You lost me and most residents with your favorable reference to "bus rapid transit" on El Camino. Maybe you were in Europe in recent weeks and missed it, but even the local politicians now realize and admit that seizing a lane in each direction on El Camino for an occasional VTA bus would be a waste of lane space. It would bring to a near standstill traffic in the remaining lanes - including the right lanes that accommodate other VTA buses. Unless your aim is to ban cars from El Camino, bus-only lanes make no sense. And neither do bike lanes. Again - unless you really wish to ban cars - which is phase two of the Grand Boulevard Initiative.

Thanks for the article. It is frustrating dealing with the handful of greedy NIMBY's that pollute Town Square with their misinformation.

Most cities in Santa Clara county are unopposed to the El Camino BRT projects and most residents in MV are happy with the council vote to support it. Two studies were done that proved major positive impact to transit and negligible negative impact to traffic. These are the facts and are undisputed by intelligent people.c

Everyone can see how BRT might work. VTA is showing us how they would handle things if BRT came to MV. So far BRT1 is an abject failure.

Thankfully as reported in every local paper, the support for BRT up and down the line is very weak. Joe Simitian stated this and now even Pat Showalter is rethinking her position. Continued voicing of the majority's voice is needed. That is what they are reporting on regarding the lack of support for BRT.

Driverless cars are not costing the citizens a penny and seem to beworkng great so far with no discernible impact to MV other than politely "driven" cars. It's all done with private money, which is a great thing. BRT would ruin the quality of life in MV plus cost all of us money. I'm glad solutions are coming from where the brains are and not where the budget hungry bureaucrats are. Nothing about BRT is good. Just look at how VTA can't even get their ducks in a row for the SIMPLE BRT1.
*Keep watching them fail at BRT1. Be aware!

The problem of the anti-Bus coalition's solution of DO NOTHING is that it would result in a far worsening of congestion for everybody. As more and more high density developments (commercial, residential and retail) are built along El Camino and in areas this STATE HIGHWAY feeds into, the automobile traffic will continue to escalate. By dedicating a lane to public transit, it provides a fast way to move people. Think of it like the wondrous CalTrain program (where more than 70% of the cost is taxpayer subsidized!). Perhaps instead of running the train, we should pave it over and put another highway? And where it parallels closely to Central Expressway, expand those lanes?

The reason why we do not, is there is value in building up a network of transit options. Even CalTrain made the decision to put a "BRT" system (called "Baby Bullet")in place, because the regular "local" and even "limited stop" trains were considered too slow by the riders.

It's good that most of the cities remain unopposed and a majority of the board of supervisors are supportive. With all the new shopping, dining, employment and residential opportunities opening up on El Camino, a fast bus is going to be very much appreciated!

BRT will reduce the capacity for cars, and trucks, on ECR by 1/3.

Where will those cars go? WAZE already directs me to avoid most of the ECR traffic by going on Hans Avenue, past Bubb School, making a left on Phyllis, a right on Pamela drive.

Yes, almost all the traffic will be force onto neighborhood streets.

The article might have mentioned two huge differences distinguishing Berlin from silicon valley.

First, Berlin (like most of Europe's well-known metropolitan areas) came together before cars were commonplace. Physical silicon valley today is largely a product of the original 1960s and 1970s booms that some of us remember, and it reflects the then-current US planning sensibility of building separated bedroom communities, industrial parks, and shopping malls. Some of its regions such as the young town of Sunnyvale are almost pure expressions of that thinking. Whereas in Europe (whose per-capita car ownership rates have always been lower anyway), the ancient villages evolved to cities without an underlying assumption (so characteristic of the late-20th-century US) that everyone would always get around by cars.

Secondly, Germany is notoriously petroleum-poor, unlike the US (itself a major oil producer albeit also a big consumer). People there have been accustomed to far higher gasoline prices, for decades -- dollars per gallon back when we in the US paid tens of cents, I saw it myself -- so the automobile remained more of a luxury, less central to people's expectations and planning than in the US.

All those Berliners the writer saw didn't just decide recently to use bikes and mass transit, they've done for 150 years. Retrofitting intelligent car alternatives into a region built very deliberately for cars isn't as easy as doing so from the beginning.

Lightrail: VTA's national disgrace. Failure
BRT1: VTA trying to hide the imminent Failure from us.
BRT2: ...c'mon, what do you think?

Let's invest those dollars in creating a fleet of shuttles that will transport wealthy tech workers from caltrain stations to their businesses. God knows they need it!

For those that rely on busses to get around, it's good enough. It would encourage users to apply themselves and earn enough to buy and run an automobile. For the elderly and handicapped, they don't need to get around quickly. Time is simply not as important as it is to tech workers.

An East West shuttle system is a great idea. It gets people to their actual destination. This is what should be looked at. Smaller faster shuttles for the last leg that is currently missing.

You could create many parking lots along 237, 85 101, because that's where all this traffic is actually coming from, NOT from SJ along ECR(duh). Encourage people to park farther out, then shuttle them in rest of way. Park farther way, pay less fare. This alternative would address actual traffic reduction along the transit corridors people actually use. Even those tech workers (who have been in MV in good numbers since the 1950's so enough w/ slamming them. They are you and we and them.)

Nicely said, James.

When I moved to Mountain View from LA almost 15 years ago, I always quietly chuckled inside when people complained about the horrible traffic problem in Silicon Valley. For the most part, traffic here was very predictable - heavy during rush hour ONLY, and only in one direction. That to me isn't a traffic problem, that's rush hour.

Living in LA, you see what a real traffic problem is. Rush hour there is a parking lot on all the freeways, lasts several hours, and is in all directions. Taking side streets is just as bad. There's no avoiding the traffic. Until now.

I just returned from 5 days in LA. While I was there, I took their Metro bus for the first time ever. I was amazed!! This bus system has a road all to itself, so is completely unaffected by traffic conditions. And alongside much of it, there is a bike path. I finally understood what all the BRT hype is all about. It was wonderful! I would love to see that here.

In the 14 years since I moved here, I've watched traffic to Google get pretty bad. With all the development in the pipe, our roads are destined to get clogged to capacity eventually. It's not something I'm looking forward to, but it's inevitable. That's why it is so important to build in options now, while there is still a little space.

The biggest hurdle I see is cultural. It just doesn't occur to most people that they have any options to get around other than their car. I wonder if and how that will ever change.