RULES COMMITTEE: 2/25/2026
Item: B.1
File ID: ROGC 26-076
TO: Honorable Mayor & FROM: Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Council City Clerk
SUBJECT: The Public Record DATE: February 25, 2026
February 12, 2026 – February 19, 2026
ITEMS FILED FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD
Letters from Boards, Commissions, and Committees
Letters from the Public
1. Letter from Eamon Gormley, dated February 18, 2026, regarding: U.S. 101 Mabury-BerryessaOakland Road Corridor Project. ____________________________
Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Clerk
TJT/tt
2/18/26, 3:31 PM lnbox - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook Outlook
Fw: U.S. 101 Mabury-Berryessa-Oakland Road Corridor Project From Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Date Wed 2/18/2026 3:25 PM
To Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]> From: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 1:59 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: U.S. 101 Mabury-Berryessa-Oakland Road Corridor Project From: Eamon Gormley
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 1:32 PM
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; Districtl <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; Districts <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]> Subject: U.S. 101 Mabury-Berryessa-Oakland Road Corridor Project [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
San Jose, CA 95112
Wednesday February 18, 2026
Dear Elected Representatives,
. Leam why this is imP.ortant
I write to voice my opposition to some aspects of the U.S. 101 Mabury-Berryessa-Oakland Road Corridor Project as currently designed.
This project seems to be proceeding under the long-ago-debunked assumption that higher vehicle capacity means less congestion, when it has been well established that highway capacity expansions only induce greater volumes of traffic that result in longer journey times.
Problematic aspects of this project include:
1 - Widening Hedding with another lane between 13th St and 101. This is a residential street, not a highway, that has already been subject to a road diet. Why would we reduce vehicle capacity on a https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/MQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2QOLTZjNmZjNTk5MT.. 1/2 Public Record: 1
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. residential street for traffic calming purposes only to revert the changes? 2 - Adding a freeway interchange at Hedding, along with a “possible full or partial closure” of the existing interchange at Oakland Road. The distance from 13th at Hedding to the current 101 overcrossing is 1800 feet. The current distance between the same two points via the Oakland Rd interchange is 2,600 feet. It seems like overkill to spend so many tax dollars to shave 800 feet off the journey of drivers in the area who wish to access 101 South, and potentially add the same distance to the journeys of drivers going north on 101.
3 - Adding freeway entrances and exits on Hedding at 101. This area is already a hostile and dangerous environment for people on bikes, which is why so little active travel traffic is visible there.
Adding ramps would only make it even more hostile and dangerous. This is a potential active travel route between Japantown and Berryessa BART. The existing ramps on Oakland Road are adjacent to a commercial area with fewer active travel trip generators, making it an appropriate location for the ramps.
The proposed location is not.
4 - Adding auxiliary lanes on 101 between 10th and Hedding. This is road widening by the back door.
Auxiliary lanes have been added on other Bay Area arterials in the past, such as Central Expressway in Sunnyvale. Despite their exorbitant cost, there is scant evidence that they have made any positive difference to journey times, and it would appear that the only people who have benefited from them are the contractors who installed them. It is noteworthy that the repositioning of retaining walls will be needed for this project, resulting in a major engineering effort at great expense for no gain. 5 - Widening Commercial Street from Oakland Road to Berryessa Road. This is another road capacity expansion program that will increase VMT and further degrade what little active travel potential the area had.
There are some aspects of this project that have merit, such as active travel improvements on Mabury/Taylor. However, one would be forgiven for thinking that these are attempts to greenwash a carsfirst project that is designed to remove minor inconveniences from the driving experience, will induce more traffic into a residential area, will negate any supposed VMT reductions, and will likely increase VMT.
Please do not enable this project to proceed without a major rethink.
Best regards,
Eamonn Gormley
Tel.
2/18/26, 3:31 PM Inbox - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 2/2