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68℉San José Downtown Transportation Plan
The San José Downtown Transportation Plan (DTP) is a 20-year strategic plan for improving transportation to, from, and within Downtown. Developed with the community to support mobility needs and future growth in Downtown, the DTP provides a framework for more than 50 new transportation projects, programs, and policies to be implemented by 2040. In addition, the plan identifies and advances four big transportation moves that will help shape the desired future of Downtown.
The Plan
The Downtown Transportation Plan was adopted by City Council on November 15, 2022. Read the full plan here:
- Full Draft DTP
- Appendix A: Existing Transportation Conditions
- Appendix B: Public Life Assessment
- Appendix C: Engagement Summary Report
- Appendix D: Equity Framework
- Appendix E: Santa Clara Street Implementation
- Appendix F: Vehicle Network Screenline Analysis
Read the Downtown Transportation Plan, broken out by chapters, below. Click on each chapter heading to read it in full.
Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, Executive Summary
Chapter 1 – Introduction
The DTP starts with an introduction about how transportation in Downtown evolved and how the plan can help guide Downtown to a better transportation future.
Chapter 2 – Downtown Transportation Vision and Goals
This chapter describes the transportation vision and goals shared by our Downtown residents, workers, students, and visitors. Background research and community input were gathered to help paint a more complete picture of where we are and what we envision.
This plan recommends a total of 17 strategies and more than 50 associated improvement projects and programs supported by the Downtown community to achieve the vision and goals. These strategies and improvement are split into three categories:
Chapter 3 – Build Complete Street Networks
- Strategy 1: Enable reliable transit by introducing transit priority and supporting features
- Strategy 2: Support vibrant street life and economy with pedestrian priority features
- Strategy 3: Create communal gathering places by transforming select streets into pedestrian-only paseos
- Strategy 4: Create bike thoroughfares for all ages and skill levels with bike priority features
- Strategy 5: Simplify the street grid and create livable streets
- Strategy 6: Take a proactive approach to traffic calming on neighborhood streets
Chapter 4 – Make Big Moves for Public Infrastructure
- Strategy 7: Enhance Santa Clara Street to be Downtown’s most prominent street for transit and commercial activities
- Strategy 8: Invest in bike superhighways or car-free connections across Downtown
- Strategy 9: Realign the Light Rail system in Downtown for faster service
- Strategy 10: Reconnect Downtown communities by transforming freeway access to Downtown
Chapter 5 – Unlock the Value of Mobility for All
- Strategy 11. Implement mobility hubs to improve access to and transfer between shared mobility services
- Strategy 12. Explore demand-based pricing policy as a means of allocating public parking
- Strategy 13. Incentivize Downtown developments to right-size, unbundle, and/or share parking for efficient use of spaces
- Strategy 14. Complement complete streets with proactive curb management
- Strategy 15. Implement a neighborhood delivery hub near regional truck routes
- Strategy 16. Provide free shuttle service for low-income neighborhoods to improve access to local destinations
- Strategy 17. Explore a Parking and Transportation Management District to implement parking and TDM programs in Downtown
Chapter 6 – Implementation Plan
This chapter describes the steps to advance a prioritized list of more than 50 improvement projects and programs in Downtown. An implementation phasing, funding strategies, an implementation process are also identified.
Downtown San José Boundaries
For purposes of the DTP, Downtown San José is defined as not only the traditional downtown core but also neighborhoods adjacent to the core in the Greater Downtown area. These are places near public transit planned for new homes, jobs, and community amenities. In other words, Downtown San José is bounded by the Spartan-Keyes neighborhood to the south, Japantown to the north, San José State University to the east, and Diridon Station-St. Leo’s-Cahill Park areas to the west.
Equity Advisory Council
Community-based organizations (CBOs), including Chopsticks Alley, Latinx Business Circle, and Walk San José/California Walks, were critical to the City and engagement team for the Downtown Transportation Plan. Not only did they help engage their communities and promote events, they helped craft the DTP's vision and goals and helped fine tune the language used in outreach materials. In addition, the CBOs formed the Equity Advisory Council (EAC) to push the project team’s thinking on how to center social and racial equity in the DTP planning process.
