Burlingame wants high-speed rail line to be underground
By Christine Morente (San Mateo County Times)
BURLINGAME City officials have asked the California High-Speed Rail Authority to consider building its rail line underground to keep the community "whole."
The City Council reviewed the route for the San Francisco-to-San Jose section of the proposed high-speed rail project and decided a tunnel is the preferred alternative.
Elevated tracks using retaining walls along the Caltrain corridor would cut the city in half, according to an April 3 letter signed by Burlingame Mayor Ann Keighran.
It and other comments from cities and concerned citizens will be added to an environmental impact report.
Ben Strumwasser, outreach manager for CirclePoint, a consulting firm, said some cities have asked for the rail line to run underground, while others have not. He said the purpose of the scoping process is to learn what is important to communities and stakeholders.
The environmental impact report will look at costs, disruptions during construction, and other issues. "We're going to be taking input throughout this process," Strumwasser said.
For now, Burlingame's concerns revolve around the residential areas from Millbrae's intermodal station to the San Mateo border.
In some cases, homes and parks are about 50 feet from the tracks. Burlingame High School, Washington Park and the Burlingame Avenue train station are near the proposed corridor.
One-quarter of the city's population lives east of the rail line, according to the letter.
"It will be a negotiation process to see what we can get in terms of a project not impacting us, and what they're willing to offer," Councilwoman Terry Nagel said Friday. "We really don't know what all the options are."
The council wants the authority to consider these options:
Pay for an economic study on the future impacts of the proposed service on properties in and around the corridor. According to the city, a physical barrier along the line would diminish desirability of living close to the train and decrease property values.
Study options with a preference for a tunnel and or trench through the city.
Restore weekday Caltrain service at the Broadway station. Caltrain has identified it as an improvement possible with electrification.
Protect and preserve the Burlingame Avenue and Broadway train stations as well as the eucalyptus grove from North Lane to beyond Oak Grove Avenue on the west side of the tracks.
Pay for right-of-way costs.
Nagel, a proponent of high-speed rail, said the city has been meeting with San Mateo and Millbrae regarding regional concerns.
The authority proposes building a 790-mile transit system serving Sacramento, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
Trains would reach speeds of 220 mph. The system would carry between 90 million and 117 million passengers per year by 2030, according to forecasts.
The project is estimated to cost about $40 billion. The Caltrain corridor has been chosen as the local route.
Stations would include the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, San Francisco International Airport, a mid-Peninsula stop either Redwood City or Palo Alto and San Jose and Gilroy.
The line would continue under the Pacheco Pass to the vicinity of Merced and down the Central Valley.
In November, voters approved $10 billion in general obligation bonds to partially fund the project.
On April 2, the Caltrain board approved an agreement with the authority to work as partners in planning, designing and constructing improvements along the existing rail line.
Burlingame's comments can be found on the city's Web site, www.burlingame.org.
For more information about the project, visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/.
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