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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 2510-5279, Staff Report 2511-5427 Rail Committee Staff Report From: City Manager Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: Transportation Meeting Date: November 18, 2025 Report #:2510-5279 TITLE Review of Refined Alternatives Designs for Recommendation to City Council to Advance the Selected Grade Separation Alternatives to 15% Design at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road RECOMMENDATION Staff requests that Rail Committee review the refined alternatives designs for the selected grade separation alternatives at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road, and recommend to City Council their preferred design alternative at each of the crossings for advancing 15% preliminary engineering design. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In coordination with City staff, Caltrain has refined the conceptual designs for the partial underpass alternative at Churchill Avenue, as well as the hybrid and underpass alternatives for the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road grade separation projects. Additionally, Caltrain has developed preliminary design alternatives for Seale Avenue as part of the Churchill Avenue grade separation. These updates reflect direction from the City Council to reduce right-of-way impacts and improve mobility as part of the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase of the City of Palo Alto’s Grade Separation Project. An initial review of the revised alternatives was presented at the Rail Committee meeting on September 16, 2025. Public outreach workshops were also held on September 30, 2025, with strong community participation. The project received more than 300 comments from community members. These comments were compiled and used to further refine the alternative designs. Staff is now seeking the Rail Committee’s review and recommendation to the City Council on the selection of Locally Preferred Alternatives to advance into the 15% design phase. BACKGROUND The City of Palo Alto’s rail corridor planning efforts commenced in 2010 with the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study, which was adopted by Council on January 22, 2013 (Staff Report # 34101). From November 4, 2013, the City developed preliminary grade separation alternatives as part of the Connecting Palo Alto project, which explored multiple options for the four at-grade rail crossing locations of Charleston Road, Meadow Drive, Churchill Avenue, and Palo Alto Avenue. This work resulted in a Rail Corridor Circulation Study and initial screening of ideas for various alternatives that was reviewed by the Council on May 29, 2018 (Staff Report # 92842). In April 2018, in-depth analysis of engineering options continued, with review by the Council Rail Committee and Rail Crossing Community Advisory Committee (XCAP). The XCAP process concluded deliberations in March 2021. The XCAP completed the review and presented its recommendation to the Council on March 23, 2021 (Staff Report 117973). Since 2022, staff have secured grants from the Federal Rail Administration (FRA), California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Measure B program, and have continued to develop, evaluate and present grade separation alternatives for consideration. In consultation with the community, Rail Committee and Council, the City has refined project alternatives for rail crossings at Charleston Road, Meadow Drive, and Churchill Avenue, while the Palo Alto Avenue crossing was put on hold. On June 10, 2024 (Staff Report # 2402-29574) and June 18, 2024 (Staff Report # 2406-31695), Council selected the following alternatives to advance into the design development as part of the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase: For Churchill Avenue, the Council selected the Partial Underpass as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) with vehicle crossing at Churchill Avenue and pedestrian/bicycle crossing at Seale Avenue / Peers Park. Additionally, the Council identified the Pedestrian/Bicycle Undercrossing at Churchill (aka Closure Alternative) as the backup alternative if needed in the future for this location. (As directed by Council, the backup alternative will not advance to preliminary engineering at this time.) For Meadow Drive and Charleston Road, the Council identified the Hybrid Underpass and 1 City Council , January 22, 2013; Item 7, Action Item, SR# 3410 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes-reports/reports/city-manager-reports- cmrs/year-archive/2013/railcorridor1_22.pdf 2 City Council , May 29, 2018; Item 7, Action Item, SR# 9284 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes-reports/reports/city-manager-reports- cmrs/year-archive/2018/9284.pdf 3 City Council , March 23, 2021; Item 