City Council Candidates Views on Grade Separation
Parag Patkar
Hello All,
The rail crossings haven't gotten a lot of attention during the current Council campaign, but it is important to those of us who live around the tracks. Here are the various options supported by candidates running for City Council on this topic for Charleston / Meadow intersection.
The Charleston/Meadow grade-separation alternatives currently being considered are:
1) Underpass: Rail stays at its current location and Charleston/Meadow are depressed under the tracks and Alma
2) Hybrid: Rail is elevated 15 feet, Charleston/Meadow/Alma are depressed 5 feet
3) Viaduct: Rail is elevated 20 feet
Note that Caltrain's updated requirements have complicated construction of a rail trench at Charleston/Meadow, so the trench is currently not being considered.
All designs are only at a conceptual level, but Council recently used federal grant money to request additional engineering for the Underpass and Hybrid designs, especially to reduce property acquisitions and to improve bike/pedestrian connections.
Grade separation has been discussed at two Council forums. Candidates who offered a grade-separation opinion were:
- Pat Burt and Keith Reckdahl supported the Underpass, provided that property acquisitions could be reduced
- George Lu supports the Hybrid alternative
- Cari Templeton supports Viaduct alternative
Below are links to articles about the two forums
https://padailypost.com/2024/09/16/caltrain-crossings-separate-council-candidates/
With regards,
Parag
Parag Patkar
4119 Park Blvd
Cell: 1 (510) 418 2912