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VTA to Host Public Hearing for the Santa Clara-Alum Rock Transit Improvements Project

San Jose, Calif. – The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) proposes to construct transit improvements for a 7.4-mile corridor extending along Santa Clara Street, Alum Rock Avenue and Capitol Expressway from the San Jose Diridon Station on the west to the Eastridge Transit Center on the east.

VTA has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Santa Clara-Alum Rock Transit Improvement Project, as required by the State of California.    The Draft EIR includes an analysis of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Phase I/Light Rail Transit (LRT) Phase II project and two alternatives: 1) Future no build; 2) Single-car LRT.   The Draft EIR will address the short and long term environmental impacts of the project.

VTA is hosting a public hearing at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose to receive input on the EIR’s evaluation of the environmental and community impacts.  The input received from the public will be addressed in the final EIR, expected to be released in fall of 2008.   

The public is invited to attend an Open House beginning at 6 p.m. to review exhibits and discuss the project with staff.   The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by an opportunity to enter formal comments into the public record. 

The Public Hearing Meeting will be:

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 6 p.m. (presentation begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Mexican Heritage Plaza, Green Room
1700 Alum Rock Avenue
San Jose, CA 95116
This location is served by VTA Bus Lines 22, 23, 77, and 522.

For more information about the public hearing or the Santa Clara-Alum Rock Transit Project, contact VTA Community Outreach at (408) 321-7575, (TDD only) (408) 321-2330, or visit www.vta.org.      Anyone wishing to send comments may also do so by sending an email to SC-AR.EIR.Comments@vta.org.   Written comments will be accepted until August 21, 2008.

About the Santa Clara-Alum Rock Transit Improvement Project

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) proposes to construct transit improvements for a 7.4-mile corridor extending along Santa Clara Street, Alum Rock Avenue and Capitol Expressway from the San Jose Diridon Station on the west to the Eastridge Transit Center on the on the east. The Santa Clara-Alum Rock Corridor exhibits an extremely high level of transit use, and has the highest transit ridership in all of Santa Clara County.

About the 2000 Measure A Program

The 2000 Measure A package of transit improvements was approved by Santa Clara County voters in November 2000 by a 70.3% majority and authorized a 30-year, 1/2 cent sales tax to begin in 2006.  Measure A supports the Valley Transportation Plan (VTP) and Expenditure Program, a long-range transportation planning effort focused on addressing the Valley’s transportation needs.  VTP provides a balanced transportation system consisting of transit, roadway, bicycle, and pedestrian improvements.  The revenue from Measure A enables approximately $2 billion in future state and federal funds to be directed towards these projects. The Zero-Emission Bus Program is one of the 2000 Measure A projects.

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About VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning. As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.

For more information about VTA services, call VTA Customer Service at (408) 321-2300, (408) 321-2330 (TDD only). Or, log on to www.vta.org.