Exploring San Jose's Transportation Infrastructure

In December 2023, eight of our student members visited the Bay Area during Winter Recess. While traveling, we visited with public agencies and private firms, bonded with other ITE student chapters, and grew as a team. This article is part of a longer series documenting the trip.

We started the day at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, where Manolo Gonzalez-Estay and Jay Tyree gave a detailed overview of VTA’s recent and future initiatives. USC alum Ian Lin then gave us a tour of the office and even shared some of their old signs with us (Thanks Michael Catangay!).

Learning about VTA's strategy and planning efforts	Amazing keepsakes
Exploring the Silicon Valley Express Lanes management center	Group photo at VTA

Afterwards, we rode VTA to get to San José Mineta International Airport (SJC), where we met with Matthew Kazmierczak and Fai Ali. They briefed us on the airport’s 21st century improvement plans, then gave us an exclusive tour of Terminal B, the ramp, and baggage handling facilities.

Discussing airport management and operations	Walking through the terminal
Touring the ramp	Group photo on the ramp!

We finished our tours for the day with the City of San José Department of Transportation in their Transportation Management Center with an in-depth look into their operations and strategic planning with Thomas Merrill, Ethan Jackson, Ho Nguyen, and Andrew Luong.

Learning about transit signal priority technology	Transit vehicle tracking
Signal control and monitoring	Group photo at the Transportation Management Center