:

>   I've seen a lot of discussion about SMCo's B and C, but being a
>resident of Santa Clara county, I'm understandably more interested in
>it's A.

>   Having lived in Palo Alto a couple of years, I know how bad the
>traffic situation can be.  I also know, however, how little use the
>mass transit system is to me as an alternative.  I think it would be a
>good idea if we had a better transit system, but my quesiton is is
>Measure A the way to achieve that goal?

>   I know precious little about the details (only what was in my
>little election booklet), so I was hoping that someone around here
>might have an opinion.  Anyone?

I have a voter's pamphlet, and acoording to it, this is what Measure A would do
over the next 20 years, with my comments parenthesized:

  *  Build a new rail extension in SCCo to connect with BART in Alameda County;
        (Can't we increase frequency on the 180 for far less money?)

  *  Increase CalTrain service from downtown SJ to SF, and from SJ to Morgan
     Hill and Gilroy;
        (I think this is very important, and the best way to develop high-speed
         transit at the lowest cost.)

  *  Construct six new rail lines to develop a comprehensive commuter system
     throughout the county;
        (More light rail?  If more light rail is built, it should be like the
         light rail south of downtown--higher speed and fewer stops)

  *  Upgrading Route 87, the Guadalupe Parkway, through downtown San Jose, into
     a full freeway;
        (This is probably a good idea.  Southbound 87 in the afternoon before
         the stop light at Hedding is a joke.  It needs to be upgraded for the
         same reason as 237--but I don't favor increasing capacity for any more
         freeways, just removing signals which increase congestion)

  *  Completing existing Measure A work on the following interchanges:
     85/87, 85/101, 237/880
        (I think freeway-to-freeway transitions should be easy and done without
         surface streets, but I'm not sure how crucial these are.  The trans-
         itions in the crucial directions (i.e. south 85 to south 101) are
         already funded.)

  *  Synchronizing traffic signals on all county expressways;
        (If it works, this is a wonderful idea.)

  *  Implementing additional "Super Express" bus service.
        (Only good if they are flexible.  The current super express routes and
         the express routes for commuters don't generally run after 5:00 PM.
         For those who don't know when they'll be going home, that makes them
         almost useless.  They should run until at least 7:00.)


   My fear is that there will be too much light rail in the proposal.  I live
next to the Cottle LRT station, and light rail has been a godsend for going
into downtown SJ.  However, north of downtown, light rail is a classic boon-
doggle (in my opinion).  It's not much faster than the buses on First Street,
anyway, and it had huge construction costs.  I feel that any rail projects in
Santa Clara County should be extension of BART/CalTrain-type service, with
high speed trains making relatively few stops.  If I use LRT to bus #20 to get
to work, it takes over an hour (to go 19 miles).  Even driving alone on 101
usually takes me under 40 minutes!  An existing bus service, #122, already gets
me to work faster than light rail can, and it didn't have a price tag in the
hundreds of millions.  And when the 101 expansion is complete (end of '92 or
1st quarter '93), the 122 should be even faster--perhaps by 5 minutes or more.
Now if they could eliminate the damn metering light at Capitol Expressway in
the morning for buses and carpools, the 122 would be a flyer...
   Transit improvements in the county should emphasize speed and convenience
rather than flashy new vehicles.  If people in my neighborhood could commute to
Sunnyvale, Mountain View or Palo Alto at little extra time than by driving, and
if it ran with more frequency, transit could sell itself.  I think too much
will be spent on light rail, but I'll probably support the measure anyway.


Tim Irvin  j056600@lmsc5.is.lmsc.lockheed.com
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