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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-19 City Council Agenda PacketCity Council 1 MATERIALS RELATED TO AN ITEM ON THIS AGENDA SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AFTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGENDA PACKET ARE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION IN THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE AT PALO ALTO CITY HALL, 250 HAMILTON AVE. DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS. Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Special Meeting Council Chambers 6:00 PM Council Member Tanaka will be participating remotely from 51 Brentwood Street, Boston, MA 02134 Agenda posted according to PAMC Section 2.04.070. Supporting materials are available in the Council Chambers on the Thursday 11 days preceding the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Members of the public may speak to agendized items; up to three minutes per speaker, to be determined by the presiding officer. If you wish to address the Council on any issue that is on this agenda, please complete a speaker request card located on the table at the entrance to the Council Chambers, and deliver it to the City Clerk prior to discussion of the item. You are not required to give your name on the speaker card in order to speak to the Council, but it is very helpful. TIME ESTIMATES Time estimates are provided as part of the Council's effort to manage its time at Council meetings. Listed times are estimates only and are subject to change at any time, including while the meeting is in progress. The Council reserves the right to use more or less time on any item, to change the order of items and/or to continue items to another meeting. Particular items may be heard before or after the time estimated on the agenda. This may occur in order to best manage the time at a meeting or to adapt to the participation of the public. To ensure participation in a particular item, we suggest arriving at the beginning of the meeting and remaining until the item is called. HEARINGS REQUIRED BY LAW Applicants and/or appellants may have up to ten minutes at the outset of the public discussion to make their remarks and up to three minutes for concluding remarks after other members of the public have spoken. Call to Order Oral Communications Members of the public may speak to any item NOT on the agenda. Council reserves the right to limit the duration of Oral Communications period to 30 minutes. Action Items Include: Reports of Committees/Commissions, Ordinances and Resolutions, Public Hearings, Reports of Officials, Unfinished Business and Council Matters. 1.Council Rail Committee Recommends the City Council Move Forward With the Community Engagement Plan as Developed by Staff and AECOM Including the Creation of a Community Advisory Panel 2.Discussion and Potential Action to Further Narrow Possible Grade Separation Alternatives including Rail Committee Recommendation to the City Council to Further Define the Grade Separations for Further Study in the Following Ways: a.Eliminate Churchill Avenue Hybrid (CAH) idea from consideration; MEMO REVISED 2 June 19, 2018 MATERIALS RELATED TO AN ITEM ON THIS AGENDA SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AFTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGENDA PACKET ARE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION IN THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE AT PALO ALTO CITY HALL, 250 HAMILTON AVE. DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS. b.Eliminate Churchill Avenue Reverse Hybrid (CAR) idea from consideration; c.Break out Churchill Avenue closure option into full closure and partial closure; d.Remove the language regarding widening Embarcadero Road underpass from description of Churchill Avenue crossing closed (CAX) idea; and e.Add to Churchill Avenue crossing closed (CAX) idea, “study additional options for addressing traffic in the Embarcadero Road underpass area. 3.Verbal Update on Interagency Activities Adjournment AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA) Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities, services or programs or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact (650) 329-2550 (Voice) 24 hours in advance. Community Outreach Plan Palo Alto Rail Program Management Services City of Palo Alto June 15, 2018 DRAFT Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 2 Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position 0 5/22/2018 Draft Submittal 4/23/2018 Millette Litzinger Project Manager 0 6/15/2018 Draft Submittal 4/23/2018 Rob de Geus City of Palo Alto Distribution List # Hard Copies PDF Required Association / Company Name Contact Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 3 Prepared for: City of Palo Alto Contract No. 18171057 Prepared by: Eileen Goodwin, Principal Apex Strategies M: (408) 309-1426 E: apexstr@pacbell.net AECOM 300 Lakeside Drive Suite 400 Oakland CA 94612 aecom.com Prepared in association with: Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction and Purpose ..................................................................................... 