Members of the EAC offered a nuanced understanding of their local community context and needs. They also helped draw participation from stakeholders historically underrepresented due to a variety of social, economic, and cultural barriers to participation.
outreach and engagement
Spring/Summer 2020 – Existing Conditions
- Community Meeting: Station Area Advisory Group, June 17, 2020 [Summary/Video Recording]
- Speaker Series: Learning from the Best: How Toronto’s Experience Can Shape San José’s Future, July 29, 2020
- Listening Session: Equity, July 25, 2020 [Summary]
- Listening Session: Getting Around Downtown, July 28, 2020 [Summary]
- Listening Session: Housing, August 5, 2020 [Summary]
- Listening Session: Building Heights, August 10, 2020 [Summary]
- Listening Session: Parks and Public Space, August 18, 2020 [Summary]
- Focus Group: Delmas Park Neighborhood Association, July 9, 2020
- Focus Group: San Jose Downtown Association, August 21, 2020
- Equity Advisory Council #1, August 6, 2020
- Technical Advisory Committee #1, July 7, 2020
Fall 2020 – Downtown Vision and Goals
- Community Meeting: BART Community Working Group, September 15, 2020
- Community Meeting: Visioning Workshop, October 28, 2020 [Summary of Visioning Workshop]
- Online Survey: Visioning, September 29, 2020 – January 10, 2021
- Speaker Series #2: Asian Communities and Transportation in Downtown San José, October 9, 2020
- Speaker Series #3: Women’s Perspectives on Transportation in Downtown San José, October 19, 2020
- Focus Group: Downtown Parking Board, September 16, 2020
- Focus Group: San Jose Downtown Association, September 18, 2020
- Focus Group: Businesses, October 20, 2020
- Focus Group: Spanish Speakers, December 3, 2020
- Focus Group: Vietnamese Speakers, December 11, 2020
- Equity Advisory Council #2: Visioning, August 13, 2020 [Summary of Visioning meeting]
- Technical Advisory Committee #2, September 30, 2020
- Logo Contest, November 2020: DTP Logo Design Contest Winner
2021 – Strategy Development
- Online Survey: Diridon Station Area and Greater Downtown, June 15, 2020
- Focus Group: Unhoused Residents (12 Interviews), January 2021
- Focus Group: SAP Center, March 25, 2021
- Focus Group: Emerging Mobility Providers, April 27, 2021
- Focus Group: San Jose Downtown Association, August 18, 2021
- Focus Group: Downtown Parking Board, August 20, 2021
- Focus Group: SAP Center, September 2, 2021
- Focus Group: San Jose State University, September 9, 2021
- Focus Group: Downtown Parking Board, October 12, 2021
- Equity Advisory Council #3, Parking and Curbside Management, September 24, 2020 [Summary of Parking and Curbside Management meeting]
- Equity Advisory Council #4, Big Moves, February 25, 2021 [Summary of Big Moves meeting]
- Technical Advisory Committee #3, March 25, 2021
- Technical Advisory Committee #4, November 9, 2021
- Viva Calle, September 19, 2021
- Viva Calle, November 7, 2021
Spring 2022 – Projects, Programs, and Policies
- Community Meeting: Lend Your Voice to Shape Downtown’s Transportation Future (Online Open House), April 14, 2022
- Online Open House, February 4 to 18, 2022
- Online Survey: Parque de los Pobladores Expansion, July 1, 2022
- Focus Group: SAP Center, June 11, 2020
- Focus Group: San Jose Downtown Residents Association, June 12, 2020
- Focus Group: Diridon Area Neighborhood Group, September 24, 2020
- Focus Group: SAP Center, Parking and Transportation Management District, June 15, 2020
- Focus Group: Diridon Area Neighborhood Group, February 28, 2022
- Focus Group: San Jose Downtown Association, March 18, 2022
- Focus Group: South of University Neighborhood, April 19, 2022
- Focus Group: St. James Park Advisory Committee, June 24, 2022
Summer 2022 – Financing and Implementation
Fall 2022 – Draft and Final Plan
- Community Meeting: Lend Your Voice to Shape Downtown’s Transportation Future (Draft Plan), September 22, 2022
- Focus Group: Downtown Parking Board, September 7, 2022
- Other Focus Groups, TBD
- Equity Advisory Council #5, TBD
- Technical Advisory Committee #5, TBD
Related Downtown Efforts:
- Airport-Diridon-Stevens Creek Connector
- BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension
- Better Bike Plan 2025 Implementation
- Central Bikeway
- Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan
- Diridon Station Area Plan Implementation
- Guadalupe Gardens Improvement Plan
- Guadalupe River Park Re-envisioning
- St. James Park Revitalization
Contact us
Email Downtown.Transportation.Plan@sanjoseca.gov with questions or comments about the plan.