BART to San Jose gets 'Not Recommended' rating
The Federal Transit Administration is expected to give the BART to San Jose project a not recommended rating, a decision which could affect hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid needed to complete the 16-mile extension.[ San Jose Mercury News ]
While I don't hold out too much hope, perhaps this will be the blow that kills off the project. Local politicians and the Mercury News will continue to describe the project as extremely popular citing the vote on Measure A in 2000. Measure A, which extends a half-cent sales tax for 30 years to pay for half of building BART.
It would be nice to see if the project is still that popular today, now that the economy in Santa Clara County has tanked, thousands of people have lost their jobs and left the region, and the Valley Transportation Agency cannot afford to run its existing service. I would bet that many who voted to bring BART to San Jose no longer live here.
But you can expect local politicians to continue pushing for BART, however, because it allow them to push for "Smart Growth" developments. It doesn't matter that the proposed route avoids destinations where people need to go (like the airport or existing jobs in north San Jose). Building BART along the proposed route allows them to provide development opportunities to the people who funded their campaigns.
2:49:10 PM 
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