1, Study Session Item, SR# 9284 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=2236 4 City Council , June 10, 2024; Item 13, Action Item, SR# 2402-2957 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=82879 5 City Council , June 18, 2024; Item AA3, Action Item, SR# 2406-3169 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=82944 Underpass as the two alternatives to advance to preliminary design phase Design with refinements to minimize right-of-way impacts and improve mobility at each location. The preferred alternative for each location will advance to 35% Design. Constructability concerns may require the City to implement grade separations in these two locations in a coordinated manner. Caltrain is leading the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase and the City collaborates with Caltrain for project design and acts as the project sponsor. The City has successfully secured $6 million in FRA Rail Crossing Elimination (RCE) program funds towards completing Preliminary Engineering (35%) and Environmental Documentation for grade separations at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road. In addition, on December 9, 2024 (Staff Report # 2408-332211), City Council approved a Cooperative Agreement with VTA for $14 million in Measure B Caltrain Grade Separation funding for this phase. The Council has directed staff to refine the project concepts with a focus on minimizing property impacts and enhancing mobility. To facilitate durable decision-making and expedited refinement of the alternatives, the Project is divided into two steps: Preliminary Engineering Alternatives Design Refinements (15% Design), which is anticipated to progress through Summer-2026; and Preliminary Engineering (35% Design) and Environmental Documentation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is anticipated to conclude in Fall 2027. Concept Refinement will also include estimation of project costs and evaluation of constructability issues to support the selection of an LPA at each location, prior to development of 35% design plans and environmental documents. In consultation with City, Caltrain refined the concepts for review by the Rail Committee on September 16, 2025. The following refined alternatives design developed to minimize private property impacts while maintaining and/or improving the traffic circulation and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle crossings were shared at this meeting: Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass Alternative including the following elements that have been further developed since June 2024 (as displayed in Attachment A): o One northbound vehicular lane on the upper portion of Alma Street, which connects to Churchill Avenue east of Alma Street. This represents a reduction from the previously proposed 2-lane configuration. o One northbound combined lane (northbound through and northbound left turn) that is depressed approximately 22.5 to 29 feet below the current roadway 11 City Council , December 9, 2024; Item 12, Consent Item, SR# 2408-3322 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=37338&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto depending upon construction methods and bridge design, that connects with Churchill Avenue for motor vehicles only. o Seale Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle crossing to provide active transportation access across the tracks 1,800-feet (four blocks) south of Churchill Avenue. This crossing has two variants: Seale Option 1: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Option 2: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Crossings include the following elements (as displayed in Attachment B and C for Meadow and Charleston respectively): o Hybrid Underpass at Meadow Drive and Charleston Road, where the railway tracks are elevated by 17 -19 ft and the roadway is depressed 4-6 ft. o Underpass at Meadow Drive and Charleston Road, where the tracks remain at their existing elevation and Charleston Road or Meadow Drive is depressed 22.5 to 29 ft depending upon construction techniques and bridge design. The Charleston Road Underpass has two variants: Charleston Underpass Option 1: 1-lane Roundabout where drivers traveling from northbound Alma Street to westbound Charleston turn right and make a u-turn at a new roundabout 630 feet east of the interchange to travel westbound on Charleston Road. Charleston Underpass Option 2: Direct Access Ramp where drivers traveling from northbound Alma Street to westbound Charleston turn left at a new lower-level traffic signalized intersection connecting with the depressed portion of Charleston Road. o Combination: Hybrid Alternative at Meadow Drive and Underpass Alternative at Charleston Road. In addition to alternative design plans in Attachments A through C, Attachment D provides the updated