From: Martin Engel <martinengel_at_(domain_name_was_removed)>
Date: Tue Dec 18 2007 - 11:41:32 PST

First of all, I don't take most studies seriously. As one Councilman said to me, studies are a way to keep from making decisions. Our Administration has never met a study it didn't like. Studies, especially those with outside funding, provide dollars for a big chunk of staff time, covering staff costs. So, who really cares what's being studied.

Studying the Dumbarton train station is, frankly, a harmless activity. Why, you may ask, are we studying a train station for a railroad that might never get built? Why, you may also ask, would this train line never get built? I'm glad you asked.

As the article points out, the present projected budget for the train is $600 million dollars. That pre-supposes that what exists of the former, almost 100 year-old Dumbarton train bridge can be re-furbished; a little concrete here, a little steel there and voila, a lovely new rail bridge.

The reality is somewhat different. In contemplating the Altamont/Dumbarton option, the CHSRA rejected the existing bridge and did a bridge study determining that a new seismically adequate rail bridge would cost close to $2 billion. Wait, isn't that somewhat more than the $600 million for the entire Dumbarton train project?

The Caltrain and Dumbarton promoters continue to lead us along by thinking that we won't need a new rail bridge. Won't we all be surprised when the project gets under way and this dramatic discovery is made; the old bridge remains won't suffice and a new, $2 billion bridge will need to be built. Hello?

So, you see that getting some outside Administration funding for city staff to "manage" a study about a train station on an unused rail line is actually inconsequential.

Martin

---

Local
Menlo Park could be new hub for East Bay commuters

(AP file photo)
A stretch of Caltrain tracks could be home to a new train station. Beth Winegarner, The Examiner
2007-12-18 11:00:00.0
Current rank: # 157 of 9,709
Menlo Park, Calif. -
An unused stretch of train tracks on the Caltrain corridor could someday be home to a train station, new housing and amenities within walking distance of local office parks and the Sun Microsystems campus.

As part of the Dumbarton Rail plan, which would shuttle commuters from the East Bay to Redwood City and beyond, Menlo Park is studying how to make a proposed new train station viable. The station, located near the intersection of Willow Road and Bayfront Expressway, is within a half-mile of Sun's offices, as well as two business hubs, Willow Park and Menlo Business Park, according to Community Development Director Arlinda Heineck.

The Menlo Park City Council is expected tonight to approve a study of the proposed station, and what could be added to provide guaranteed ridership for Dumbarton Rail. One option would be to create up to 2,200 new residential units, Heineck said.

"The primary funding for Dumbarton Rail comes from regional Measure 2
funds, approved by voters in 2004," said Joe Hurley, director of the San Mateo County Transit Authority. "But in order for the money to flow, there has to be a certain density near the station."

Dumbarton Rail was given an initial price tag of $300 million in 2004, but cost estimates ballooned to $590 million in 2006 and have not been updated since then, said Jonah Weinberg, spokesman for the San Mateo County Transit District.

Plans call for six round trips per day, carrying 4,800 passengers when service kicks off in 2010. Planners have projected that ridership could rise to 6,900 by 2025.

The service would use existing train tracks in the East Bay, cross the Bay on a rebuilt train bridge parallel to the Dumbarton Bridge and use Caltrain's right of way along the Peninsula. In addition, it would make use of existing stations, including one in downtown Menlo Park and another in downtown Redwood City, but Dumbarton Rail's route and station plan has not been finalized, Weinberg said.

The city's findings will be used as part of the overall planning process.

"They're looking at the area around the proposed station, but they
don't get to decide how the station is built. They can make recommendations," Weinberg said.

Regional leaders are studying the overall environmental effects of launching the Dumbarton Rail service. That study should be finished in late 2008, Hurley said.

bwinegarner@examiner.com
Examiner

-- 






**********************
Martin Engel
1621 Stone Pine Lane
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650:323-1670
martinengel@earthlink.net
**********************

Received on Tue Dec 18 13:26:57 2007