BART and VTA officials must come to an agreement about whether to use a single- or double-bore tunnel for transit extension in San Jose, and time is running out.
The four-station San Jose BART extension will be one of the largest extensions the system has ever received, but what those stations will look like is still up for debate. "Not only will it link the economic powerhouse of Silicon Valley to the East Bay and San Francisco, it will also connect BART to Caltrain and high-speed rail, transforming San Jose into a regional transit hub unlike any the Bay Area has ever seen," Erin Baldassari and Emily Deruy write for The Mercury News.
The decision comes down to the difference between a twin-bore or single-bore solution for tunneling. The more common twin bore would cut two tubes for trains to run on parallel tracks, with a platform in the middle. The single-bore alignment would cut one large tunnel and put the two tracks above one another. "To get funding and start construction in the next two years, the VTA’s governing board needs to make its decision by April 5, and BART must approve that recommendation by April 26," Baldassari and Deruy write.
The two approaches have different features, the single-bore solution, which the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) favors, would be a deeper cut and disrupt the street and utilities less during the construction period. A double-bore tunnel would have a larger platform and, because it wouldn't be different from other tunnels in the system, it would be less likely to cause confusion in the event of an emergency evacuation, BART officials contend.
FULL STORY: Time is ticking on $1.5 billion BART decision paving way to San Jose
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.