Monday, May 28, 2012

Improvements to The Alameda Kicking off Soon

The Alameda near Downtown San Jose is about to get $3.9M worth of renovations. There will be new median strips, LED lighting, and safer crosswalks. Most of this will be paid for by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission with about 20% coming from the city of San Jose. The renovations kick off in September and will be capped off with a repaving of the entire street from the HP Pavilion to 880.

If the business owners along the strip are willing to pay for maintenance in the future, they may at some point also add flowing plants, new benches, and extensive landscaping across the sidewalks. After all this is completed, the Alameda could become a very nice walkable district. It's already home to many great retails spots, including The Usuals, Crema, La Dolce Velo, Wine Affairs, and The Arsenal.

Source: The Merc

8 comments:

  1. The Alameda is already the best non-mall street to walk down in San Jose -- and one of the best in America -- we just have to add cycletracks, so we can allow people to bike on the Alameda, and control auto/bus/truck traffic, which kills the life of the street.

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  2. I can definitely see the Alamdea evolving into a much-improved promenade, especially if HSR becomes a reality and the residential population increases.

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  3. Have some more paws along the alameda and it'll be perfect..

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  4. I really hope they reduce it down to 1 lane of traffic per side. I love this street but feel that the speeds are too fast for people to even see the businesses. With this improvement and the new wholefoods the alameda will be the place to be. Plant 51 is already 100% sold!

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    1. When is the Whole Foods opening? I was thinking about that the other day as I rode my bicycle along the Alameda. I love that steet too. It's one of the best streets in SJ IMO (plus the Rose garden is close by too...I know that's not everyone'e cup of tea :) but it's a great asset to our city)

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    2. IF, that is a big IF, Whole Foods ever opens it won't be until "late 2014".

      http://www.mercurynews.com/rose-garden/ci_20650574/whole-foods-says-its-ready-build-alameda-san

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    3. Good lord! I know this one has been delayed but I didn't realize for so long. If it opens in 2014 it'll be almost 10 years after it was first proposed. You can't say we rush things arund here. I guess the global economic crisis/recession took its toll. No wonder that Trader Joe's at SJ Marketplace is so busy!

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  5. I didn't realize until yesterday that this plan effectively called for an end to biking on The Alameda. i started a google group and am letting people know about the plan, now. check out 'Cycletracks on The Alameda' google group for more info.

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