Hope ahead for years-long 101-87 commute headache
Q Can the road guys look at the Highway 101 south exit to 87 and see if they can add a second lane? A second lane would move so much more traffic off 101 and down 87 in the early afternoon through early rush-hour times. The stopped traffic from San Jose back through Sunnyvale starts every day pre-rush hour. Drive it, you will see. … The evening jam lasts until 8:30. … The 101 to 87 connection is completely nuts. Who designed it? Thumbelina? Glen Buschbaum, Rosario Consiglio, Tom Schneck and zillions more
A These complaints have roared in since 2004 when Highway 87 was completed, and the answer has always been the same: A two-lane exit is planned, but there’s no timetable and no money.
But today I bring hope. The project has been environmentally cleared and designed and could be on the list of projects on a countywide sales tax measure in 2016. The VTA says an extra lane could cost just $2 million and not the $40 million needed to reconfigure nearby De La Cruz Boulevard as the overall plan calls for. Agencies throughout Santa Clara County will submit priorities by Aug. 31. If it makes the cut and the tax gets a two-thirds vote, one of our biggest commute headaches will be addressed. At last.
QI choose $1.38 for the statewide average for gas on Oct. 1.
Jane Kroll
Sunnyvale
A Really?
That’s incredibly low. Are you certain?
Q Whoops,
I meant $2.38! Could you change my submission please?
Jane Kroll
A I grant you special Roadshow dispensation to correct your first guess because you and your husband, Jack, helped me pick up trash a few years ago along Willow Road-101 in Menlo Park. Experts say the California average could slide to the $2.35-to$2.50-a-gallon range by the end of the year, prompting another Roadshow contest to win a free tank of fuel. We will pay for a fill-up for the person who guesses what the state average will be Oct. 1. Email entries to mrroadshow@mercurynews.com by Sept. 1. The first one who sends the correct guess is the winner.
Q A few days ago, I arrived at a San Jose DMV office 20 minutes before it opened. There was already a crowd. Three DMV workers were outside organizing people into appropriate lines, handing out forms and, most of all, being friendly and courteous.
Tension is high at the DMV, but these employees were spectacularly effective at soothing and reassuring people that everything was going to be all right. I thanked a couple of employees for their courtesy and told them that I appreciated it very much. They responded to the effect, “It’s our pleasure. That’s what we’re here for.”
L. H.
San Jose
A And …
Q Hamilton Avenue between Meridian and Greylands in San Jose is finally being de-mined! I am so grateful. The fillings in my mouth will stay put!
Jacqueline Williams
A The 101 to 87 debacle may get fixed, gas prices may be in a free fall, a trip to the DMV goes smoothly and potholes are being fixed. Can it get any better than this?