“The Bay Area was already becoming more of a multi-centered region with the growth of Oakland and San Jose,” Jones said. “And if you look at the connection with Sacramento, you really start to see that the traditional Bay Area was not really capturing everything that was going on that was happening with housing markets and business institutions in the area.”

Whether that growth means more opportunities for both housing and jobs or complete gridlock will depend entirely on creating a functional commute, Wunderman said.

“It’s really at the point where it becomes functional that you get an economy of scale going in the Central Valley,” he said.

That “economy of scale” means a better balance of jobs closer to where people can afford to live, stronger ties between the Central and Silicon valleys, and alternatives to driving, Wunderman said. It’s why the council last year hosted a half-day forum with leaders from UC Merced, Merced city officials and others to talk about ways to foster more connections between the two regions. The city will be an important stop along the state’s high-speed rail route, which, if it’s completed, would offer commuters a quick and reliable commute.

And in the northern part of the Central Valley, local leaders hope a different train network — called the Valley Link — will provide more immediate relief to Interstate 580 commuters. The proposed 47-mile train route would run from BART’s Dublin/Pleasanton station to Stockton. The goal is to have trains running all day at 12-minute intervals between Dublin and Livermore, and 24-minute intervals between Livermore and North Lathrop, the proposed terminus of the new rail line’s first phase.

If all goes well, the train will begin carting passengers in 2026.

Only then, Wunderman said, will companies consider establishing satellite offices or relocating. “The companies are not going to do it if they can’t get their managers out there for meetings,” he said.