The first rule of naming transit stations is that the name should be simple. That means no slashes…read more Choose the name that's the most important or that is most different from other local station names. This station has a triply unfortunate name because (a) it has that slash, (b) "Metro" is an awful name for a metro station, because it sounds like the kind of station rather than the station itself, and (c) one would assume that it's possible to access the airport directly from a station with "Airport" in its name, but one would be incorrect, because in order to reach the airport, one has to take a VTA bus (line 60) from here.
Wow, so that name is awful. How about the station itself? It's OK. Like most VTA stations, it feels too small and like it's in the middle of nowhere. Again, a station with the words "Metro" and "Airport" in its name feels like it should be right in the middle of all the urban action, but this station manages to make the surrounding area feel like an industrial wasteland even though most of San José (including its pathetic downtown) is decidedly suburban.
I told Dan and Jorge that there would be parking near this station, but they assured me there wouldn't be. Lo and behold, when we came back here and had to get a ride because we hadn't parked, I spied three parking spots on one street within a block of the station.
The bigger question is why I continue to allow a resident of Santa Clara and San José, respectively, to tell me, a resident of San Francisco, how difficult parking in a given area is. Jorge has never lived in San Francisco, but Dan has; he should know better. Difficult means there's absolutely no street parking within a mile, maybe a mile-and-a-half. I'm sure I would have been able to find a legal parking spot before we went to the concert.
