Tag: housing

How “Work With…” Won Better

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Aboard VTA's 568 Rapid bus stuck in Monterey Hwy. traffic.
Aboard VTA’s 568 Rapid bus stuck in Monterey Hwy. traffic in San Jose.

On August 9, three (3) major votes affecting housing and public transportation in San Jose were approved by City Council. Our group helped encourage citizens like YOU to urge City Council to approve these votes.

Read on for what those votes were, and how our group took part in encouraging and making them happen.

Read more →

Coming Together In Cupertino

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Moderator and four panelists at last Sunday’s Regional Planning Forum in Cupertino, where our group met.

Silicon Valley’s housing and traffic crises are already well documented.  Our group gathered in Cupertino last Sunday to discover and hear what can be done to resolve these crises.  The four panelists at last Sunday’s Regional Planning Forum in Cupertino were:

  • Kansen Chu, 25th Assembly Member, California State Assembly
  • “Chappie” Jones, San Jose City Council Member
  • Richard Bernhardt, CEO of Bernhardt Communications and Strategy
  • Tom DuBois, Palo Alto City Council Member

Part 1 of the Regional Planning Forum can be viewed below:

Part 2 of the Regional Planning Forum (the Question and Answer portion) can be viewed below:

A special Thank You goes to Better Cupertino for hosting this forum.  Please view both videos above.  You will learn some things from both videos.

After viewing both videos in full, please share your thoughts on what needs to be done to address Silicon Valley’s traffic and housing problems.  Also, indicate what YOU are willing to do to help solve these issues.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

Next Group Meeting Next Sunday In Cupertino

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Instead of our usual group meeting in San Jose this coming Thursday, let’s instead meet on a Sunday afternoon in Cupertino.  There, Better Cupertino will host a public meeting on regional planning, and what must be done to solve the Bay Area’s transportation, housing, and infrastructure maintenance needs.

Register for the FREE meeting here.  This will give the hosts a proper headcount.

WHEN: Sunday, October 29th from 3pm-5pm
WHERE: Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Ave. (between Rodrigues Ave. and Pacifica Dr.), Cupertino
GETTING THERE: Cupertino Community Hall is 1.5 blocks south of Stevens Creek Blvd. and S. De Anza Blvd. It’s a 5-10 minute walk from VTA’s 55 bus line at S. De Anza Blvd and Sunrise Dr. It’s also a 10-15 minute walk from the VTA’s 23 and 323 limited stop bus lines at Stevens Creek Blvd. and S. De Anza Blvd.

I’ll see you all on October 29 in Cupertino.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users

AUDIO: Silicon Valley’s Housing & Transit Crisis

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On March 31 in Mountain View, more than 40 people gathered at the Adobe House near the Mountain View Caltrain station. There, they heard Kim Mai-Cutler speak about the affordable housing and transit shortages currently affecting Silicon Valley.  The speech and gathering were organized by the Friends of Caltrain.

As you will hear in the recording above, some of the solutions discussed by Ms. Cutler and the audience, besides the need for additional, affordable housing, include:

  • Citizens must better educate themselves on who the decision-makers are at the city and transit (VTA) level, and lobby for improvements at both levels.
  • Citizens must also educate themselves on where the money goes at the local and state level NOW for housing and transportation. (A future blog post will have more on the transportation aspect of this.)
  • Citizens must realize that they cannot complain about increasing traffic and diminishing quality of life while blocking anything to improve both.

Please comment your own solutions to Silicon Valley’s affordable housing and transit shortage crisis below. Also, comment what YOU would be willing to do at the local government level to make such solutions happen.

Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users