Traffic Analysis Memorandum, which summarizes anticipated intersection operational effects associated with the refined alternatives and recent traffic counts. ANALYSIS Staff conducted community engagement to gather feedback on the refined design alternatives. In addition to in-person meetings, community members were invited to submit comments via the project website. Staff also conducted outreach to the Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PABAC) Grade Separation Ad Hoc Group and Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) staff to provide project updates and collect their input. The project received a total of approximately 335 comments through community meetings, email submissions, and project website. All feedback was compiled in a comment list provided in Attachment E. The following themes were identified from the comments: Property Impacts Traffic Impacts Cost and Funding Safety for Students Access to Schools Active Transportation Construction Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Equitable Engagement Attachment F provides a summary of the engagement and comments on the refined designs. The top themes for each alternative are described below: Churchill Avenue Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass o Active Transportation: Respondents suggested prioritizing walkability, bikeability and school access by providing landscaped buffers, and direct, accessible routes for pedestrians and cyclists, especially to schools. Respondents also requested ADA-compliant ramps, improved lighting, and high visibility crossings to enhance safe, convenient travel for all users. o Traffic Speed and Volume: Respondents desired design measures to discourage speeding and increased traffic volumes on Alma Street, including lane reductions and new or adjusted traffic signals to improve safety and access. Some community members expressed concern that widening Alma may increase traffic volumes, while others noted that changes to this major corridor could affect walkability. o Access to Schools: Respondents desired expressed a desire for direct school routes. Respondents expressed concern that longer or more complex paths may lead students to use roadways with cars such as Alma. Seale Avenue Ramp o Active Transportation: Respondents suggested green markings where the bike ramp meets Seale, raised crosswalks, ADA compliant slopes and lighting. Respondents also asked to keep bikes and pedestrians separated and to slow cyclists on ramps. o Parking and Traffic Impact: Respondents expressed concern about parking impacts on Seale as well as implications of the ramp on route choices to and from Alma for abutting residents in terms of potential detours, one-way movements and U-turns. o Property Access: Respondents expressed concern about loss of on-street parking for residents, driveway maneuvering space, and requested information the number of dwellings affected—not just parcels (since this street has many multi- dwelling parcels); and ripple effects on visitors, deliveries, and seniors/ADA access along Seale. Alma Street Ramp o Active Transportation: Respondents asked for clarification on how the Alma Ramp would work for bicyclists and pedestrians including level of visibility at conflict points, lighting, ADA grades, mirrors, and overall comfort. o Traffic Impact: Respondents expressed concern about intersection operations such as the ability to make turns to and from Alma Street o Safety for Students: Respondents were concerned that students may dislike tunnels, and that unsafe facilities could push families toward driving—increasing traffic volume and safety concerns; they also requested attention to lighting and consideration of student travel patterns. Meadow Drive Hybrid o Construction Impacts: Respondents requested more information on construction impacts for residents along Alma Street including duration and extent of night work and detours, and mitigation planned to address construction impacts. o Aesthetics and Visual Impact: Respondents expressed concern about a new retaining wall including visual quality, height, and design treatment. o Active Transportation: Some respondents favored this option based on a preference for direct routes for bike and pedestrian facilities and routes but requested more specifics on lane width, buffers, crossing treatments, and how grades and turns affect comfort. Underpass o Active Transportation: Some respondents favored this option based on a preference for more protected bicycle and pedestrian routes. o Traffic Impacts: Respondents expressed concern about inconvenience and delays to motorists, particularly regarding lane configuration, turn restrictions, and detours that impact traffic on surrounding streets. o Property Impacts: Respondents requested information on the number of dwellings affected by property impacts, and not just