5 A. Background ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 B. Connecting Palo Alto........................................................................................................................................ 5 C. Project Purpose and Purpose of the Community Outreach Plan ..................................................................... 6 D. Roles ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 E. Community Outreach Plan Goals .................................................................................................................... 6 2. Public Participation and Community Engagement ................................................ 6 A. Community Advisory Panel (CAP) Meetings .................................................................................................... 7 B. Stakeholder Meetings ...................................................................................................................................... 8 C. Community Meetings ....................................................................................................................................... 8 D. City Council Meetings ...................................................................................................................................... 9 E. Outreach Materials, Website and Surveys ....................................................................................................... 9 F. Public Participation and Community Engagement Summary Report ............................................................. 10 Figures Figure 1. Community Engagement Schedule ................................................................................................................ 7 Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 5 1. Introduction and Purpose A.Background The City of Palo Alto is bisected by the Caltrain corridor which runs in a north-south direction through the length of the City. While the City enjoys the benefits of rail service, it also has to deal with the impacts of traffic congestion and the community’s concerns about safety and noise. In addition, the City is preparing for increases in passenger rail service due to Caltrain’s Electrification Project and the probable California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) Project. Since 2009, the Palo Alto rail corridor has been the subject of considerable discussion and community focus. The City has undertaken multiple studies over the years to assess mobility and the impact of the Caltrain corridor and Caltrain operations have on that mobility. The more recent studies have focused on improving mobility access across the corridor though grade separating one or more of the at-grade crossings and adding additional pedestrian/bicycle crossings. These studies have shaped Palo Alto’s rail corridor planning efforts and has been a collaborative process with involvement and outreach among City staff, City Rail Commission, City Council, local community, adjacent local jurisdictions, stakeholders, and individuals. The AECOM team will build from the previous studies and will work collaboratively with City staff and the various stakeholders to continue this coordination, collaboration and outreach for the successful completion of this project’s next phase. This effort will also include working with the City’s other consultants on urban design, complete streets and streetscape designs. Currently there are four multi-modal (vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle) at-grade crossings, three grade separated multi-modal crossings, and two pedestrian/bicycle crossings of the Caltrain Corridor within the City. The focus of this project effort will be to identify preferred grade separation solution for the at-grade crossings by the end of 2018 with Charleston Road and East Meadow Drive being the first priority. This will be an important milestone in moving the Connecting Palo Alto Program forward. In order to move this project forward, it is critical that consensus and support be obtained from a large number of stakeholders. A key factor in obtaining consensus and support of a preferred solution is to develop high quality graphics and visual simulations that illustrate the issues of the ideas and designs. In addition, understanding Caltrain operations and criteria is critical in knowing how to work around an operating commuter rail without disrupting its revenue service. Evaluation needs to carefully consider Caltrain’s operational requirements and how construction will not impact revenue service. This knowledge and experience will be critical in evaluating viable alternatives as their operational requirements will be changing in the near future with the addition of electrification and positive train control (PTC). Grade separation ideas and solutions will need to account for PTC, electrification and HSR design criteria and constraints especially regarding construction phasing and staging. Funding is another critical component of the project for identifying financial approaches and models for the design and construction of grade separations. The City has already started this process