VTA's comprehensive Bicycle Program is committed to improving the bicycle infrastructure throughout Santa Clara County, and to enabling and encouraging people to bike to work, school, errands and for recreation. Implemented in 1998, the program provides facilities, services, and programs dedicated to make bicycling a safer and more practical option for Santa Clara County residents and visitors.
VTA is a strong proponent of bicycle commuting and allowing bikes and transit to work together seamlessly. All VTA buses are equipped with bike racks and all light rail vehicles have internal racks.
VTA has developed a video (including a video in Spanish) explaining how to bring a bike on VTA buses and light rail! Bringing a bike on VTA allows commuters to travel farther distances in Santa Clara County and beyond.
In addition to bringing bikes on board transit, bike commuters have access to secure bike parking systemwide. Bike racks and bike lockers have been installed in nearly all VTA Park & Ride lots and Transit Centers and bike parking demand is continuously monitored.
VTA also publishes the Santa Clara Valley Bikeways Maps.
The Bicycle Program is constantly looking for ways to expand and improve its current bicycle programs and promotions. Greater emphasis is being placed on developing new programs to enhance education and outreach, pedestrian projects, bicycle/pedestrian collision monitoring, and improving overall biking conditions in Santa Clara County.
New state legislation on Complete Streets and greenhouse gas emissions will undoubtedly create new opportunities for the VTA Bicycle Program to contribute to solving the region’s transportation challenges.
Adult Bicycle Education Classes
VTA is offering a variety of bicycle education classes to people 18 years old or above. Classes include Biking Basics, Smart Cycling (a two part series), and Bicycle Maintenance. Classes are provided by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. For more information and to sign up for classes, visit the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's Bicycle Education webpage. Funding is provided by 2016 Measure B and will be offered on a rolling basis through summer 2023.
Countywide Bike Plan
In addition to providing transit service for Santa Clara County, VTA serves as the county’s Congestion Management Agency and is responsible for long-range transportation planning, including planning for bicyclists. VTA publishes the Countywide Bicycle Plan, which guides bicycle projects in the County over the next 25 years.
Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan
The Countywide Bicycle Plan identified the need for bicycle superhighways in Santa Clara County. Bicycle superhighways are high quality, uninterrupted, long-distance bikeways separated from motor vehicles that traverse across the county. The bicycle superhighway network will allow people to travel quickly from city to city by bicycle in much the same way the County Expressway System allows people to travel quickly across the county by car. In practice, the bicycle superhighway network will consist of a network of high-quality, low-stress, on-street bikeways and trails. When properly designed, bicyclists using them typically experience less delay due to fewer at-grade crossings with the street network or due to signal priority at intersections. The Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan identifies 17 priority corridors. It also describes the implementation status of each bicycle superhighway, summarizes active implementation efforts, and provides planning level cost estimates for building out remaining segments. The Plan will assist local agencies and VTA in funding, planning, designing, and building the superhighway network. Please click on this link for the Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan.
Bicycle Technical Guidelines
VTA publishes the Bicycle Technical Guidelines to help Member Agencies provide optimal bicycle accommodation and ensure that bicycle planning, as well as roadway planning, remains consistent countywide. VTA updates the guidelines on a periodic basis.
The guidelines provide a set of standards and best practices for roadway and bikeway design at the time of publication. As the complementary companion to the Countywide Bicycle Plan and the Bicycle Expenditure Program, the guidelines should be used as a resource by both roadway and bikeway planners and designers.
VTA first adopted the guidelines in 1999 and updates them on a periodic basis. The Bicycle Program expanded and re-adopted the guidelines in 2022.
BICYCLE TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FILES
Readers should confirm that outside documents have not changed since the date of publication. A list of other common bicycle design documents is provided below.
OTHER BICYCLE DESIGN GUIDES
- California Manual of Traffic Control Devices
- Caltrans Traffic Operations Policy Directives, Memos, and Letters
- California Highway Design Manual
- Caltrans Design Information Bulletins (Includes DIB 89, Class IV Bikeway Design Guidance)
- FHWA Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide
- National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Urban Street Design Guide, and Transit Street Design Guide
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities (only available for purchase)
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) consists of 16 members representing each of the 15 cities and the county. It also has one ex-officio (non-voting) position for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. The BPAC advises the Board on funding and planning issues for bicycle and pedestrian projects. It also serves as the countywide bicycle advisory committee for Santa Clara County.
Bicycle Expenditure Program
The Bicycle Expenditure Program (BEP) was first adopted in 2000 by the VTA Board of Directors as the funding mechanism for countywide bicycle projects.
Approximately every four years, VTA updates the BEP Project List, which is a list of bicycle projects that can be funded over the next 25 years within the constraints of anticipated bicycle funding.
The BEP project list is incorporated into the Valley Transportation Plan, Santa Clara County’s Long Range Transportation Plan, as the bicycle element of that plan.
The funds programmed towards BEP projects come from a combination of funding programs.
- 1996 Measure B sales tax
- Transportation Fund for Clean Air 40% Program (TFCA 40%)
- Transportation Development Act Article 3 Pedestrian Bicycle Program (TDA 3)
- Regional Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Funds (RBPP)
- Federal Transportation Enhancement
- Federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ)
Bicycle Expenditure Plan Project List 2040 – Adopted May 2013
VTA's comprehensive Bicycle Program is committed to improving the bicycle infrastructure throughout Santa Clara County, and to enabling and encouraging people to bike to work, school, errands and for recreation. Implemented in 1998, the program provides facilities, services, and programs dedicated to make bicycling a safer and more practical option for Santa Clara County residents and visitors.
