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[BART Track closure between Fruitvale and Coliseum, All day Saturday, May 23 through all day Sunday, May 24, 2015]

weekend traffic heads up

BART Track closure between Fruitvale and Coliseum,  All day Saturday, May 23 through all day Sunday, May 24, 2015

To accommodate your travel while the work is being done, we will have a "bus bridge" providing lifeline service for customers who don't have other options. The buses will carry customers between the two closed stations. There will be no additional charge for the bus. The bus bridge will cause 30-60 minute delays for some customers.

AVOID TRAVEL BETWEEN FRUITVALE AND COLISEUM DURING TRACK WORK IF POSSIBLE
We recommend that you avoid travel between Fruitvale and Coliseum on the designated weekends if possible. If you are driving, we recommend that you park at the station (Fruitvale, Coliseum or Bay Fair) that will allow you to avoid the bus bridge

Also on Saturday May 23, there will be no Green Line service. Which means: unlike typical Saturdays, customers proceeding north from Fremont will have to use a Richmond (Orange Line) train. There will be a transfer at Bay Fair to a Blue Line train and then the bus bridge between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations. There will also be less overall service capacity and frequency. During the closure, passengers should listen to overhead announcements, employee instructions, and follow temporary signs that will be in place.
http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2015/news20150430

San Mateo Bridge to Close May 22-25 for Construction

Caltrans will close the San Mateo Bridge May 22-25 for roadway resurfacing and expansion joint replacement. Full closures for all east and westbound lanes will begin at 10:00 pm on Friday the 22nd and continue until 5:00 am on Monday the 25th. Motorists can use the Dumbarton Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, or the southern route along CA-237 as alternate routes during these closures. For more information http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/projects2/sanmateobridge/

Since the convention hotels all filled up, here's a map showing where some other ones are. 



Convention Center station is right in front of the Convention Center main entrance.

VTA light rail starts running around 6am, last trains leave Convention Center between 9:30pm and 11pm depending on where you are going. Details at http://www.vta.org/routes/rt901 and http://www.vta.org/routes/rt902  Rides are $2 each or $6 for a day pass.

Note there are plenty of other hotels in the area that are a bit harder to get to without a car. 

[San Jose is a BYOBag City]

San Jose is a BYOBag City
Hi shoppers, for the 2nd year now retailers in San Jose, and that includes vendors and Artist Alley, are not allowed to give you plastic bags.  So bring some bags for your swag!

Recycling Info
YES (put in recycling)
Clean Plastic Containers #1-7
Metal Cans
Clean aluminum foil
Glass bottles

NO
Pizza boxes
Paper products with food on it
Plastic bags
Straws
Foam packaging and containers
Bubble wrap

[transit.511.org]

Since the convention site's info is limited, here's some details based on experience:

transit.511.org
This is the Bay Area trip planner.  Google Maps transit directions also works.

VTA Light Rail
Both of the main lines of the VTA Light Rail stops right in front of the convention center - stop is called Convention Center.  It also stops in front of the Fairmont Hotel where badge pickup is.  That stop is called Paseo de San Antonio.

Detail is from the California Rail Map, www.californiarailmap.com

Light rail runs from around 6am to midnight.  Trains run every 15 minutes weekdays, 15-30 minutes on Saturday, and 30 minutes on Sunday and Memorial Day.
Schedules: http://vta.org/schedules/SC_901.html and http://vta.org/schedules/SC_903.html

VTA also has a lot of bus lines, their map is here: http://www.vta.org/schedules/schedules_bymap.html
VTA costs $2 a ride or $6 a day.  Clipper Cards work on VTA.

VTA Bus 181 from Fremont BART
For folks coming from the East Bay this is likely to be the cheapest and fastest way. 
The 181 stop at Fremont is on side of the station closer to the hills.


Get off at 2nd and Santa Clara and walk 2 blocks to the Fairmont where registration takes place.


San Jose Diridon Train Station
This station is served by Amtrak www.amtrak.com, CalTrain from SF www.caltrain.com, and the Altamont Corridor Express from Stockton www.acerail.com.  Regional buses from Santa Cruz and Monterey also stop here.  Megabus from LA also stops here. 

VTA Light Rail stops at San Jose Diridon station, you just need to go down from the platform into the lower level walkway, walk under the tracks, and come up the opposite side.  Light rail to the convention center is a 10-minute ride.  There is also a weekday-only DASH shuttle that runs every 15 minutes and stops outside the station.  http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_201.html

Amtrak schedules between Auburn, Sacramento, Davis, Oakland and San Jose: http://capitolcorridor.org/route_and_schedules/train_schedules.php  If you are going in a large group buy a 10-ride ticket, they can be shared among many people and you get 10 rides for the price of 6.  You can use half the rides going to the convention and the other half going home. 

There are other Amtrak trains that stop in San Jose from various places in California and the west coast.  The ride from Fresno is 4 hours and $31 each way.  The ride from SoCal is 8-10 hours and $54-70 each way.  There are no taxes or bag fees.

San Jose Greyhound Bus Station
This station is at 70 S Almaden Ave, San Jose, CA and is 2 blocks / 10 minute walk from the convention center. 

Directions from the Airport
San Francisco: take BART to Millbrae, then Caltrain to San Jose.
Oakland: take BART to Fremont, then bus 181 to San Jose.  There is an Amtrak train also but it doesn't run often enough to be a useful flight connection.
San Jose: take the free Airport Flyer shuttle bus to the VTA light rail station.  http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_10.html