We are deeply invested in the success of BART Phase II, and have spent many hours working with VTA, BART and the City of San Jose on the station refinements task force to ensure the best possible project gets built. We commend the VTA project team, which has taken our concerns seriously and developed new ideas that would, if advanced, improve the project significantly. We strongly recommend making sure this project includes at least two entrances at both the downtown and Diridon stations. These entrances should be located on both the north and south sides of Santa Clara Street. Ideally these entrances will be located at the ends of the platforms to expand access both east and west. We also strongly recommend changing the shape of the head houses, especially at Diridon Station, so the sites can more easily accommodate transit-oriented development. This is the way BART and almost all other urban rail systems are built, and with good reason: it is the best way to design them.
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