Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Letters: SJ BART needed; BART popular, but ineffective: "Published Tuesday, May 10, 2005, in the San Jose Mercury News Letters" We need BART -- rail's too slow Greg Perry's view of mass transit (Perspective, May 8) is a prime example of why we have a dysfunctional mass transit system in the Bay Area. (Via BATN at Yahoo! Groups.) Dan Gordon's letter to the editor shows that while he may be a great beer mogul and good trombonist, he needs to learn about transit. As a 20 year rider of our "dysfunctional mass transit system" including BART and Caltrain, I can report that I never missed a meeting because of transit. Also, you can get from San Jose to San Francisco faster on Caltrain than on BART. This will not change with BART to San Jose. BART was hot stuff when I first rode it in 1975, but that was 30 years ago. It hasn't improved since then. Caltrain has. Caltrain offers faster trains, bike storage and restrooms. It is cheeper, faster, better. BART works where it brings people to a concentration of jobs. BART to San Jose doesn't do that. BART to San Jose avoids existing jobs to go to "Smart Growth" development opportunities. BART to San Jose is not about traffic relief, it is about development. If we build an affordable, well-connected transit system, people will use it. BART to San Jose is not that system. 5:41:12 PM     Comment []

Development 101 – Part Two: " Why do we need the Coyote Valley? The answer to this question is pivotal to the future of the city and a key to determining who the next mayor of San Jose will be. Why indeed? It seems that the reason for developing the virgin valley that was called into being to redress the historic imbalance that San Jose has in a tax base, i.e., the ability to provide quality services like police and fire and libraries and youth workers for our citizens, has been forgotten. (Via San Jose Inside.) I am pleased to see that someone remembers the original reasons for developing Coyote Valley, thank you Tom McEnery! What happened to the huge imbalance of commercial to residential properties that made developing the valley a necessity? And if this imbalance still exists why has the city been converting commercial properties like the Del Monte Cannery to residential uses. We are now told that the development of Coyote Valley has been planned for over 20 years and we can't change those plans. But the triggers for development have been there 20 years as well, and now the city wants to change the triggers. The Coyote Valley Plan is a nightmare being pushed by salivating developers. It is time to get some elected officials who recognize this and show that they pay more than lip service to our existing neighborhoods. 11:20:11 AM     Comment []