The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) announced two public meetings as the agency develops a strategic plan for the I-280 corridor across Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The purpose of the study is to develop a strategic plan for the 22-mile portion of I-280 corridor located in Santa Clara County. The study limits extend from the US 101/I-280/ I-680 interchange in San Jose to the San Mateo County line near Palo Alto. The study will focus on highway “improvements” (e.g. interchange spacing, congestion relief, express lanes, etc.); bicycle and pedestrian improvements (e.g. access, cross connectivity, safety; transit service improvements (e.g. VTA light rail and bus services; Local roadway improvements (e.g. cross connectivity, etc.); and noise abatement (e.g. sound walls).
Follow the data?
It might be instructive to look at pedestrian and bicycle crashes that occur on and near I-280. Crashes that occur on and near highway ramps indicate possibly dangerous intersections where people need to cross, while crashes that occur on the freeway itself show locations where people feel they need to cross the freeway in spite of the great risk.
An overview of California’s SWITRS data shows the greatest numbers of pedestrian and bicycle collisions on and around I-280 occur between Highway 101 and Highway 87. Zooming into this area, we see clusters around I-280 near McLaughlin, and another cluster around 1st to 7th streets.
This likely is an indication of the relatively high numbers of people who cross 280 on foot and on bike in this area in spite of the hostile environment.
We also see smaller clusters on I-280 at Bird Avenue, between Lincoln Ave and Race St, at Saratoga Avenue, and at Wolfe Road. From 2005 through 2015, we had 50 collisions involving 56 people on foot, of whom 14 lost their lives. Another 44 crashes involved 44 people on bike in the vicinity of I-280.
How to comment
Besides the two open houses coming up in September, you can also submit your suggestions to VTA’s handy dandy interactive map. Drop a pin on your favorite trouble spot and describe the situation. You can also upvote and add comments to existing pins. I just added a pin noting the general crappiness of the Cypress Avenue bike bridge, for example. Somebody should also comment on that College Drive overcrossing connecting Moorpark to Parkmoor
Learn more about this study and find meeting details at VTA: I-280 Corridor Study.
H/T to Betsy for the heads up on this.