[Sosfbay-discuss] VTA to cut 22 service, relents on 88 after hailstorm of PA protest

[JamBoi]

http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-7-21-pa-vta-routes
Saturday Jul 21

VTA will bring back popular routes

New, smaller buses planned for 88 line in response to
Palo Alto residents' complaints

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer
When Palo Alto spoke loudly, the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority listened - for the most part,
at least.

After fielding numerous complaints at a recent meeting
about a proposal to eliminate its 88 bus route, the
transportation authority next week will unveil a
revised bus routes plan that includes several changes
demanded by Palo Alto residents.

According to that plan, the 88 bus will continue to
serve Gunn High School and the residential area around
Fabian Drive, as well as the new Jewish community
center under construction and nearby senior housing
projects.

"I know those were some critical issues," VTA
spokeswoman Bernice Alaniz said Friday.

However, she noted, the "community buses" will be
smaller than the current ones. At 28 feet long, they
can accommodate up to 25 passengers, 15 fewer than
standard buses.

In late May, the VTA unveiled a preliminary new route
schedule that eliminated regular bus service to avoid
competing against Palo Alto's free shuttle to Gunn
High School and the Veterans Affairs Health Care
System, among other places. The proposed changes were
part of a countywide Comprehensive Operations Analysis
plan to shift resources to more popular service areas.

But Alaniz said the VTA listened to the objections
raised by irate Palo Alto bus riders and made some
revisions to the original plan.

In response to concerns from senior citizens, the 88
route will continue to serve the San Antonio Shopping
Center. Likewise, the 35 line that also had been
proposed for elimination will be reinstated to serve
the Stanford Shopping Center, she said.

But the VTA will still be slashing local service as it
concentrates buses in its higher-use areas closer to
San Jose.

The 22 route, which presently extends into Menlo Park
on every other bus, will now end in Palo Alto, Alaniz
said.

"We are concerned that they are reducing the amount of
service in Palo Alto," said Gayle Likens, the city's
transportation manager. She said several neighborhoods
along Louis Road and Channing Avenue will not be
served by the new 88 route from South Palo Alto to
Midtown.

Likens said the city appreciates restoration of the 35
route from the downtown transit center to the Stanford
Shopping Center. "That helps riders in Palo Alto
because they can continue to take the VTA service
without a transfer to the SamTrans buses," she said.

Still, Likens said the city would like to have "more
of a dialogue" with VTA on its latest plan, set to be
released in full Wednesday.

Palo Alto school board member Mandy Lowell said she
thinks it is "terrific" that service will be continued
to Gunn, but is concerned that the smaller buses may
not be adequate. Gunn students have told her the
standard buses are nearly always packed, she said.

"It would be very unfortunate if the net result of
this decision is fewer kids using public
transportation," she added.

Public input on the new route maps will continue next
month, until the VTA's board of directors votes on the
proposal Aug. 30, Alaniz said. The first phase of
changes is expected to take effect in January.


E-mail Kristina Peterson at
kpeterson at dailynewsgroup.com. 

___________________

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