Without improvement, the future looks bleak for Santa Clara County expressway users, and in response, the Santa Clara County Roads and Airports Department is preparing to address the issue with the Expressway Plan 2040.
Since 2003, San Tomas Expressway has seen an increasing demand and vehicle trips, going from service levels “D” (some delays) and “E” (major delays) to level “F” (severe delays). The section of San Tomas that runs through Campbell is mostly in the “major delays” category, with the exception between the Budd Avenue and Highway 17 ramps.
“It’s a little scary for San Tomas,” county transportation planner Dawn Cameron said of a future without improvements.
Cameron said the plan evaluates expressway needs based on city land use plans, projected traffic growth and complete streets planning. The plan will identify challenges and developments and opportunities, recommend necessary policy changes and revise funding requirements and implementation strategies. It’s expected to be completed by June 2015.
For San Tomas, the plan will consider changing treatment of right-turn lanes, adding full or partial grade separation and interchange, implementing intersection improvements, widening the expressway and adding HOV lanes and connections as well as improvements to the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
The proposed improvements are expected to bring traffic to a service level of major delays along San Tomas, compared to the anticipated level of severe delays if nothing is done.
The improvements are only plans and not approved projects at this point, as county officials are developing concepts for feasibility analysis alone. The next step would be bike accommodation guidelines, followed by updated pedestrian maps and developing a “toolbox” for crossing enhancements. Projects would then need to go through separate design and environmental studies before they could be executed.
A list of potential projects, if feasible and accepted by the community, would be included in the plan.
The roads and airports department reports that expressways are a part of 1.5 million vehicle trips and 52 percent of Santa Clara County residents’ commutes.
The Expressway Plan 2040 follows the 2003 Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study and the 2008 Update. The 2003 study focused on maintenance and operational needs, developed and documented consensus for capacity and operational enhancements and examined facilities for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, soundwalls and landscaping. It was updated in 2008 to include the Santa Teresa Boulevard-Hale corridor.
Comprehensive expressway plans can be found online at expressways.info. Cameron said updated information from meetings should be available soon. Comments can be left by phone at 408.573.2417, by email at RDAExpresswayPlan2040@rda.sccgove.org or by mail to the Expressway Plan 2040 Study Roads and Airports Department, County of Santa Clara, 101 Skyport Drive, San Jose, CA, 95110.
The next community meeting on the Page Mill Road-Oregon and Foothill expressways is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 2 in the council chamber at the Los Altos Hills Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road.