with its published Rail Financing White Paper issued in November 2017 that identified several funding sources that included Santa Clara County Measure B and California Section 190 funding sources. These funding sources are highly competitive and given the competitive environment to obtain these funds it is paramount to progress projects quickly to get to the front of the queue and take advantage of the funding opportunities. While these funding sources will not be enough to construct the total project, investigation into other funding sources and revenue streams must occur to develop a feasible total financing plan. B.Connecting Palo Alto Connecting Palo Alto is a community based process to address long-standing challenges associated with at-grade crossings on the Caltrain corridor that runs through the community. This process informs decisions affecting both community aesthetics and mobility choices for many future generations. Community feedback and collaboration are a vital part of the decision making process. Engagement activities that inform, educate, gather input and connect citizens about potential rail design alternatives will help prepare the City for the transit landscape of the future. This Outreach Plan will be part of the community process. Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 6 C.Project Purpose and Purpose of the Community Outreach Plan The purpose of the outreach effort is to:  To provide updated, accessible and educational information on the rail corridor grade separation alternatives process, and to create opportunities and platforms to enhance and encourage community engagement and participation.  Identify, engage and work with key stakeholders to inform community about historical importance of project, urgency of timely decisions and need to participate to assist Council to adopt a preferred solution. D.Roles The City of Palo Alto is the lead for public involvement and will provide input to help screen the alternatives. The Caltrain Joint Powers Board owns and operates the rail line and is a partner in the screening effort. The Palo Alto community and businesses are encouraged to participate as users and neighbors of the proposed grade separations. E. Community Outreach Plan Goals The goals for the outreach effort include:  The Community would understand and agree to the problem that the ultimate preferred solution would solve  The Team proposing the ideas, alternatives to study and ultimate solution is the correct group to do so  The process was fair and transparent  The trade-offs were understood and that all parties were acknowledged and considered  The Community would understand the funding constraints and opportunities related to the preferred solution and other ideas  Community members, businesses and all stakeholders would partner with the Team to gather information and ideas to develop grade separation ideas that satisfy multiple interests; and  Process would develop partnerships for future funding opportunities. 2. Public Participation and Community Engagement The following section summarizes the public participation and community engagement portion of the Grade Separation Study effort A discussion of outreach tools, responsibilities, target audiences, and schedule of activities follows. .The graphic below highlights the various public participation opportunities and community engagement strategies:  Three Stakeholder Meetings (3)  Three Community-wide Meetings (3)  City Council Meetings (3)  Rail Sub-Committee meetings (5)  Community Advisory Panel Meetings (6) Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 7  Technical Advisory Committee (as needed and in support of the CAP)  Outreach Materials (mailers, surveys, website) Figure 1. Community Engagement Schedule A.Community Advisory Panel (CAP) Meetings The Project Team will convene a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) of up to a dozen (12) community members to advise the Project Team on Project ideas and outreach opportunities. City Manager will select the CAP members to participate. The CAP will have access to the Project Team for all necessary data and background material including information from other working groups such as but not limited to the Technical Advisory Committee members and technical members of the project team as appropriate. This group is anticipated to begin meeting in July and would meet up to six (6) times during the process. Meetings will be held at a time to be determined but expected to be at a time where support from technical experts can be maximized.. The CAP ideally would:  Be project liaisons  Collaborate with the Project Team in evaluating alternatives  Contribute to the successful delivery of the Preferred Solution  Build an understanding of the project  Regularly attend CAP meetings  Come prepared to the CAP meetings by reading project materials ahead of the meetings when requested  Provide honest feedback Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 8 Specific Tasks would include  Receive briefings on technical areas  Receive project updates  Review and suggest edits to Project Outreach materials  Disseminate accurate information  Act as conduits for information