|
Stuck in San Jose
"[...] The nearest Bay Area Rapid Transit stop is an hour’s ride away from my home in San Jose [...] Why isn’t there a BART station in San Jose? "
By Lucia Misch
Listen
to this Commentary!
The Bay Area has BART, New York has the subway, and Chicago has the "L." These transit systems clear up our air, and make commuting a lot easier...especially for young people who don't drive. Youth Radio's Lucia Misch doesn't understand why her hometown of San Jose has been left off the BART map for so long, and wonders when - if ever - her city will get added on. (September 3 on KCBS)
While the final game of the World Cup was being was being battled out on the field of Germany, I was waiting for a bus. All because the nearest Bay Area Rapid Transit stop is an hour’s ride away from my home in San Jose.
Pretty soon my self-pity from missing the entire match turned into anger, which in turn led to curiosity. Why isn’t there a BART station in San Jose?
I placed a phone call to BART and spoke to someone in their Planning Office. He told me that way back in the 1960’s, when BART was being conceived as a fast and environmentally sound way to connect the Bay, the San Mateo County board of supervisors decided to withdraw their support from the project.
Now forty-something years later, I have to take an hour-long bus ride to Fremont in order to catch the BART. It’d be really great just to hop on at San Jose and off at my final destination. My only consolation is that by the time BART is extended to San Jose, I’ll be able to get the senior citizen’s discount.
|
|
