Tag: BRT

Public comment on El Camino Real BRT

VTA Bus Rapid Transit BRT Logo

El Camino Real (ECR) through Santa Clara County is a six lane divided arterial for much of its length. With 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles per day travelling across most intersections from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto, this road operates at a traffic Level of Service (LOS) D or E.

LOS D describes a road where traffic doesn’t flow freely, but isn’t completely stop and go either. LOS E is a road operating at capacity. Traffic still moves, but everybody is constrained by the surrounding traffic. The next and final step is LOS F, which is permanent gridlock, and where ECR is headed if capacity is not improved.

The knee jerk reaction is to add more lanes, either on ECR itself or on parallel freeways and expressways such as Highway 101 or Central Expressway. (more…)

Sunnyvale Council: “We like traffic sewers!”

Sunnyvale City Council nixes Bus Rapid Transit planning for El Camino Real.

The Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) is the transportation planning agency and transit provider for Silicon Valley in California. 20% of VTA’s bus passengers ride bus routes 22 & 522 along the historic El Camino Real (ECR). TO handle the transportation needs of projected population growth along the ECR corridor, VTA plans a Bus Rapid Transit line (BRT) along the historic El Camino Real between downtown San Jose and Palo Alto, California.

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