Silicon Valley’s Central Bikeway Could Be A Game Changer

Santa Clara County residents could soon ride on the region’s first bicycle superhighway.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority could approve construction of the Central Bikeway—a 10-mile stretch of protected bike lanes between San Jose and Santa Clara—as soon as next month. VTA’s bicycle advisory committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend the transit agency’s board approve the basic design for the project. The VTA board will consider the Central Bikeway on May 4.

“This is a really precedent-setting project,” VTA land-use planner Brent Pearse said during the meeting. “We’re going to use this when we work with cities (and) we’re going to use this when we work on future bike superhighways.”

VTA initially had about a dozen routes to choose from, and eventually narrowed the choice down to three. More than 1,400 residents gave their input on the best route for the superhighway, 30% of whom don’t currently ride a bicycle or only ride for recreation. Resident feedback was gathered through social media, surveys and VTA pop-ups at events like Viva Calle for almost two years.

VTA planners ultimately landed on the route dubbed The Shortliner, which goes from Penitencia Creek County Park past the Berryessa BART Station on Mabury Road, continuing on Taylor Street. The route turns north on Fourth Street and west on Hedding Street, finally turning on The Alameda and continuing north on El Camino Real. The Shortliner ends at Lawrence Expressway, about a mile and a half south of the Lawrence Caltrain station in Santa Clara.