The Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale, City Councils are concerned thMountain View, does the City Council not understand, or not care, about this.

It isn't that the public is "unprepared to understand VTA modeling and data".

We do understand their modeling and data. They lie to us.

Pretty easy to understand, really.

Here is my assessment and prediction. The VTA "rapid transit" bus-only lanes on El Camino would be all set to receive the "green light" from most of the politicians on the VTA Board of Directors except that approval would jeopardize the VTA's planned 2016 sales tax increase measure. So, the VTA Board majority will say that the project will not go forward unless and until there is more support in the most affected cities. Then, as soon as the measure were approved by voters, it would be full speed ahead with seizing the lanes. But voters will be so informed - and combined with other critics of other VTA projects, ripoffs and mismanagement - the VTA's ballot measure(s) should be defeated. After losing in the election, the VTA would surely prepare another ballot measure - this time containing a legally binding promise to NOT seize the lanes on El Camino or engage in other specified undesirable projects. That second measure might be approved - although the earlier criticism would haunt the VTA and the Board of Supervisors might propose its own sales tax increase measure which could outlaw the tranfer of funds to the VTA unless the VTA were barred from undertaking certain projects. In the alternative, opponents will mysteriously be run over by experimental self-driving buses.

We should be making car travel a lot easier, because with all the building going on we will need it. We are a car centric state period.

Suggestions on improving traffic, make the highways double deckers. We have lots of buildings that are over 2 stories high, why not highways? And no need to use eminent domain this way.

Like a child grows, so must it's blood vessels. Same with highways and byways.

Cars are not going away, might as well make it a better place with less traffic.

Anyone else have a good idea for making roads better?

VTA is not the solution for the majority!!

Build more roads? Yeah, right. If you want this area to have the air quality of Beijing, that is...

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No matter what the right decision is for BRT on El Camino Real, waiting two years is clearly no problem at all.

It might give time to try more options, such as having the existing 522 bus make additional stops to see if this provides better service to the riders, all things considered. The whole BRT plan hinges on being able to board more riders on the infrequent stops of the 522 service, just about the same 1 per 2 miles that exists now. In some places stops would be eliminated off the 522 service, when converting to BRT.

Meanwhile, BRT service on Eastridge to Diridon Transit Center is already delayed by 2 years itself. When it finally starts operating, the BRT vehicles will make the 522 runs through Mountain View. That might also provide some useful data. Since this will take 2 years,it makes sense to delay a lane dedicating solution for 3 years.

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No El-Camino-only solution will increase ridership by a useful amount. To do that, VTA will have to add feeder routes so that prospective riders can get to and from El Camino in the first place. and the service on those routes will need to be frequent. That's how you get people to leave cars - give them a useful alternative that goes where they need to go, and does so without walking miles at each end.

Many thanks to the El Camino Rapid Transit Policy Advisory Board for this.

I could see a mixed-use right lane concept, restricted at peak hours to carpools, BRT, local buses, shuttles and emergency vehicles, with bus turnouts, and not bulb-outs.

Closing two El Camino Lanes to autos permanently and dedicating them to BRT was a terrible, unrealistic idea. It's appalling that this plan has gotten as far as it did. If VTA pushes lane closure through in spite of widespread public opposition, the 2016 VTA sales tax will be in serious trouble.

Increasing Cal Train capacity would be the best option along with a fare reduction for the poor. Cal Train capacity could be increased in several ways such as adding two more cars to trains at high capacity time, these cars would not have access to the station platforms but could be accessed from the adjoining car with little time lost. A second way would be more trains with less time between trains, this would probably require better train control but would be worth the money and would seem to be doable technology, also more tracks could be added at a high cost.

At any rate taking away already crowded lanes on El Camino while building high density apartments, condos, and offices is sheer madness or simply stupid.

Also hink of the pollution caused by all the cars waiting and waiting to move a little with their engines burning gas and spitting out bad things.

Probably not enough room but I wonder if paved bus lanes could be added to the Cal Train right of way?

I agree that a decision on BRT needn't be rushed and that it makes sense to see how the under-construction BRT line in San Jose. No matter how the BRT discussion turns out, however, the proposed sales tax increase on the 2016 ballot needs a strong "NO" vote. Over the last several elections, voters in Santa Clara County have passed multiple tax and fee increases including VTA’s 2000 Measure A ½-cent and 2008 measure B ¼-cent sales taxes, Santa Clara County’s Measure A 1/8 cent sales tax, the state prop 30 ¼ cent sales tax and the 2010 Measure B Vehicle Registration Fee of $10. Additionally, we’re on the hook to pay back numerous state bond issues including high speed rail, last year’s Proposition 1 water bond and the infrastructure bonds of 2006.

All of this nickel and diming has contributed into making the Bay Area a horribly expensive place to live; especially for people of modest means, who must pay the greatest percentage of their income in these regressive taxes and fees. Each increase by itself does not amount to much, say a quarter cent, but the cumulative effect is to add to the unaffordability of the region.

Before increasing taxes YET AGAIN, waste needs to be removed from transportation projects. For example, VTA needs to eliminate waste and “gold plating” of the BART money pit's cost by reducing the scope to eliminate duplicate facilities. Specifically, a revised “build alternative” needs to be added to the study that eliminates the duplicative and wasteful section between the San Jose and Santa Clara Caltrain stations. The BART segment from the San Jose to Santa Clara Caltrain stations would duplicate both the existing Caltrain line and VTA’s 22 and 522 buses to a station that has only about 1000 riders per weekday.