to community at large B.Stakeholder Meetings Stakeholder meetings will gather comments about the project ideas, including right-of-way issues and constraints. These meetings will educate community members that may not attend community meetings such as businesses. These stakeholder meetings will review and gather comments on improvement ideas under consideration that could impact their operations. It is important to remember that three community-wide meetings will be held to inform the public and gather comments, and these forums will provide opportunities for the community to gain additional information and provide additional comments on the project ideas. These will be complemented by City Council meetings (three) to brief Council Members and the public and gather comments. The Consultant Team/AECOM staff will attend and present at the City Council meetings after the three community outreach meetings are completed. It is anticipated that other interested parties, such as residents and nearby businesses, among others, will get involved as a result of various community outreach efforts. The Consultant Team will work with City Staff develop the format, materials and questions for up to three stakeholder meetings. These meetings could be held with the following established groups: Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Palo Alto, Palo Alto Real Estate agent group, Stanford University, Palo Alto neighborhood leaders and/or similar organized groups. The Consultant Team will work with City Staff to best determine the most efficient means to reach these stakeholders.  C.Community Meetings Three Community Meetings will be held throughout the process as summarized below. The Community Meetings will assess desired improvements to address existing constraints; review project ideas; and review solution scenarios once they are determined. These community meetings are expected to be held in the evenings on weeknights. All meetings will cover all grade separation ideas under consideration and will not be focused on specific neighborhoods specific themes such as funding and circulation will also be addressed.  Community Meeting #1 August XX, 2018 6:30 - 8:30 pm: Introduction to Project and initial screening of the grade separation ideas to alternatives for further study: During this community meeting, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the Project’s purpose and need and screen various remaining ideas. The Project Team will show video of existing grade crossing issues such as long gate downtown, traffic back-ups and un- safe behaviors. The ideas still under consideration will be explained and screened at the meeting. It is hoped that the screening could be a survey with people logging in responses via cell phone technology that would be immediately available for view. It is also hoped that the first responders would participate in the meeting to help inform the public to their view of the various ideas as first responders. The format would include time for the attendees to interact directly with the Project Team on specific topics such as traffic, bicycle and pedestrian circulation, funding options, and the environmental process.  Community Meeting #2 October XX, 2018 6:30 -8:30 pm: Continued feedback will be taken on the refined project ideas. Participants will have an opportunity to comment on each of the remaining project ideas and help develop pros and cons for each design. Traffic impacts, construction staging and site specific 3-D simulations will be available for public review. This meeting would also have some portion where a survey is taken to gather feedback through cell phone technology. Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 9  Community Meeting #3 November XX, 2018 6:30 - 8:30 pm: Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the Study findings/refinements in the preferred solution as well as the next steps in the process including funding and financing options and ideas for consideration. Refined 3-D visuals will be presented at the meeting. Comments from each Community Meeting will be summarized and posted on the project web page for review. D.City Council Meetings After each of the project’s community outreach meetings the Team will prepare a report for City Council. These City Council Reports will cover information presented at each respective Community Meeting and provide City Council Members opportunities to provide comments and receive reports on the community feedback gathered at the community-wide meetings, through the website surveys and at stakeholder meetings, including the Community Advisory Panel. E. Outreach Materials, Website and Surveys The following outreach materials will be created to inform the community about public participation opportunities:  Project Fact Sheet: A project Fact Sheet will be developed that describes the purpose of the effort, the project schedule, and opportunities for input from the community. The first version of the project Fact Sheet will be available in Summer 2018 and updated as project information makes it necessary. It is assumed that two rounds of updates will be made during the duration of the project as alternatives are developed and screened. The Fact Sheet will be available for download on the Project web page. In addition, the Fact Sheet will be distributed at the Community Meetings, City Hall, stakeholder meetings and at any speaking engagement opportunities the City staffs may attend. A mailed version of the first fact sheet is recommended as on one of the four project mailings.  