the number of parcels. o Construction Impacts: Respondents were concerned about construction impacts such as road closures, noise, and disruptions to daily life, and they requested information on the duration of construction impacts. Charleston Road Hybrid o Property Impacts: Respondents generally expressed a preference for this option relative to the Underpass due to the lower level of potential property acquisitions. o Cost and Funding: Many respondents noted that this option has lower construction costs. o Traffic Impacts: Respondents also noted that this option minimizes traffic disruptions and preserves neighborhood circulation. o Active Transportation: Some respondents expressed support for the direct routes for the bike and pedestrian facilities and routes but requested more specifics on lane width, buffers, crossing treatments, and how grades/turns affect comfort. Underpass – Roundabout o Traffic Impacts: Respondents expressed concern about the circulation of traffic including increased traffic volume and lower convenience for motorists associated with circuitous maneuvers through the intersection. o Active Transportation: Respondents requested additional information on bicycle and pedestrian routes, including connectivity, facility design, usability and comfort. o Property Impacts: Respondents expressed concern about property impacts and requested more detailed information on the number of dwellings affected and size of partial acquisitions needed (in terms of a percentage of property footprint). Underpass – Direct Access Ramp o Construction Impacts: Respondents expressed concern about construction duration, road closures, noise, and disruption to daily life. o Active Transportation: Respondents expressed an interest in safe, direct, and accessible bicycle and pedestrian routes. Refinements to Plans and Renderings: Based on community input and technical analysis, the project team clarified active transportation routes and design elements such as the height of walls or tracks. In response to questions from community members, the team also developed additional renderings (including a Hybrid variant for Charleston and Meadow with columns). Other concerns such as updates to construction costs, more precise data on potential property impacts, and additional details on construction- related effects—will be addressed during the 15% design phase. FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT The action requested—advancing the selected grade separation alternatives to the 15% design (as part of the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental documentation phase) —is fully funded with $20 million in secured external funds. These funds consist of a $6 million Federal Rail Administration (FRA) Rail Crossing Elimination (RCE) grant and a $14 million Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Measure B Grade Separation Funding Cooperative Agreement, which Council approved on December 9, 2024. Appropriations for this work are included in the FY 2026 Adopted Capital Budget, with future costs programmed in the FY 2026- 2030 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), within capital projects PL-24000 (Meadow Drive and Charleston Road) and PL-24001 (Churchill Avenue Rail Grade Separation and Safety Improvements). The secured $20 million is programmed to cover the costs of this 15% design phase as well as the subsequent 35% design as part of Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase. Therefore, this item has no new fiscal impact. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The Rail Committee meetings and City Council sessions are open to the public, offering community members an opportunity to share comments directly with Committee and staff. Regular project updates are presented during these meetings. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ATTACHMENTS Attachment F - DRAFT Community Engagement Summary APPROVED BY: 1445 ALMA 105 CHURCHILL 102 CHURCHILL 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 1415 ALMA 1433 ALMA 1435 ALMA 1437 ALMA 106 KELLOGG 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT 103 KELLOGG 1. 7 ± F T 0.3± FT 1425 ALMA 1427 ALMA 1429 ALMA 1431 ALMA Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 102 CHURCHILL 2. 5 ± F T 1525 ALMA 1541 ALMA 1543 ALMA 1545 ALMA 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 96 CHURCHILL 1.8± FT 1551 ALMA 1555 ALMA 109 COLERIDGE 102 COLERIDGE 1635 ALMA 1645 ALMA 1647 ALMA 1649 ALMA 1651 ALMA 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 F T M A X Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 105 CHURCHILL 102 CHURCHILL106 KELLOGG 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT 103 KELLOGG 5.1 ± F T 1.7 ± F T 1.5 ± F T 3.5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 102 CHURCHILL 96 CHURCHILL 1.8± FT 109 COLERIDGE 102 COLERIDGE 1.7 ± F T 2.9 ± F T 1.7 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 1. 