Understanding San Jose's geography
Why San Jose's drive times defy radius math.
San Francisco Bay and its wetlands eliminate roughly one-third of the theoretical isochrone area from North San Jose and Downtown, while the Santa Cruz Mountains add 10-15 minutes to any westward route toward Los Gatos and the coast. The SR-87 Guadalupe Freeway provides a fast north-south corridor through the city core, but its limited interchange spacing means access to it from surface streets is uneven.
Franchise developers should examine the Coleman Avenue/Airport corridor for high daytime worker capture, and the Blossom Hill Road/Almaden Expressway corridor for highest household income density in the southern city. The Berryessa and Alum Rock corridors to the northeast are experiencing significant demographic and retail growth driven by BART extension ridership and new housing.