Menlo Park City Council,
 
As a new resident to Menlo Park and with plans to raise my family in
this community my wife and I fully agree with the below comments from
Kristen. I can't help but think this level of spending and project is a
government boondoggle use of transportation funds with very little
thought placed on the effect on the citizens of Menlo Park.
 
Matt and Christina Foley
144 Hedge Road, MP
 

        -----Original Message-----
        From: subparcoop@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:subparcoop@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kristin Campbell
        Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 12:03 PM
        To: city.council@menlopark.org
        Cc: subparcoop@yahoogroups.com
        Subject: [subparcoop] Dumbarton Rail Comments
        
        

        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

        __._,_.___
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Received on Tue May 22 14:33:06 2007