VTA Allocates Funding for Highway 17 Relief

A plan to add a third lane to Highway 17 in Los Gatos received more than $11 million in funding from the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in its recent budget. The goal of the project is to help relieve the bottleneck often caused by summer beachgoers on their way to Santa Cruz.

Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob Moore, who serves on VTA, advocated for the funding and noted that over the summer about 25% of traffic from Highway 17 reroutes through downtown Los Gatos, according to VTA studies. He noted that because of this traffic, VTA was forced to eliminate bus service through Los Gatos on summer weekends because traffic made those routes unserviceable.

Los Gatos and VTA leadership noted that the funding, while needed, was still a long way from completely solving the problem. VTA plans to apply for further state funding for the project and other efforts to mitigate traffic there. Other solutions are being studied, including certain traffic fees on Highway 17 (congestion pricing), exploring a VTA light rail line and even installing cameras to fine aggressive drivers who block traffic.

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Source: San Jose Spotlight

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