Letters: S.J. leaders must keep downtown construction rolling

"I find the amount of unutilized potential that exists in downtown San Jose frustrating. This is particularly concerning given the continually worsening housing crisis facing the Bay Area. Surface-level parking lots, decaying fenced-off structures and countless signs promising projects that continually face delays litter the downtown landscape. This under-utilized land makes for a great place to build housing units, where new towers can slide in among the existing surroundings and provide a boost to downtown commerce."

"I believe our elected officials need to better understand the issues facing the development and construction industry and work toward policies that aim to make building quicker and cheaper. We, the voters, need to be wary of supporting politicians and initiatives that threaten to add costs to or draw out the building process. Keeping the construction of new units continuing is a key element to overcoming the housing crisis."

"Plan Bay Area 2050+ does not take sufficient account of the impacts that shared robotaxis will have on public transportation. The Plan's executive summary's first page mentions more autonomous vehicles. However, I found no other reference to either autonomous vehicles or robotaxis in the Draft Transit 2050+ Report nor in the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Transportation Project List Report. Shared robotaxis with four passengers each trip could reduce rush hour commuter vehicles."

Downtown San Jose contains significant unutilized land including surface parking lots, decaying fenced-off structures and stalled project sites. That land offers opportunities to build housing towers that can integrate with existing surroundings and stimulate downtown commerce. Officials should adopt policies that make development and construction faster and less costly, and voters should avoid supporting measures that increase costs or prolong building timelines. Plan Bay Area 2050+ lacks sufficient consideration of shared robotaxis, even though four-passenger robotaxis could reduce rush-hour commuter vehicles and consequently affect Caltrain, BART, light rail and future road-construction needs. One letter opposes paying Congress during a prolonged shutdown.

Read at www.mercurynews.com