Council Members -

I am a Suburban Park resident of 12 years. I am an open, fair-minded and
environmentally responsible person and am strongly in favor of public
transportation. However, I am extremely distressed and saddened by the
current Dumbarton Rail Project for my family, the environment, our city and
the entire Bay Area. I feel as if project officials and even state
politicians are rubber stamping this project simply because it falls under
the category of "public transportation" and failing to apply some critical
thinking to this proposal. I feel it is up to our elected city council to
take a strong position and oppose the project for the following reasons:

* The project does not make financial sense. The numbers presented by
SamTrans to date have been very unclear and do not include what assumptions
have been made. Initially, the project was budgeted at $300 million. In a
year and a half that number has doubled without adding any mitigations or
modernized rails or trains. Despite these cost increases, somehow the
projected ridership numbers have kept pace with the cost increases. Even
using the information that has been disclosed, the cost per rider
projections are roughly 10 times higher than what is considered acceptable
for federally-funded projects.

* This project is no longer the best use of Measure 2 funds. As costs
continue to escalate, this project will not have the biggest positive impact
on reducing traffic congestion in the Bay Area. There are numerous public
transit projects that are needed in the Bay Area that would benefit many
more than a few thousand commuters. We need to make sure that we are using
the transportation dollars wisely and moving toward a more integrated Bay
Area plan.

* Heavy rail and diesel trains are not acceptable. Light rail,
electrification, and rapid transit (i.e., buses solely using the current
rail right-of-way) are not even being considered. In the age of global
warming, how can our city support the use of such an environmentally harmful
system, especially if CalTrain plans to move to electric trains along the
Peninsula in the next ten years?

* Freight cannot be allowed. Residents who are original owners in
Suburban Park tell me stories of the nightly 2:30am train that ran in the
'50's whose engines and whistles could be heard for miles. The city and
it's residents tried for years to improve the situation. Their tireless
efforts were unsuccessful. Is this what we want Menlo Park to go back to?
Under the current proposal, SamTrans does not have the legal ability to
prohibit the use of freight, therefore this project should not be supported
until it can and does.

* The project does not include any mitigation for the negative impact
it will have on the city of Menlo Park. Nearby residents will be
drastically affected by the noise and vibrations from the trains. If
freight traffic were to begin, the impact would be even more severe. Our
property values would drop dramatically. Traffic along Willow Road and
Marsh Road in particular would become unbearable during commute hours
without grade separation.

I, like many residents, have lovingly cared for and improved my home, began
a family and am actively involved in our community. I have made Menlo Park
a better place to live. We have a lot to loose should this project go
through. I desperately hope that you will take a stand against this project
altogether. If there is some greater good that I am not seeing and this
project does move forward, I would, at a minimum, expect that you ensure
that it will be implemented in a responsible and respectful way and that all
of the concerns I have noted above are addressed.

Thank you for your time.

Kristin Campbell, CPA

Stay-at-home Mom

1051 Greenwood Dr

Menlo Park

 
Received on Tue May 22 12:57:49 2007