San José Diridon Station Expansion

When completed, Diridon Station will be the largest transportation hub on the West Coast, serving residents, workers, and travelers across the region. Winter partnered with the City of San José, alongside VTA, the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Caltrain, Kimley-Horn, and other stakeholders to support a critical redesign phase of the Diridon station. This phase engaged the public and local communities in evaluating two potential design options, elevated (above ground) or at-grade (street level) train tracks, through an inclusive, accessible process designed to reflect community priorities.

Recognizing the station’s complex history and the long-standing impacts of infrastructure on surrounding neighborhoods, Winter’s outreach centered on building trust, elevating historically underrepresented voices, and addressing concerns around gentrification and displacement.

Winter designed and delivered a multi-faceted outreach program: two focus groups, two open houses (in-person and virtual), a community meeting, guided site tours of the station and surrounding area, many pop-up events, and a three-month public exhibit at Diridon Station featuring scale models of the proposed designs. Materials were provided in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, as well as Spanish interpretation made available at public meetings. Our team advised on public-facing content, curated outreach lists, facilitated events, and synthesized community feedback into actionable insights, helping the City of San José and its partners navigate sensitive social dynamics and prepare the public for the at-grade design recommendation.