On Nov. 4, California voters will have the chance to stand for or against Proposition 1A — the $9.95-billion bond measure that would provide the first wave of funding to run high-speed, all-electric passenger trains between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
But for some Menlo Park and Atherton residents, Proposition 1A isn’t just a question of whether or not the state should invest in an estimated $45 billion project. It’s a question of whether the California High Speed Rail Authority (the state agency leading the project) will have local cities’ best interests in mind if the ballot measure passes.
Under the proposed plan, northbound trains would connect to the Bay Area from the Central Valley via the Pacheco Pass, and shoot up the Caltrain corridor to San Francisco. Trains would travel south using the same route.
The estimated travel time between San Francisco and Los Angeles is 2 hours and 30 minutes, according to the rail authority. Trains would hit top speeds of 220 miles per hour, but would slow down to an estimated 125 miles per hour on the Peninsula. A San Francisco to Los Angeles ticket would cost $55, according to state officials, and a stop is tentatively planned for Palo Alto or Redwood City.
Hitting close to home
To accommodate the additional trains, the project would likely require grade separations — separating the tracks from the roadway at local intersections.
That means the state would have to dig a trench or build a berm through the heart of Menlo Park and Atherton. The construction, aesthetic, and potential property value impacts are undeniable, and they’re also still undefined.
The rail authority doesn’t have any answers regarding how the tracks will cut through the two cities, how many heritage trees will need to be removed, and how much property — public or private — would need to be acquired to widen the Caltrain corridor.
High-speed rail officials say the impacts will be studied and mitigated if the bond measure passes, but those unknowns have sparked a lot of fear locally, and prompted the majority of Menlo Park and Atherton city council members to flat-out oppose Proposition 1A.
“This is not a NIMBY (not in my backyard) reaction,” said Councilman Heyward Robinson. “We can’t support this project unless these questions are answered. … [The rail authority] has tried to reassure us, but I don’t feel reassured.”
Mr. Robinson suggested that improving regional transit, rather than connecting Northern and Southern California, should be a higher priority.
The Menlo Park council voted 3-1 in September to pass a resolution against Prop. 1A, citing the unknown impacts, and the lack of responsiveness on the part of the rail authority to addressing the city’s concerns. The Atherton council voted 4-0 just over a week later to pass a similar resolution against the bond measure.
“I can see no reason why I would ever consider voting for this high-speed rail project,” said Atherton Councilman Jim Dobbie.
Both cities have also joined a lawsuit against the proposed route, claiming the environmental analysis is inadequate.
Mayors Andy Cohen of Menlo Park and Jim Janz of Atherton did not vote on the resolutions and whether their respective towns should join the lawsuit, citing potential conflicts of interest. Both mayors live within 500 feet of the Caltrain tracks.
Potential benefits
But Proposition 1A supporters, including Menlo Park Councilman John Boyle — the lone councilman of either town to support the bond measure — say opponents are being shortsighted.
Mr. Boyle has stressed that residents and city officials will get a chance to weigh-in on the potential local impacts of high-speed rail once the project-level environmental impact studies get under way, following approval of the bond measure.
Rod Diridon, a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority board, echoed that sentiment.
“High-speed rail will leave communities, including Menlo Park and Atherton, in much better condition than they’re in now,” said Mr. Diridon in an interview with The Almanac, suggesting grade separations will lessen local congestion and improve safety. He acknowledged that along some portions of the Caltrain corridor, the project may require “maybe 10 feet of backyards,” but that for the most part, claims by opponents of the project “have been exaggerated to the point of falsehood.”
He pointed to projected congestion relief, reduction in carbon emissions, and population growth as reasons why the project has garnered “overwhelming” support.
“We can’t have just a regional system, just a local system, or just a high-speed rail system,” Mr. Diridon said. “We need it all. We must have the ability to get people from the Central Valley to Silicon Valley. The Bay Area is running out of room, and its running out of homes.”
Mr. Diridon, Councilman Boyle, and other Proposition 1A supporters have stressed that Menlo Park and Atherton are the only two cities along the proposed high-speed rail route to officially oppose the bond measure.
