Program Description

The City of San José is committed to providing safe, comfortable places for our community members to use bikes for transportation. We are in the process of transforming our streets to encourage more people to use bikes. Better Bikeways – Phase II is bringing big changes to downtown San José to make improvements for bike use.

Beginning in 2018, the City has redesigned several streets to make it safer, more convenient, and more comfortable to bike. These changes were made possible quickly and cost-effectively using plastic posts to separate people riding bikes from people driving cars. The City is now in the process of making these changes permanent by using concrete and landscaping to upgrade plastic posts. 

The following projects are part of Better Bikeways – Phase II:

• San Fernando Better Bikeway: Enhancements to the existing bikeway between Almaden Avenue and 11th Street

• Downtown Better Bikeways "Quick-Strike": Enhancements to existing bikeways, including:
  • Second Street and Third Street bikeway frontage lanes
  • Upgrades to downtown protected bikeways
  • Enhanced bikeway connection to Berryessa BART on Taylor Street and Mabury Road

• 10th Street and 11th Street bikeway frontage road and transit-boarding islands

Project Descriptions

San Fernando Street

The San Fernando Better Bikeways Project seeks to improve safety for people walking, biking, and driving between Almaden Boulevard and 11th Street. We are making the following safety improvements:

The City will make improvements between Market Street and 11th Street. Private development improvements will continue the bikeway between Market Street and Almaden Boulevard.

Downtown "Quick-Strike"

The "Quick-Strike" Better Bikeways Project seeks to improve safety for people biking in the Downtown area by making the following safety improvements: 

• Third Street and Fourth Street, Julian Street to Reed Street, and San Salvador Street, Fourth Street to Eighth Street: Replacing plastic posts with concrete islands and landscaping

• Second Street and Third Street (Second Street: Reed to Keyes and Third Street: William to Keyes): Upgrading the existing bike lanes by adding a frontage lane to serve as a bike boulevard, and to provide vehicle access to driveways and street parking (see image below for an example)

• Taylor Street and Mabury Road bikeway connection to BART: Upgrading plastic posts to concrete islands to enhance the connection between Downtown neighborhoods and the Berryessa BART station

10th Street and 11th Street Bikeway

The 10th Street and 11th Street project upgraded existing buffered bike lanes to a combination of protected bikeways and a bikeway frontage lane. The frontage lane serves as a space for people riding bikes, and provides access to driveways and street parking. Concrete transit boarding were also added to improve transit speeds, and minimize conflicts between buses and people riding bikes. Additionally, the project added concrete islands at select intersections to slow vehicles speeds and increase visibility. This project was completed in January 2023.

Project Map

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Previous Outreach:

Outreach for these projects was conducted as part of Better Bikeways - Phase I and as part of the 10th Street and 11th Street Bikeway Project. More than 5,000 households received invitations to project meetings. An estimated 1,680 people have attended an event, seen a presentation, and/or taken a survey about the project. Additional community outreach included:

• Ongoing meetings with San Jose State, downtown businesses, community partners, the downtown Council Office, neighborhood associations, residents, and surrounding apartment communities
• In-person events, including a weeklong pop-up protected bikeway in August 2017 and an augmented reality pop-up event in 2022
• Surveys
• Ongoing communications, including updates on the DOT website, DOT social media accounts, traditional media coverage, and blog updates, in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, starting in March 2017

TIMELINE

Completed: 

• 2018 to 2019: Protected bikeways were installed throughout downtown as part of Better Bikeways - Phase I
• 2023: The 10th Street and 11th Street bikeway project was completed

 In Progress:

• Planning, design, and community outreach
• Caltrans Process: Project Approval and Environmental Documents (PA&ED) Phase

Future Milestones:

• Downtown "Quick-Strike"
  • Fall 2024: Design complete
  • Spring 2025: Construction starts
• San Fernando Street
  • Fall 2024: Design complete
  • Winter 2025: Advertise project
  • Spring 2025: Construction starts

City Goals

Better Bikeways - Phase II project is supported by the following City plans:

• Envision San José 2040 General Plan
  • Goal CD 1.9: Give the greatest priority to developing high-quality pedestrian facilities in areas that will most promote transit use and bicycle and pedestrian activity
  • Goal CD 2.1: Promote the Circulation Goals and Policies in this Plan
• Better Bike Plan 2025
  • Safety
  • Mode shift
  • Equity
• Vision Zero San José
  • Reduce and eliminate severe injuries and deaths
• Climate Smart San José
  • Strategy 2: Reduce the miles we travel in our vehicles by at least 20%
• Move San José
  • Strategy 1: Safer streets
  • Strategy 6: Low-stress bike facilities and slow streets
  • Strategy 9: Enhance bike connectivity

These plans help us encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to walk, bike, and use public transit. These goals along with projects in Better Bikeways - Phase II will ultimately help us create a more sustainable and vibrant San José.

Funding

• San Fernando Better Bikeway is funded by State of California Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant funds and the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) regional grant program
• Downtown "Quick-Strike" is funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Safe & Seamless Quick-Strike grant program
• The 10th Street and 11th Street Bikeway was funded by State of California Transportation Development Act, Article III (TDA-3) grant funds
• Better Bikeways - Phase I was funded by a grant from the Knight Foundation and the City's pavement maintenance program

Contact

If you have any questions or comments about Better Bikeways - Phase II, please email project manager Ryan Smith at ryan.smith@sanjoseca.gov.