Menlo Park City Council:

I would like to address you concerning the Dumbarton Rail Corridor
Project. I, unlike most of my neighbors, support this project due to
its potential to provide regional benefits of reducing the amount of
automobiles on our roadways. However, this support does not come with
some major concerns, which are as follows:

Noise

- Any rail project produces noise, especially diesel generator powered
locomotives. I, like many others, prefer that this project be
electrified.
- Train whistles are annoying and therefore my preference would be to
have the Marsh Road crossing become a grade separation.
- I am not sure the report addresses this specifically, but I would hope
that the existing track be replaced with ribbon rail.
- I am pleased to see that there are no stations proposed near our
residential area (Suburban Park) but fear that the Bohanon triangle and
it's commuters may someday be better served if a station were located in
this area. I think this future immense negative impact should be taken
into consideration at this time.
- The use of this line to expanded freight traffic across the bay
instead of around the bay would be intolerable. Please make this
possibility a 'deal killer'.

Impact on Local Traffic

- I am concerned that the regional benefit of reducing traffic will be
offset by delays in local traffic sitting to wait at train crossings.
We are fortunate that there are few crossings, but the crossing at Marsh
Road would need to be integrated into the traffic signals from 101 to
Middlefield so that the interruption to traffic would be handled by
consistent flow through the signals unlike the current haphazard flow
experience currently along Alma in Palo Alto and along Central
Expressway at Rengsdorf (this is a frustrating part of my commute to
Mountain View).
- The proposed station at Willow Road is too close to Willow Road and
will cause excessive delays on Willow Road much like those experienced
on Ravenswood and Oak Grove when trains stop at the Menlo Park Caltrain
station. This needs to be addressed in the final planning.
- The proposed station at Willow Road, on the south side of the tracks,
appears to be a potential large traffic impact on the residential area
in which it is located. This station might be better located on the
north side of the tracks. This would reduce the local commuter busses
driving through the neighborhood to the industrial/business area north
of 101, but might increase traffic of personal commuters using this
station (in lieu of the main Menlo Park station) to get to San Francisco
and San Jose.

Cost

- Although public transportation must be publicly subsidized, the cost
of this project appears not to be balanced by its benefits.

Please take these concerns under advisement as you consider your
position on the Dumbarton Rail Project. Thank you

Mark Bogott
152 Hedge Road
Menlo Park, CA

HAWLEY PETERSON & SNYDER
        _____________________________________
                                                              A R
C H I T E C T S

______________________________
444 Castro Street
Suite 1000
Mountain View
California 94041 Mark Bogott
650.968.2944 Architect/Associate
Fax 650.968.1357 mbogott@hpsarch.com
Received on Tue May 22 14:00:53 2007