Atherton panel prepares to protest Caltrain service changes Atherton panel prepares to protest Caltrain service changes (December 10, 2003)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

All aboard for Caltrain controversy!

The town of Atherton is gearing up to protest cutbacks and other changes to Caltrain service at its historic station. Council members said they felt the issues were so important that, rather than hand them to the existing Transportation Committee, a separate ad-hoc committee should be created

The newly formed Caltrain Corridor Committee is set to meet this week on December 8. The committee is to advise the City Council on a number of topics, from electrification to high-speed rail, that will impact the town.

The City Council recently appointed to the committee Atherton residents Christopher Cobey, Fred Wolin, Mike McPherson, Philip Lively, Jerry Carlson, Doris Kellett and Bill Mitchell.

City Council members have expressed concern about plans for high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In order for the trains to pass safely through town, it's likely that grade crossings at Fair Oaks Lane and Watkins Avenue would have to be closed, or costly grade separations built. One council member has even said that the town should actively oppose high-speed rail for those reasons.

Atherton is also facing the prospect of drastically reduced service at its station, beginning in spring 2004. Under Caltrain's proposed schedule, weekend service would be eliminated and the number of weekday trains stopping in Atherton would drop by one-third.

Atherton officials have complained that the proposed schedule has been poorly publicized and that Caltrain has done little to encourage public input. The agency held six public meetings about the proposal at the end of October and beginning of November that Mayor Jim Janz said were of dubious legal merit.

"I think the process that they've used has been absolutely horrible," said Mr. Janz at the council's November 19 meeting. "It almost looks like a bunch of engineers got together in a smoke-filled room and came up with the most efficient schedule."

A public hearing about the proposed Caltrain schedule, originally planned for January 8, is now set for 10 a.m. Thursday, February 5, at Caltrain's headquarters, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Jayme Maltbie Kunz.

Mr. Janz said he is most concerned that the low ridership at the Atherton station, which triggered the proposed cutbacks, could become self-fulfilling.

"If you cut the number of trains, a smaller number of people are going to use them," he said. "You have less and less people using trains in Atherton, so they eliminate more service, and ultimately they'll cut it entirely."

Up to 10 residents can serve on the town's Caltrain Corridor Committee. For information, call City Clerk Sharon Barker at 752-0529 or send e-mail to sbarker@ci.atherton.ca.us.

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