There’s still a host of unknowns about the cost, timeline and engineering of the project, but Menlo Park is moving forward with plans to build a bicycle tunnel under the Caltrain tracks.
The tunnel, which supporters say is key to making it safer for bicyclists and pedestrians — especially children getting to and from school — to cross the train tracks, is proposed to cut under the tracks at Burgess Park on one side and near Middle Avenue on the other.
The tunnel’s alignment is between the abandoned Stanford Lincoln Mercury and University Ford auto dealerships.
The tunnel would dip beneath the tracks, but not under El Camino Real, according to Engineering Services Manager Lisa Ekers.
The City Council voted 4-1, with John Boyle opposed, at its May 20 meeting to authorize a $41,000 consultant-led study to determine where a bike tunnel could be built.
Now that a specific location has been determined, the consultant is expected to work with the city to determine the length and depth of the tunnel, and how much the project would cost.
“There are a lot of reasons to me why that location makes sense,” said Councilman Heyward Robinson, who noted the tunnel would “improve access” between the Civic Center and the remodeled Safeway store. “We know the train tracks can be a barrier, and this would give people an alternative.”
Mr. Robinson said the city should be able to build the project with state and county grant money rather than city funds.
The council could get an update on the project as soon as December, Ms. Ekers said.
A tough critic
The proposed tunnel location has drawn criticism from a former councilman who was the driving force behind building a tunnel under the tracks in 2002: Steve Schmidt.
Mr. Schmidt said city staff and the consultant have chosen a location without fully studying the challenges and variables associated with the project.
“There’s information that’s lacking that the city needs to be able to make this decision,” Mr. Schmidt said. He noted that the city has narrowed its studies to one site, without considering potential complications associated with trying to obtain easements from landowners to build the tunnel. “These lease terms could affect the timing and the cost of the project,” Mr. Schmidt said, noting current leases don’t expire until 2012. “This has been a really deficient process.”
Mr. Schmidt said the city should revisit the option of building the tunnel near Cambridge Avenue and Willow Road in the city’s Linfield Oaks neighborhood — the same site he advocated in 2002. That proposal died amidst opposition from neighbors who feared the tunnel would harbor homeless people and vandals.