Meeting Notices/City event e-blast/Press Releases: Prior to each Community Meeting, meeting notices will be created to advertise the Community Meetings and also availability of on-line surveys where appropriate. Notices will be distributed by the project web page, the City’s City Events email, gov-delivery, through each City’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, NextDoor, the City’s list of elected and appointed officials, and posting on the Friends of Caltrain blog, CAARD blog, Stanford newspapers, Palo Alto Weekly and other web outlets. Any mailings for public outreach will be prepared and distributed by the City through their public information office.  Community Meeting Sign-in Sheets and Comment Cards: Comment forms will be available at all Community Meetings for the community members to provide written comments. Sign-in sheets will be available at all Community Meetings to help build on the existing email list of interested parties.  Web Page: A project web page hosted on the AECOM website and linked from the City and Caltrain websites. The existing Connecting Palo Alto Project website branding will be utilized. The site will be available to interested parties to learn about the project and process, research archived material and to find out about upcoming meetings. The web pages will be updated regularly as project materials are developed for the Community Meetings and other audiences.  Two Surveys: At the first and second community meetings the team will ask for in person feedback through cell phone feedback voting and similar on-line versions could be developed to capture feedback as well. Mailers would also be sent to send people to the website to take the on-line survey and announce the community meetings. It should be noted that the on-line surveys will be relatively simple in nature and probably focused on choosing between some options only, as tallying open-ended questions are beyond the scope of the effort.  Four Direct Project Mailings: The proposed mailers would be 1) mail out of the project fact sheet and reminder of web page address 2) mail out of push to use on-line survey round one and first community meeting date, 3) Community Outreach Plan DRAFT Prepared for: City of Palo Alto AECOM | Apex Strategies 10 mail out for second on-line survey and second community meeting and 4) Last community meeting date and/or proposed preferred solution.  Database: Contact information from Community Meeting attendees and web page signups will be compiled into the existing project database. This database will be utilized to inform the community about upcoming public participation opportunities and meetings.  Hotline to Project Team: The City phone number going straight to an answering machine will be the first contact for questions about the project and the City Project Manager will maintain and share a log of these encounters. The AECOM team can be available to assist with technical information or to review wording of responses. F. Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Support the Technical Advisory Committee  Assemble a Connecting Palo Alto Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), a standing group of agency representatives. TAC meetings will be held on an as-needed basis at key decision points. The TAC will provide a forum for engagement with staff from the agencies with special knowledge about the rail corridor. The TAC will help the Project Team and community identify the technical opportunities and constraints for various alternatives. The TAC will not, in and of itself, be making any decisions regarding the Connecting Palo Alto program. The Project Team anticipates that there would be support from some of the TAC members to the proposed Community Advisory Panel described above along with members of the Consultant Team with specific technical expertise. It is also anticipated that the TAC would also continue to have separate meetings to discuss technical issues separate from the CAP. G. Public Participation and Community Engagement Summary Report A brief summary report documenting the public participation and community engagement will be prepared at the end of this element of the project (first quarter 2019). 