Get Engaged in San Jose

Transform is here to support public engagement in the City of San Jose’s public planning processes with the goal of creating a more livable, less car-centric vision for San Jose.

We will keep this page updated with the latest opportunities to plug in and engage with the future of street design throughout San Jose. Stay tuned for upcoming City decisions related to parking, including when bus, bike lanes or plazas are being proposed.

You can also sign up for Transform’s email list by scrolling all the way to the bottom of this page to receive updates directly in your inbox.

Feel free to email [email protected] if you have an engagement opportunity you don’t see listed below or would like support in getting involved.

Reimagining Santa Clara Street

The San José Downtown Transportation Plan (DTP) is a 20-year strategic plan for improving transportation to, from, and within Downtown. In addition, the plan identifies four big moves that will help shape the desired future of Downtown. One of them is to reimagine and enhance Santa Clara St. This is a priority project for SPOT SJ. 

Santa Clara Street is generally considered to be San José’s “main drag.” It is vital to civic life, and is one of the city’s most important transportation corridors. The sidewalk is generally not a pleasant place to walk, shop, or be with friends. Businesses are struggling. Transit buses get stuck at red lights and in traffic. In the Downtown Plan, the notion of reshaping the street garnered the most community support compared to other “Big Moves” outlined in the plan.

In 2024 the City began a comprehensive and holistic study to show how the street could be a “Grand Boulevard”. With significant updates it can be a signature place that welcomes people who are shopping, going to work, eating at restaurants, or simply enjoying the city on foot. SPUR, one of the SPOT SJ partners, wrote an excellent blog about how we can learn from other cities.

VTA BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project

Transform has been awarded a VTA Transit Oriented Communities grant to support community engagement in East San Jose in partnership with the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in the development of a transportation demand management strategy for the School’s community events.

The goal of the VTA TOC grant program is to strengthen communities, increase transit ridership, reduce the need for car trips, and support intensive mixed-use, mixed-income development around light rail stations and transit hubs. We aim to remove barriers to creating safe, walkable, healthy, resilient, and thriving neighborhoods next to transit.

Stay tuned for a calendar of activities and ways to share your input coming Spring 2025.

Five Wounds Urban Village Plan Update

San Jose’s Five Wounds Urban Village Plan Update is a consolidation of four existing urban villages, updated to reflect the future 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station area. This was a collaborative effort of the City of San Jose, VTA, and community members. City of San Jose staff estimate the update to the area will produce approximately 5,000-7,000 desperately-needed new housing units over the next two decades. Find full details on the Five Wounds Urban Village plan here.

Implementation of the Plan is still in early stages and will require further public engagement so stay tuned for ways to get involved in making the Plan a reality.

SPOT SJ Project Updates

Reclaiming parking for printmaking