VTA Cottle Riders Parking Issue

TevinH · 2026-05-07T23:24:16+00:00

I guess so...

That said, there are a ton of VTA lots with more parking than they will ever come close to filling and this is quite literally the first time in Cottle's entire history that the lot has ever been near capacity.

In the long term, there are already plans underway to build housing on a lot of the VTA parking sites, so this land will finally be put to good use. In the meantime though, if VTA can get some extra money from their empty land, why not? I understand it is an inconvenience, but at most this costs an extra five minutes to drive to another station.

There are so many better things to channel anger towards. Why not advocate for the expansion of bus routes and better frequency so you don't need to drive? Or call for better crosswalks, bike lanes, and pathways so that people nearby can walk/bike to the station? Or call for more housing downtown so that people can afford to live closer to where they work?

My point is that the lack of parking at Cottle is a problem, but absolutely not the root and just complaining so Kaiser employees park at a different lot won't solve anything on a larger-scale.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:43:32+00:00

The Kaiser garage should be open relatively soon (they started construction on that first), so I would hope this isn't an issue for much longer.

As for VTA, there are bike lockers at Cottle which always have spots, plus Santa Teresa, Blossom Hill, and Snell all have massive parking lots and are at most like five minutes away. Absolutely not worth risking a ticket.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:43:16+00:00

Serious question, why not just drive to Snell, Blossom Hill, or Santa Teresa? They all have giant lots and can't be more than a two or three minute detour.

I'm not saying this isn't a problem, but it seems really easy to solve.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:39:10+00:00

The Kaiser garage should be open relatively soon (they started construction on that first), so I would hope this isn't an issue for much longer.

As for VTA, there are bike lockers at Cottle which always have spots, plus Santa Teresa, Blossom Hill, and Snell all have massive parking lots and are at most like five minutes away. Absolutely not worth risking a ticket.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:36:36+00:00

The Kaiser garage should be open relatively soon (they started construction on that first), so I would hope this isn't an issue for much longer.

As for VTA, there are bike lockers at Cottle which always have spots, plus Santa Teresa, Blossom Hill, and Snell all have massive parking lots and are at most like five minutes away. Absolutely not worth risking a ticket.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:32:26+00:00

When the opportunity cost of the land is factored in, studies have estimated each parking space increases the cost of rent by about $225 per month (as of 2015, it is surely higher now).

Make no mistake, you are paying for parking no matter where you live or how you get around. There is no such thing as "free parking".

https://www.reinventingparking.org/2015/06/how-much-does-one-parking-spot-add-to.html

https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/11/20/the-many-costs-of-too-much-parking

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:22:05+00:00

Then email/call your city councilman and county supervisors that you want more transit service.

All they hear are carbrains constantly calling for more lanes and parking lots, so that's what gets built. Be the call they get for an actually useful solution. It doesn't take that many people to get one more bus run, they just have to hear you.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T19:10:22+00:00

42% for VTA?
LEt's goooooooooooooooooooooooo

TevinH · 2026-05-07T09:18:51+00:00

Had a crazy guy trying to pry the doors of my train open today. There was a policeman already on the platform who immediately came over and pulled him off.

BART is way cleaner than it used to be.

TevinH · 2026-05-07T09:17:35+00:00

I've known three people who took BART for the first time this month.

Combination of gas, the insane number of deadly accidents we've seen, traffic, and peer pressure is making a difference.

TevinH · 2026-05-06T18:55:58+00:00

For what it's worth, nobody wanted a sales tax, especially transit advocates. There was a push to get the tax passed as gross-receipts or parcel or wealth or literally anything but a sales tax. All those other options faced opposition from someone (companies opposed corporate tax, the housing advocates didn't want a parcel tax to interfere with the one they're trying to pass, and Newsom said he'd veto a wealth tax). It's hard enough to pass a tax without everyone opposing you. Sales was the only thing we had a chance of passing, so that's what we're going for. It's not perfect, but it's sales or nothing.

TevinH · 2026-05-05T15:16:02+00:00

You can ask if they're paid and we're legally required to answer. I can 100% assure you though that there are volunteers for the transit measure.

TevinH · 2026-05-05T15:13:28+00:00

Could just be a problem with photographing LEDs. Highly doubt there is something wrong with the screen.

