Q: It appears that evidently there are extra automotive break-ins (in San Francisco, particularly), and there was one in my neighborhood this previous week. Sooooo, what’s with automotive alarms? The place did they go? Years in the past you solely needed to nudge a automotive and their alarms would sound. Now I hear none and vandalism continues with parked automobiles and broken home windows.

Okay.J., Scott, San Jose

A: Automobile alarms are widespread, perhaps too widespread. Police say alarms are so delicate that they’re usually triggered unintentionally, and other people have change into proof against them, ignoring them as false alarms. They could be efficient in opposition to beginner thieves and joyriders, as they’ll often choose a automotive with out an alarm earlier than one that’s alarmed. Skilled automotive thieves, nonetheless, can disable an alarm in only a few seconds.

Automobile thefts now account for a staggering $8.2 billion a 12 months in losses within the U.S., and the cities with the very best fee of thefts per resident could shock you. Albuquerque had probably the most stolen in 2018, with Bakersfield No. 4. Redding, Stockton, Vallejo, Los Angeles and San Jose all got here within the prime 50.

Q: I imagine the Highway 85 transit idea down the median is simply too good of an thought to not occur. Saying it could appeal to too few riders appears ridiculous, given how congested 85 is throughout regular instances at rush hours.

Steven-A-Gentle-Rail-Fan

A: Ridership would seemingly not be excessive outdoors of commute instances. About 40% of riders by means of downtown San Jose come between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. As a substitute, the VTA is trying to convert the present carpool lanes on 85 into categorical lanes and in addition to run extra buses and shuttles.

Q: You say that a bike trail along the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR)  tracks parallel to Freeway 85 is deliberate however not imminent. What does that imply?

Don Collins, San Jose

A: Cupertino has launched a research to construct out a portion of the path alongside UPRR — named the De Anza Path. Alas, UPPR doesn’t help any path alongside their tracks. Regardless of a big and protracted effort, Cupertino was not capable of attain a compromise with the UPRR. Constructing a path alongside this hall continues to be a long-term objective, however just isn’t possible within the quick time period on account of present UPRR insurance policies.