1 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 3. 9 ± F T 0. 9 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 151 SEALE 143 SEALE 135 SEALE 125 SEALE 127 SEALE 129 SEALE 119 SEALE 121 SEALE 123 SEALE 109 SEALE 113 SEALE 103 SEALE 105 SEALE 107 SEALE 152 SEALE 150 SEALE 134 SEALE 136 SEALE 126 SEALE 128 SEALE 130 SEALE 120 SEALE 110 SEALE 112 SEALE 114 SEALE 102 SEALE 104 SEALE 106 SEALE Feet 0 15 30 NO R T H 1685 MARIPOSA 1677 MARIPOSA 1851 ALMA 2. 7 ± F T 7. 1 ± F T 3. 0 ± F T 8.3± FT 103 SEALE AVE 105 SEALE AVE 107 SEALE AVE 3,250± SF Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4101 PARK 24.7± FT 22 . 4 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4097 PARK 150 W MEADOW 2.2± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3553 ALMA 171 E MEADOW 48 ROOSEVELT 46 ROOSEVELT 44 ROOSEVELT 5.1± FT 9.9± FT 9.6± FT 3.9± FT 1.3± FT 1.3± FT 2.3± FT 8.9± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4201 PARK 4195 PARK 33.7± FT 38 . 1 ± F T 29.2± FT 30 . 5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3781 STARR KING 3783 STARR KING 256 E CHARLESTON 242 E CHARLESTON 15.0 ± F T 36 . 7 ± F T 13.2± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3711 STARR KING 3709 STARR KING 3707 STARR KING 3705 STARR KING 3703 STARR KING 3701 STARR KING 126 E CHARLESTON 102 E CHARLESTON 110 E CHARLESTON 153 LUNDY 46.6± FT 35 . 1 ± F T 39. 4 ± F T 29 . 6 ± F T 20.2 ± F T 16.0± FT 19.8 ± F T 17.2± FT 18.4± FT 19.7± F T 11.0± FT 0.9± FT 3.2± FT 20. 9 ± F T 11 . 7 ± F T 12 . 0 ± F T 11 . 9 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 250 W CHARLESTON 240 W CHARLESTON 220 W CHARLESTON 4195 PARK 4201 RUTHELMA 285 CHARLESTON 275 CHARLESTON 265 CHARLESTON 4200 PARK 4201 PARK 2. 4 9 ± F T 12 . 7 4 ± F T 12 . 5 8 ± F T 1. 5 8 ± F T 9. 1 5 ± F T 12 . 0 7 ± F T 10 . 4 5 ± F T 1. 2 6 ± F T 8. 0 3 ± F T 12 . 5 3 ± F T Feet 0 20 40NO R T H 110 E CHARLESTON 153 LUNDY 145 LUNDY 137 LUNDY 129 LUNDY 109 ELY 12 . 0 ± F T 11 . 9 ± F T 10 . 7 ± F T 9. 1 ± F T 7. 2 ± F T 4. 5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 1.0± FT 4.0± FT 3781 STARR KING 3783 STARR KING Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H Attachment D: Draft Traffic Analysis Memorandum Link Funded by: City of Palo Alto Grade Separation Project Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road ATTACHMENT F: Alternative Refinement Engagement Summary November 18, 2025 Community Engagement 2 914 Mailers sent to residents Social Media Blasts Promoted project via Palo Alto Weekly 6 Lawn signs placed Email blasts to Neighborhood associations 9/30: Two Community Meetings + Online Feedback Presentation and interactive workshop Community Engagement 3 290+ Comments 100+ Attendees for both meetings Engagement Summary at a Glance 4 290+ Comments Total Number of comments received Comment Format In-Person (Rail Committee Meetings)Emails Online Forms 9/30 Community Meeting Roll plot comments Comment Forms Community Input Synthesis Process 5 Where input came from (multi-channel) How we captured it Where it lives How we synthesized it 1 2 3 4 Capture and transcription Standardized fields (date, source, location, stakeholder type) Code each comment By crossing/ alternative Key theme Comment Tracker Database By Alternative Aggregated by theme Identified patterns Community FeedbackKey Theme Community members are highly concerned about congestion, delays, and intersection performance. Many comments focus on turn restrictions, roundabout efficiency, and signal timing, reflecting fears of worsened backups and longer travel times.Traffic Impacts Strong interest in safe, connected bike and pedestrian routes. Comments emphasize protected crossings, ADA compliance, and continuous sidewalks/trails, with calls for better design to encourage walking and cycling.Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Residents worry about property acquisitions, easements, and privacy loss. Parking removal and driveway access are recurring issues, with concerns about fairness and compensation for affected homeowners.Property Impacts Parents and educators stress student safety near schools, especially at Paly and Gunn. Visibility, crossing protection, and minimizing conflicts between vehicles and students are top priorities.Safety for Students Community highlight the desire for visually appealing designs, landscaping, and graffiti prevention. Walls, shade trees, and color treatments are mentioned as ways to avoid an “industrial” look.Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Community members question project affordability and funding sources. Many express skepticism about high price tags and demand clarity on who will pay and whether cheaper alternatives exist.Costs and Funding Concerns center on noise, dust, detours, and prolonged disruptions. Residents ask for clear timelines, night work limits, and mitigation measures to reduce inconvenience during construction.Construction Impacts Community stress maintaining safe, direct routes for students walking or biking to school. Detours or closures during construction raise fears of longer, less safe journeys.Access to Schools Key Themes Across Alternatives 6 Summary of Concepts 7 Roundabout Direct Access Ramp OPTION ALTERNATIVE CROSSING Meadow Drive Charleston Road HYBRID UNDERPASS HYBRID UNDERPASS With Landscape Strip Without Landscape Strip Seale Avenue Ramp Alma Street Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS Churchill Avenue Vehicle Crossing Bike/Ped Crossing PARTIAL UNDERPASS 1. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents suggested prioritizing walkability, bikeability and school access and showed support for landscaped buffers, and direct routes to schools. Respondents also requested ADA-compliant ramps, improved lighting, and high visibility crossings. 2. Traffic Impacts:Respondents expressed interest in traffic calming measures on Alma Street, including lane reductions and new signals to improve safety and access. Some community members expressed concern that widening Alma Street may increase traffic volumes and negatively affect walkability. 3. Access to Schools:Respondents expressed a desire for direct school routes and many supported closing Churchill to car traffic to improve access for students. Respondents express concern that longer or more complex paths may lead students to use less safe roadways with cars such as Alma Street. 8 Churchill Partial Underpass With Landscape Strip Top 3 Key Themes PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS Top 3 Key Themes 1. Traffic Impacts:Feedback prioritizes maintaining direct movements at Alma Street /Churchill Avenue— especially enabling a safe left-turn movement to southbound Alma Street—and calming Alma Street to reduce conflicts and cut-through traffic. 2. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents desired separated, well-lit, ADA-compliant bike/ped routes and stronger crossing treatments (e.g., pedestrian hybrid beacons and raised crosswalks) to improve visibility and minimize bike–vehicle conflicts. 3. Safety for Students:Respondents suggested protecting Paly students at peak times by adding scramble phases, separating students from turning traffic, and addressing unsafe pickup/drop-off behavior at Churchill Avenue. 9 Churchill Partial Underpass Without Landscape Strip PARTIAL UNDERPASS Churchill Avenue – Key Takeaways 10 Comments for with or without Landscape Strip Prioritize Paly student access and safety. A physical buffer is seen as important for walkability and perceived safety along Alma. Desire to calm Alma Street and maintain practical turn options for neighborhoods. Desire for traffic signal for side streets on Alma Street. Concern and desire to understand any potential property impacts including sidewalk and planter strip changes. PARTIAL UNDERPASS Top 3 Key Themes 1. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents suggested green paint where the bike ramp meets Seale Avenue, raised crosswalks, ADA-compliant slopes, lighting and for the design to keep bikes and peds separated -slowing cyclists on ramps. 2. Traffic Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about parking impacts on Seale Avenue as well as implications of the ramp on routing choices to and from Alma Street for abutting residents in terms of potential detours, one-way movements and U-turns. 3. Property Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about loss of on-street public parking, driveway access, and the number of dwellings affected—not just parcels. Also concerned about effects on visitors, deliveries, and ADA access along Seale Avenue. 11 Seale Avenue: Seale Avenue Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS Top 3 Key Themes 1. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents asked for clarification on how the Alma Street Ramp would work for bicyclists and pedestrians —level visibility at conflict points, tunnel preference, lighting, ADA grades, mirrors, and overall comfort. 2. Traffic Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about intersection operations such as ability to make turns to and from Alma Street. 3. Safety for Students:Respondents were concerned that students may dislike tunnels, and that unsafe facilities could push families toward driving—increasing traffic; volume and safety concerns; they also requested attention to lighting and consideration of student travel patterns. 