Tasman Corridor upgrades planned
Public will be surveyed to determine a list of priorities to focus on
SANTA CLARA — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority wants to make improvements to the Tasman Drive corridor that runs through Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose and Milpitas.
VTA first wants to get a sense of what residents would like to see improved along the street and Great Mall Parkway. The organization held three outreach meetings last week to gather input from residents as to the most common needs for the corridor before embarking on a study for a potential project.
The study is being called a “complete streets study,” where according to Adam Dankberg of Kimley-Horn and Associates, “complete” means accommodating all travelers regardless of mode of transportation, age or ability. The study will also look into ways to make Calabazas Creek Trail, San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail and other trails along the corridor more accessible.
The Tasman Drive corridor runs from Sunnyvale through Santa Clara and a portion of San Jose and ends in Milpitas near the Great Mall and the planned Milpitas BART Station.
According to a VTA presentation at an April 12 meeting in Sunnyvale, there are an average of 11,550 weekday light rail boardings and disembarkings at stations along the corridor, more than 18,000 automobiles traveling daily along some segments of the corridor, and more than 100 pedestrian crossings per hour at same intersections.
“It’s a heavily used core with lots of types of users,” said Dankberg.
The study could look into pedestrian and bicycle access near Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara due to many people using alternative modes of transportation to get to events. Several attendees at the meeting said they would consider cycling or walking on Tasman Drive, but at present felt it was unsafe to do so.
One of the main issues for bicyclists, residents said, is that some portions of the street lack dedicated bike lanes and sidewalks.
The study could also address areas with high frequencies of collisions along Tasman such as at Lawrence Expressway, Montague Expressway and Fair Oaks Avenue.
According to VTA, staff will have a draft of design choices ready by this fall, two more waves of public outreach meetings to gather community input and a final report in fall 2018.
Residents can share what they would like to see studied by taking a survey at tasmansurvey.vta.org. The survey is open until May 5.