Summer 2018 has brought multiple shakeups with Bay Area public transportation. Aside from the yearly fare hikes with Golden Gate, AC Transit also saw fare hikes from $2.25 to $2.35 for local rides for adults, and a price hike in adult monthly passes from $81 to $84.60; details here. Caltrain also hiked its fares for adult riders, with a base fare of $3.75 for one zone and an additional $2.25 for each additional zone traveled; see details here.
In part one of this new series, I have been asking myself whether an automobile link is possible between the two communities via a road connection. Even though the distance is roughly 1,100 feet, I interviewed the Planning Managers for both Redwood City and Foster City (which I will cover in part 3), in which they told me that the cost would be roughly $25,000,000, and it may be difficult to secure the necessary permits to build that bridge. Despite such challenges though, I am looking at developing this bridge as an opportunity, not just to address the congestion concerns along US-101, but also provide SamTrans with an option to develop a more robust and well-connected bus service between the two communities and beyond. In Part 2, I will cover how this bridge can become an instrument to developing a stronger transportation network at the local level -- the regional context will be handled later on.
Suburban communities have been developed to give residents quiet locations to live and thrive, away from the hustle and bustle of city centers. Time and time again, such communities have been built with roads with fine curvatures and "stems and branches" designed to maximize the privacy found in individual neighborhoods. However, an unintended consequence of suburban development is that sometimes, when planners want to develop new services to serve nearby neighborhoods, chances are gaps can be found between them. Sometimes, such gaps can result in long drives or walking distances just to get from one place to another that, if we take it from a bird's eye view, it would only take a few seconds to cross from one property to another. How can such planning mistakes be rectified, especially if we aim to address various issues governing accessibility, congestion, and connectivity?
In this series, I am going to explore a short, yet missing crucial link that could address congestion in a corner of San Mateo County, linking Foster City and Redwood Shores. Last night, I reviewed VTA's Next Network plan again and recalled that two lines within the City of Palo Alto, Lines 88 and 89, were to be eliminated due to low ridership. The VTA then came with a solution to develop Line 288, a school day-only service operating mostly within the current Line 88. However, given that Caltrain will expand weekday service to California Avenue station, I thought to myself: how should the VTA take advantage of that service expansion and, hopefully, gain even more passengers?
|