VTA is a strong proponent of bicycle commuting and allowing bikes and transit to work together seamlessly. All VTA buses are equipped with bike racks and all light rail vehicles have internal racks.
VTA has developed a video (including a video in Spanish) explaining how to bring a bike on VTA buses and light rail! Bringing a bike on VTA allows commuters to travel farther distances in Santa Clara County and beyond.
In addition to bringing bikes on board transit, bike commuters have access to secure bike parking systemwide. Bike racks and bike lockers have been installed in nearly all VTA Park & Ride lots and Transit Centers and bike parking demand is continuously monitored.
VTA also publishes the Santa Clara Valley Bikeways Maps.
The Bicycle Program is constantly looking for ways to expand and improve its current bicycle programs and promotions. Greater emphasis is being placed on developing new programs to enhance education and outreach, pedestrian projects, bicycle/pedestrian collision monitoring, and improving overall biking conditions in Santa Clara County.
New state legislation on Complete Streets and greenhouse gas emissions will undoubtedly create new opportunities for the VTA Bicycle Program to contribute to solving the region’s transportation challenges.
Adult Bicycle Education Classes
VTA is offering a variety of bicycle education classes to people 18 years old or above. Classes include Biking Basics, Smart Cycling (a two part series), and Bicycle Maintenance. Classes are provided by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. For more information and to sign up for classes, visit the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's Bicycle Education webpage. Funding is provided by 2016 Measure B and will be offered on a rolling basis through summer 2023.
Countywide Bike Plan
In addition to providing transit service for Santa Clara County, VTA serves as the county’s Congestion Management Agency and is responsible for long-range transportation planning, including planning for bicyclists. VTA publishes the Countywide Bicycle Plan, which guides bicycle projects in the County over the next 25 years.
Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan
The Countywide Bicycle Plan identified the need for bicycle superhighways in Santa Clara County. Bicycle superhighways are high quality, uninterrupted, long-distance bikeways separated from motor vehicles that traverse across the county. The bicycle superhighway network will allow people to travel quickly from city to city by bicycle in much the same way the County Expressway System allows people to travel quickly across the county by car. In practice, the bicycle superhighway network will consist of a network of high-quality, low-stress, on-street bikeways and trails. When properly designed, bicyclists using them typically experience less delay due to fewer at-grade crossings with the street network or due to signal priority at intersections. The Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan identifies 17 priority corridors. It also describes the implementation status of each bicycle superhighway, summarizes active implementation efforts, and provides planning level cost estimates for building out remaining segments. The Plan will assist local agencies and VTA in funding, planning, designing, and building the superhighway network. Please click on this link for the Bicycle Superhighway Implementation Plan.
Bicycle Technical Guidelines
VTA publishes the Bicycle Technical Guidelines to help Member Agencies provide optimal bicycle accommodation and ensure that bicycle planning, as well as roadway planning, remains consistent countywide. VTA updates the guidelines on a periodic basis.
The guidelines provide a set of standards and best practices for roadway and bikeway design at the time of publication. As the complementary companion to the Countywide Bicycle Plan and the Bicycle Expenditure Program, the guidelines should be used as a resource by both roadway and bikeway planners and designers.
VTA first adopted the guidelines in 1999 and updates them on a periodic basis. The Bicycle Program expanded and re-adopted the guidelines in 2022.
BICYCLE TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FILES
Readers should confirm that outside documents have not changed since the date of publication. A list of other common bicycle design documents is provided below.
OTHER BICYCLE DESIGN GUIDES
- California Manual of Traffic Control Devices
- Caltrans Traffic Operations Policy Directives, Memos, and Letters
- California Highway Design Manual
- Caltrans Design Information Bulletins (Includes DIB 89, Class IV Bikeway Design Guidance)
- FHWA Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide
- National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Urban Street Design Guide, and Transit Street Design Guide
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities (only available for purchase)
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) consists of 16 members representing each of the 15 cities and the county. It also has one ex-officio (non-voting) position for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. The BPAC advises the Board on funding and planning issues for bicycle and pedestrian projects. It also serves as the countywide bicycle advisory committee for Santa Clara County.
Bicycle Expenditure Program
The Bicycle Expenditure Program (BEP) was first adopted in 2000 by the VTA Board of Directors as the funding mechanism for countywide bicycle projects.
Approximately every four years, VTA updates the BEP Project List, which is a list of bicycle projects that can be funded over the next 25 years within the constraints of anticipated bicycle funding.
The BEP project list is incorporated into the Valley Transportation Plan, Santa Clara County’s Long Range Transportation Plan, as the bicycle element of that plan.
The funds programmed towards BEP projects come from a combination of funding programs.
- 1996 Measure B sales tax
- Transportation Fund for Clean Air 40% Program (TFCA 40%)
- Transportation Development Act Article 3 Pedestrian Bicycle Program (TDA 3)
- Regional Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Funds (RBPP)
- Federal Transportation Enhancement
- Federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ)
Bicycle Expenditure Plan Project List 2040 – Adopted May 2013