While many of our Superheroes avoid traffic congestion by taking to the skies, they are keenly aware of the community’s traffic concerns. By clearing a path for a revolution in fuel and energy needs, our Heroes in Silicon Valley are creating a healthier economy and environment for the world.


 
Just this past June, hundreds of Tesla employees, dignitaries and media jammed a small corner of a cavernous factory to wait for a Silicon Valley first: electric cars rolling off a Fremont assembly line aimed at Middle America. This is a milestone that many hope could rev up the entire electric car industry and help return high-end manufacturing jobs to California. Gov. Jerry Brown, called the roll out  ”another example of California on the move…. All of you are part of the state that is leading the country, if not the world.” Plans already are underway for Tesla to build a car that will cost less than $30,000 to make electric cars “affordable to the mass market.”
 
June’s event underscored the soaring ambition of Musk, the PayPal co-founder who in addition to bankrolling the birth of an automaker in Silicon Valley backed the private SpaceX rocket company. Its Dragon spacecraft made history by becoming the first commercial vehicle to launch and dock with the International Space Station.
 
Musk’s mentality is very, very Silicon Valley. “They all say what Tesla is doing isn’t possible,” said Musk. It’s good to know our Superheroes can prove them wrong.
 
Fighting for more access to other forms of transportation, our Heroes in Silicon Valley are also bringing more public transportation to the area by extending the BART system from Fremont to Santa Clara.
 
The largest public works project in San Jose’s history, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) held a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the beginning of construction of the future Berryessa BART Station. Once train service begins, the 10-mile Berryessa Extension will serve 23,000 average daily passengers, providing a transit alternative to the highly congested Interstate 680 and Interstate 880 corridors. It is estimated that a total of 18,000 direct and indirect jobs will be attributed to the project, with an average of 2,500 during the five busiest years of construction.
 
The extension will enhance regional connectivity, linking Santa Clara County to Oakland and San Francisco, and increase access into and out of the county that will be significant in supporting future job and population growth.
 
But this super human effort could never have happened through the efforts of a handful of Superheroes alone, so they told the public of their strategies to fight congestion.
 
In November 2000 Measure A was overwhelmingly approved by a 70.3% majority vote, authorizing a 30-year, 1/2 cent sales tax to construct the largest infrastructure project in Silicon Valley. Eight years later, county residents passed an additional 1/8 cent sales tax to fund the operating and maintenance costs of the BART Extension.
 
Meanwhile, even more people are choosing to drive less and bike more.  This is especially evident in San Jose.
 
A growing number of people are choosing to bike rather than drive in Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition (SVBC) is working to help make this happen.  San Jose City Council recently approved 6 bike projects that will add 8 miles of bike lanes to the downtown area.  Additionally, San Jose plans on installing a public bike share system at 15 downtown stations.  The changes San Jose is making regarding the availability of bicycles and bicycle pathways is a major step in creating a culture that supports clean transportation.  For a true coalition to take place, all parts of the community and city’s political structure must be engaged.   By setting an example of a bike-centric transportation model, Silicon Valley is leading the revolution for cleaner transportation.
 

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