12 Seale Avenue: Alma Street Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS Seale Avenue – Key Takeaways 13 Alma Street RampSeale Avenue Ramp Potential collisions where bikes emerge from the ramp at Seale and Alma calling for delineation, separation, and sightline improvements. Provides a more direct route to Paly compared with the Seale in-street tunnel concept. Less property & parking footprint impacts. Requests to clarify wall heights and to mitigate blight/ graffiti susceptibility with design/landscape interventions. Provide renderings from pedestrian eye-level. Loss of on-street parking; driveway conflicts; ask to count dwelling units (not just parcels). Concern about tree removal, loss of shade, and graffiti. Concern about whether Paly and Stanford students would use the Seale tunnel, given the proximity to existing tunnels at California Avenue and Embarcadero Road Restriction of turning movements on Seale Avenue. HYBRID Top 3 Key Themes 1. Construction Impacts:Respondents requested more information on construction impacts for residents along Alma Street including duration and extent of night work and detours, and what mitigation is planned to address construction impacts. 2. Aesthetics and Visual Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about wall including visual quality, height, and design treatment. 3. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents expressed like of the direct routes for the bike and pedestrian facilities and routes but want more specifics—lane width, buffers, crossing treatments, and how grades/turns affect comfort. 14 Meadow Drive: Hybrid HYBRID UNDERPASS 1. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, & ADA Accessibility):Respondents expressed concerns about the circuitous, indirect, and longer bicycle and pedestrian routes, especially for school age children and with sensitivity to grade for ADA compliance. 2. Traffic Impacts:Respondents expressed concerns about congestion, particularly regarding how lane configurations, turn restrictions, and detours would negatively impact traffic impacts on surrounding streets. 3. Construction Impacts:Respondents were also concerned about construction impacts such as road closures, noise, and disruptions to daily life, and requested information on duration of impacts. 15 Meadow Drive: Underpass Top 3 Key Themes UNDERPASS UnderpassHybrid Concerns about steep grades, long ramps, and tight turns for cyclists, wheelchair users, and strollers. Concerns on turn restrictions, indirect movements, and spillover onto adjacent streets i.e., Park, Los Robles, etc. Concern about duration, road closures, detours, noise, and day-to-day disruption due to extended construction. Desire to avoid blank walls; prefer landscaping, shade, and quality finishes. Concerns about indirect travel impacts that might require multiple crossings for southbound trips. Least expensive option. Emphasis on comfortable walking & biking environment. Requests for mixed wall/column treatments; mitigate graffiti susceptibility with design/landscape interventions. Desire to minimize residential property acquisitions under the Hybrid, compared with underpass designs. Prioritize safe school access for Gunn High students. Meadow Drive – Key Takeaways 16 HYBRID Top 3 Key Themes 1. Property Impacts:Respondents generally expressed a preference for this option relative to the Underpass due to the lower level of potential property acquisitions. 2. Costs and Funding:Many respondents notes that this option has lower construction costs. 3. Traffic Impacts:Respondents also notes that this option minimizes traffic disruptions and preserves neighborhood circulation. 17 Charleston Road: Hybrid HYBRID UNDERPASS 1. Traffic Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about the circulation of traffic including increased traffic volume and lower convenience for motorists associated with roundabout intersection maneuvers. 2. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility):Respondents requested information on bicycle and pedestrian routes, including connectivity, facility design, usability and comfort. 3. Property impacts:Respondents expressed concern about property impacts and requested more detailed information on the number of properties affected and size of partial acquisitions needed. 18 Charleston Road: Underpass –Roundabout Top 3 Key Themes UNDERPASS UNDERPASS 1. Construction Impacts:Respondents expressed concern about construction duration, road closures, noise, and disruption to daily life. 2. Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, ADA):Respondents expressed an interest in safe, direct, and accessible bicycle and pedestrian routes. 3. Traffic Impacts:Concerns about traffic flow, turn options, and congestion. 