1of 3 To: Josh Mello City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 CC: Millette Litzinger, AECOM John Maher, AECOM AECOM 300 Lakeside Drive Suite 400 Oakland CA 94612 aecom.com Project name: Palo Alto Rail Management Service Project ref: 60577356 From: Etty Mercurio Date: June 12, 2018 Memo Subject: Narrative Geometry Description for Ideas CAH, CAR, and PAH The following is based on a conceptual engineering evaluation and is intended for discussion purposes only. Churchill Avenue Hybrid (CAH) The Churchill Avenue hybrid idea is for Churchill Avenue to go under railroad and the railroad to be partially raised. Temporary Railroad Geometry: Temporary tracks to bypass the mainline track and structures during construction are required. The temporary double tracks will be positioned on the east side of the existing mainline tracks. The tracks swing east starting at the south end of the Embarcadero Road Underpass, run parallel to the existing tracks and then swing back west into the existing tracks at the north end of the California Avenue Station and remain at grade level for the entire alignment. The total temporary track length is 5,475 feet. The temporary tracks are designed with the required safety and construction clearances and for a maximum speed of 75 mph. The proposed mainline vertical alignments (profiles) are controlled by the required length of vertical curves, length of tangents between curves and the overall length of the available mainline track clear for construction. Permanent Railroad Geometry: From south of the Embarcadero Road Underpass, the permanent track will rise at a grade of 0.6% on retained fill into a 1,240 feet long vertical curve over Churchill Avenue. This places the top-of-rail 10 feet above the existing Churchill Ave roadway. It then descends on retained fill at the maximum allowed 1.0% grade to meet the existing mainline grade north of the California Avenue Station. The existing mainline profile between Embarcadero Road and California Avenue is at a negative 0.4% grade. Roadway Geometry: Midway between Castilleja Street and Mariposa Avenue, Churchill Avenue will be lowered at a maximum grade of 7.4%. After a 330–foot sag curve Churchill will rise at 7.4% and return to the existing grade approximately 300 feet east of Alma Street. The total length of roadway impacted on Churchill Avenue is 665 feet and the roadway will be lowered a maximum of 15 feet from the existing grade. Mariposa Avenue and Alma Street will also be lowered, 5 feet and 9 feet respectively, to maintain their intersections with Churchill Avenue. The maximum grade on both streets will be 5%. The total length of roadway impacted on Alma Street will be 610 feet, 310 feet to the north and 300 feet to the south. Mariposa Avenue will be impacted for 220 feet south of Churchill. The design speed is 35 mph for Alma Street and 25 mph for Mariposa and Churchill avenues. Initial Assessment of Potential Impacts: The CAH idea has the following potential impacts. Memo – Narrative Geometry Description for Ideas CAH, CAR and PAH Palo Alto Rail Management Service AECOM 2of 3  The removal of all the existing trees in the buffer between Alma Street and the mainline tr acks (east side) to construct the temporary double tracks and maintain the Caltrain revenue service.  Also to accommodate the temporary double tracks, the width of Alma Street will be temporarily reduced from 45 feet to 25 feet. This will result in temporary loss of traffic lanes and parking.  About 14 residential properties will be significantly impacted, and about 8 residential properties will require driveway modifications.  Major utility relocations are required along with the addition of a pump station for the lowered roadways.  Elevation of the railroad will have visual impacts. Churchill Avenue Reverse Hybrid (CAR) The Churchill Avenue reverse hybrid idea is for Churchill Avenue to go over railroad and the railroad to be partially lowered. Temporary Railroad Geometry: Temporary double tracks to bypass the mainline track and structures during construction are the same as described above for the CAH idea. Permanent Railroad Geometry: From south of the Embarcadero Road Underpass, the permanent tracks will descend in a trench at a grade of 1.0% into a 1200-foot long vertical curve under Churchill Avenue. This places the top-of-rail 6 feet under the existing Churchill Avenue roadway. It then rises in a trench at a 1.0% grade to meet the existing mainline grade north of the California Avenue Station. Roadway Geometry: Approximately 200 feet east of Mariposa Avenue, Churchill Avenue will be raised at a maximum grade of 8%. After a 350–foot crest curve Churchill will be lowered at 8.0% and return to the existing grade approximately 400 feet east of Alma Street. The total length of roadway impacted on Churchill Avenue is 910 feet and the roadway wil l be raised a maximum of 22 feet from the existing grade. Mariposa Avenue and Alma Street will also be raised, 14 feet and 22 feet respectively, to maintain their intersections with Churchill Avenue. The maximum grade on both streets will be 5%. The total length of roadway impacted on Alma Street will be 1300 feet, 600 feet to the north and 700 feet to the south. Mariposa Avenue will be impacted for 380 feet south of Churchill. The design speed is 35 mph for Alma Street and 25 mph for Mariposa and Churchill avenues. Initial Assessment of Potential Impacts: The CAR idea has the following potential impacts.  The removal of all the existing trees in the buffer between Alma Street and the mainline tracks (east side) to construct the temporary double tracks and maintain the Caltrain revenue service.  Also to accommodate the temporary double tracks, the width of Alma Street will be temporarily reduced from 45 feet to 25 feet. This will result in temporary loss of traffic lanes and parking.  