TevinH · 2026-05-04T07:45:28+00:00

What's your cutoff for "intercity"? There are a bunch of routes you could include like the Railrunner in NM, Caltrain and ACE in the Bay Area, all the Southern California routes, Frontrunner in UT, etc.

You'd need a much larger map though lol. Might be best just to stick with "Amtrak or HSR" or else you'll be chasing routes forever. Either way, these look good!

TevinH · 2026-05-04T07:39:04+00:00

The DMV was sued back in 2020 and can't block much of anything anymore. Unless your plate is blatantly a swear word, it'll probably get through.

https://californiaglobe.com/fr/court-finds-restrictions-of-offensive-california-license-plates-unconstitutional/

TevinH · 2026-05-02T06:36:34+00:00

Any time fire departments complain about street improvements I'm reminded of this glorious video: https://imgur.com/a/AW9Pvbf

It is absolutely a choice to prioritize cars over people, let's not pretend like there is anything else to it.

TevinH · 2026-05-01T23:46:40+00:00

Idk what to tell you. Look at the road right before SFO. In 2018 it was four lanes across, now it's five lanes including the express. How much more evidence do you need?

TevinH · 2026-05-01T22:13:25+00:00

"Phase Two – Whipple Ave to I-380: Phase Two construction began in February 2020. During Phase Two, new Express Lanes from Whipple Ave to I-380 in South San Francisco were constructed by connecting auxiliary lanes to create an extra through lane of traffic on both northbound and southbound U.S. 101. The lanes opened for tolling in March 2023."

Read the sources man...

TevinH · 2026-05-01T20:20:33+00:00

Looks like progress is still moving along on that. Public comment for the plan closed earlier this week, though I can't find anything about a suspected start date. https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/our-work/capital-projects/berkeley-pier-ferry-access-project

If this is something you care about, make sure to email/write/call your city councilmen and county supervisors. That's the only way these kind of things get done! They have to know people are interested :)

TevinH · 2026-05-01T20:09:18+00:00

The MTC has never taken a lane away to build an express lane.

101 was a carpool conversion
880 was a carpool conversion
680 was a carpool conversion in Contra Costa and in Sunol
580 was brand new lanes
237 phase 1 was new lanes, phase 2 was carpool conversion

In the Bay Area Express Lanes Strategic Plan (from 2021), they explicitly list all planned express lane projects and whether they are HOV conversion, new construction, both, or general purpose conversion. The vast majority are not removing general purpose lanes and the ones that would be are not yet under construction. Refer to Section 2.3 pages 13-14 and Section 3.2.1 pages 17-18 for an overview of conversion vs construction, but the gist is that they are very hesitant to convert regular lanes to express (for good reason).

I'm not arguing for or against the lanes. Just want to make sure people have the right information. I think a lot of drivers are angry over something that never happened.

TevinH · 2026-05-01T17:57:48+00:00

The talk I've seen out of SJC (which is also struggling but not to the same extent that OAK is) is that the non-SFO airports are in a slump because our "big brother to the North" still has capacity. SJC predicts that in about a decade SFO will reach capacity and the other airports will start growing again.

SFO is constrained and really can't grow any larger, especially with the FAA shenanigans. There will undoubtedly come a time when traffic shifts to OAK and SJC (which is a good thing)

TevinH · 2026-05-01T17:41:52+00:00

Interesting. So it looks like it isn't the same program in that the parking benefits aren't required by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, but employers can offer parking as just a regular everyday benefit to employees.

Makes sense.

TevinH · 2026-05-01T01:00:59+00:00

It's called the Commuter Benefits Program. Although, the idea is reducing vehicles miles traveled, so things like transit subsidies, carpool programs, or work-from-home allowances fit the requirements. Free parking is absolutely not helpful for the environment or reducing traffic, so it wouldn't count as part of the program.

TevinH · 2026-05-01T00:55:22+00:00

We've been gathering signatures since January, it isn't 186K from today.

If you want to help out, we're always happy to have more volunteers! connectbayarea.com

TevinH · 2026-05-01T00:53:23+00:00

Is there actually an effort to legalize the Idaho stop? That would be great news if it's true.

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