Dear Editor,
With deep roots in this valley, I’m disappointed at its failure
to become a catalyst for truly regional transit serving more than
the Bay Area alone. San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and Silicon
business leaders display tunnel vision in pushing instead for BART,
a metro subway unlikely to reach most Bay Area counties, much less
beyond. Their motives appear selfish, focusing on downtown San
Jose.
Dear Editor,
With deep roots in this valley, I’m disappointed at its failure to become a catalyst for truly regional transit serving more than the Bay Area alone. San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and Silicon business leaders display tunnel vision in pushing instead for BART, a metro subway unlikely to reach most Bay Area counties, much less beyond. Their motives appear selfish, focusing on downtown San Jose.
I urge the valley’s people, raise your sights. The time is right to build out rails that already link nine Bay counties to a dozen more contributing to our metro commute. A rail net is within reach that would connect the Sierra to Monterey, the central valley and this one to the Redwood Empire and most points between. All with integrated, same-size rails for capital and operational savings. Plus vehicles superior to BART’s.
Santa Clara County can lead the way, teaming with Monterey to extend Caltrain to Salinas. Later links to San Benito and Santa Cruz-Watsonville would make sense. That vision looks to the valley’s demographic future and a huge bonus for car-clogged 101. It might even spur Marin and Sonoma to reactivate their rail corridor. I applaud the Dispatch and people of Gilroy for efforts to lift transit thinking out of the costly rut called BART.
James W. Kelly