About 43 residential properties will be significantly impacted, and about 3 residential properties will require driveway modifications.  Major utility relocations are required along with the addition of a pump station for the lowered railroad in a trench.  Elevation of the roadways will have visual impacts. Palo Alto Avenue Hybrid (PAH) The Palo Alto Avenue hybrid idea is for the railroad to go over Palo Alto Avenue and for Palo Alto Avenue to be partially lowered. Permanent Railroad Geometry: in order to not impact the historic bridge over San Francisquito Creek, a permanent railroad alignment will be constructed. An initial evaluation of a westerly alignment indicated impacts to an apartment building in Menlo Park so an easterly alignment was evaluated. From the north end of the Palo Alto Station platform, the permanent track will rise at a grade of 1.0% on retained fill or viaduct into 1,550 long vertical curve over San Francisquito Creek. This Memo – Narrative Geometry Description for Ideas CAH, CAR and PAH Palo Alto Rail Management Service AECOM 3of 3 places the top-of-rail 7 feet above the existing grade at the creek. It then descends on retained fill or viaduct at 1.0% grade to meet the existing grade north of the creek within the City Limits of Menlo Park. Roadway Geometry: Just east of El Camino Real, Palo Alto will be lowered at a maximum grade of 7.0%. After a 190-foot sag curve Palo Alto will rise at 7.0% and return to the existing grade approximately 300 feet after Alma Street. The total length of roadway impacted along Palo A lot is approximately 800 feet and the roadway will be lowered a maximum of 15 feet from existing grade. Alma Street will also be lowered approximately 7 feet. The maximum grade on Alma Street will be 5% and the total length impacted will be 140 feet. The design speed is 25 mph for Palo Alto Ave and Alma Street. Initial Assessment of Potential Impacts: The PAH idea has the following potential impacts.  The removal of all the existing trees in the buffer between Alma Street and the mainline tracks (east side) to construct the permanent double tracks and maintain the Caltrain revenue service on the existing alignment.  Also to accommodate the permanent double tracks, east side parking on Alma Street may be removed.  The driveway to the Palo Alto Condominiums on Palo Alto Avenue may require modification.  Major utility relocations are required along with the addition of a pump station for the lowered roadways.  Elevation of the railroad will have visual impacts.  The permanent alignment impacts trees within El Palo Alto Park – additional surveys would be required to asses if the alignment impacts the heritage tree within the park. Rail Program Management Services Review Grade Separation Recommended Ideas 06.19.18 Palo Alto Council Meeting …….. From Presentation to City Council on May 29, 2018 Ideas to Review Churchill Avenue Hybrid (CAH) o A "hybrid" option that would partially lower the road and partially elevate the tracks Churchill Avenue Reverse Hybrid (CAR) o The “reverse hybrid" option with a partially elevated road and partially lowered tracks Palo Alto Hybrid (PAH) o A "hybrid" option that would partially lower the road and partially elevate the tracks Churchill Avenue Hybrid (CAH) Constraints: California Ave Caltrain Station Platform at south end Embarcadero Underpass at north end Maintaining Caltrain Operations During Construction - Operating Envelop for Construction Limits Ch u r c h i l l A v e N C a l i f o r n i a A v e No Impact to California Ave Caltrain Station Platform Height of Rail Embankment Fill at Churchill = 10 ft Depth of Roadway Excavation at Churchill = 15 ft Length Raised Railroad Profile = 3800 ft Construction Limits based on Caltrain Operating Envelop Or e g o n E x p y -1% Grade +0.6% Grade -5% Grade +7.4 % Gr a d e +5% Grade +5% Grade -7.4 % Gr a d e Churchill Avenue Reverse Hybrid (CAR) Constraints: California Ave Caltrain Station Platform Embarcadero Underpass at north end Maintaining Caltrain Operations During Construction - Operating Envelop for Construction Limits Ch u r c h i l l A v e N C a l i f o r n i a A v e No Impact to California Ave Caltrain Station Platform Rail Excavation at Churchill = 6 ft Roadway Embankment Fill at Churchill = 22 ft Length Raised Railroad Profile = 3600 ft Construction Limits based on Caltrain Operating Envelop Or e g o n E x p y +0.5% Grade -1.0% Grade -5% Grade +8 % Gr a d e -8% Gr a d e +5% Grade +5% Grade Palo Alto Hybrid (PAH) Constraints: Palo Alto Caltrain Station Platform Historic Bridge over San Francisquito Creek El Palo Alto Heritage Tree in El Palo Alto Park Apt Building in Menlo Park on west side of track Maintaining Caltrain Operations During Construction - Operating Envelop for Construction Limits No Impact to Palo Alto Caltrain Station Platform El Palo Alto Heritage Tree Length Raised Railroad Profile = 3500 ft Rail Embankment Fill at Palo Alto = 7 ft Roadway Excavation at Palo Alto = 15 ft +1.0% Grade -1.0% Grade Apt Building in Menlo Park Palo Alto Condominiums Historic RR Bridge Existing Track New Track Alignment New Rail Bridges Questions?