San José is the richest city in America due to its expanding tech industry and houses the most residents in the Bay Area. Despite all of the city’s accomplishments, San José struggles to put itself on the map and is a host to many issues. It’s fortunate that Google has its eyes set on San José for an ambitious project that involves a new tech campus with a mile long transit village. Locals have protested Google’s proposal fearing that it will intensify San José’s housing crisis and tear the city’s culture. However, I believe the tech giant could aid the city by improving transit, providing jobs, and building housing.
San José’s public transportation desperately needs a helping hand. According to San Jose Spotlight, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has doubled the cost of running their services and faced a 20% drop in ridership. Passengers have complained about VTA being inefficient and discontinuing certain routes. With Google’s project being centered around public transit, we might have hope for improved public transit.
Google wants to turn downtown’s Diridon Station into Bay Area's main transportation hub, since it already serves people all across Silicon Valley. It is expected that ridership will increase by the thousands because of the influx of development, so companies are already planning their move into the city, BART being the most anticipated. San José has not been able to experience the easy transit that BART provides to other cities across the Bay Area, but it's finally the city’s turn. In a seven year plan, the company will add stations at Alum Rock, Diridon Station, downtown at Santa Clara Street, and the city of Santa Clara. The company hopes to start construction in 2021 and finish by 2026. While we wait for that, Caltrain is expected to complete their electric-powered trains by 2021 which will provide frequent rides between the Peninsula and San José.
San José’s downtown is underwhelming to say the least. Buildings in the area have been limited to a certain height because of the airplanes that make their way to San José International Airport. The tallest building in the area is the SAP Center, which stands at 110 ft tall. According to The Mercury News, City Council has increased the limit making it possibly for buildings to reach 200 ft. Google will be able to provide the city with about 20,000 jobs in its 80-acre development. Since the village is transit-based, employees could walk to their jobs, reducing San José’s carbon footprint.
The main concern from locals is the increase in housing prices, they are not wrong. Zillow’s overview states that median price for a home in San José is $991,000. To handle this issue, people choose to flock the area or rent a place crowded with roommates. Google can only make this situation worse right? Not quite. The tech company is working hard with San José to make sure they benefit the city rather than damaging it. According to ArchPaper, Google intends to build 3,000 to 5,000 housing units and swears to make 25% of it affordable for low and middle class residents. Google recently announced that it will aid in housing for disabled and low income residents. According to The Mercury News, Google has put in $5.3 million to Kelsey Ayer Station, an affordable housing project geared towards people with disabilities. There is also Lifemoves, a nonprofit that provides supportive services and temporary housing. They received $1 million from Google to remodel their space and increase the number of people that could be served.
Google is proving itself to be a helping hand in San José and not an enemy. Locals should keep their minds open about this opportunity. The tech company will push the city in the direction it should be heading in.
San José’s public transportation desperately needs a helping hand. According to San Jose Spotlight, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has doubled the cost of running their services and faced a 20% drop in ridership. Passengers have complained about VTA being inefficient and discontinuing certain routes. With Google’s project being centered around public transit, we might have hope for improved public transit.
Google wants to turn downtown’s Diridon Station into Bay Area's main transportation hub, since it already serves people all across Silicon Valley. It is expected that ridership will increase by the thousands because of the influx of development, so companies are already planning their move into the city, BART being the most anticipated. San José has not been able to experience the easy transit that BART provides to other cities across the Bay Area, but it's finally the city’s turn. In a seven year plan, the company will add stations at Alum Rock, Diridon Station, downtown at Santa Clara Street, and the city of Santa Clara. The company hopes to start construction in 2021 and finish by 2026. While we wait for that, Caltrain is expected to complete their electric-powered trains by 2021 which will provide frequent rides between the Peninsula and San José.
San José’s downtown is underwhelming to say the least. Buildings in the area have been limited to a certain height because of the airplanes that make their way to San José International Airport. The tallest building in the area is the SAP Center, which stands at 110 ft tall. According to The Mercury News, City Council has increased the limit making it possibly for buildings to reach 200 ft. Google will be able to provide the city with about 20,000 jobs in its 80-acre development. Since the village is transit-based, employees could walk to their jobs, reducing San José’s carbon footprint.
The main concern from locals is the increase in housing prices, they are not wrong. Zillow’s overview states that median price for a home in San José is $991,000. To handle this issue, people choose to flock the area or rent a place crowded with roommates. Google can only make this situation worse right? Not quite. The tech company is working hard with San José to make sure they benefit the city rather than damaging it. According to ArchPaper, Google intends to build 3,000 to 5,000 housing units and swears to make 25% of it affordable for low and middle class residents. Google recently announced that it will aid in housing for disabled and low income residents. According to The Mercury News, Google has put in $5.3 million to Kelsey Ayer Station, an affordable housing project geared towards people with disabilities. There is also Lifemoves, a nonprofit that provides supportive services and temporary housing. They received $1 million from Google to remodel their space and increase the number of people that could be served.
Google is proving itself to be a helping hand in San José and not an enemy. Locals should keep their minds open about this opportunity. The tech company will push the city in the direction it should be heading in.