19 Charleston Road: Underpass – Direct Access Ramp Top 3 Key Themes UNDERPASS Underpass – Direct Access RampUnderpass –RoundaboutHybrid Concern about prolonged construction disruption. Concerns that the proposed bike/ped routes were not well integrated with existing travel patterns. Others emphasized the need for improvements to encourage walking and biking over driving. Concerns about changes to turn options, increased cut-through traffic in neighborhoods, and overall impacts on commute times. Many compared the Direct Access Ramp favorably to the Roundabout option, citing fewer property acquisitions and improved traffic flow. Concerns on property acquisitions and easement needs—including partial acquisitions—were flagged as significant impacts requiring clarity. The roundabout option was often contrasted unfavorably with the Direct Access Ramp and Hybrid options on property, cost, and operations. Higher relative costs of the roundabout underpass compared with other options referenced often. Respondents prioritized reliability and directness of school-route travel for students was prioritized, with predictable and safe crossings requested. Concern with safety of bicycle and pedestrian movements in this configuration. No property acquisitions. Least expensive option. Least negative traffic impact and avoids detours for drivers, maintaining neighborhood access. Appears best for bikes and pedestrians, with safer crossings and more direct routes. Concern about the visual impact of the Hybrid’s retaining walls. Charleston Road – Key Takeaways 20 1445 ALMA 105 CHURCHILL 102 CHURCHILL 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 1415 ALMA 1433 ALMA 1435 ALMA 1437 ALMA 106 KELLOGG 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT 103 KELLOGG 1. 7 ± F T 0.3± FT 1425 ALMA 1427 ALMA 1429 ALMA 1431 ALMA Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 102 CHURCHILL 2. 5 ± F T 1525 ALMA 1541 ALMA 1543 ALMA 1545 ALMA 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 96 CHURCHILL 1.8± FT 1551 ALMA 1555 ALMA 109 COLERIDGE 102 COLERIDGE 1635 ALMA 1645 ALMA 1647 ALMA 1649 ALMA 1651 ALMA 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 ± F T 2. 5 F T M A X Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 105 CHURCHILL 102 CHURCHILL106 KELLOGG 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT 103 KELLOGG 5.1 ± F T 1.7 ± F T 1.5 ± F T 3.5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 96 CHURCHILL 85 CHURCHILL PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 1.8± FT 8.7± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 102 CHURCHILL 96 CHURCHILL 1.8± FT 109 COLERIDGE 102 COLERIDGE 1.7 ± F T 2.9 ± F T 1.7 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 1. 1 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 4 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 3. 9 ± F T 0. 9 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 1. 5 ± F T 151 SEALE 143 SEALE 135 SEALE 125 SEALE 127 SEALE 129 SEALE 119 SEALE 121 SEALE 123 SEALE 109 SEALE 113 SEALE 103 SEALE 105 SEALE 107 SEALE 152 SEALE 150 SEALE 134 SEALE 136 SEALE 126 SEALE 128 SEALE 130 SEALE 120 SEALE 110 SEALE 112 SEALE 114 SEALE 102 SEALE 104 SEALE 106 SEALE Feet 0 15 30 NO R T H 1685 MARIPOSA 1677 MARIPOSA 1851 ALMA 2. 7 ± F T 7. 1 ± F T 3. 0 ± F T 8.3± FT 103 SEALE AVE 105 SEALE AVE 107 SEALE AVE 3,250± SF Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4101 PARK 24.7± FT 22 . 4 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4097 PARK 150 W MEADOW 2.2± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3553 ALMA 171 E MEADOW 48 ROOSEVELT 46 ROOSEVELT 44 ROOSEVELT 5.1± FT 9.9± FT 9.6± FT 3.9± FT 1.3± FT 1.3± FT 2.3± FT 8.9± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 4201 PARK 4195 PARK 33.7± FT 38 . 1 ± F T 29.2± FT 30 . 5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3781 STARR KING 3783 STARR KING 256 E CHARLESTON 242 E CHARLESTON 15.0 ± F T 36 . 7 ± F T 13.2± FT Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 3711 STARR KING 3709 STARR KING 3707 STARR KING 3705 STARR KING 3703 STARR KING 3701 STARR KING 126 E CHARLESTON 102 E CHARLESTON 110 E CHARLESTON 153 LUNDY 46.6± FT 35 . 1 ± F T 39. 4 ± F T 29 . 6 ± F T 20.2 ± F T 16.0± FT 19.8 ± F T 17.2± FT 18.4± FT 19.7± F T 11.0± FT 0.9± FT 3.2± FT 20. 9 ± F T 11 . 7 ± F T 12 . 0 ± F T 11 . 9 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 250 W CHARLESTON 240 W CHARLESTON 220 W CHARLESTON 4195 PARK 4201 RUTHELMA 285 CHARLESTON 275 CHARLESTON 265 CHARLESTON 4200 PARK 4201 PARK 2. 4 9 ± F T 12 . 7 4 ± F T 12 . 5 8 ± F T 1. 5 8 ± F T 9. 1 5 ± F T 12 . 0 7 ± F T 10 . 4 5 ± F T 1. 2 6 ± F T 8. 0 3 ± F T 12 . 5 3 ± F T Feet 0 20 40NO R T H 110 E CHARLESTON 153 LUNDY 145 LUNDY 137 LUNDY 129 LUNDY 109 ELY 12 . 0 ± F T 11 . 9 ± F T 10 . 7 ± F T 9. 1 ± F T 7. 2 ± F T 4. 5 ± F T Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 1.0± FT 4.0± FT 3781 STARR KING 3783 STARR KING Feet 0 20 40 NOR T H 8 5 7 8 Rail Committee Supplemental Report Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: Transportation Meeting Date: November 18, 2025 Report #:2511-5427 TITLE Review of Refined Alternatives Designs for Recommendation to City Council to Advance the Selected Grade Separation Alternatives to 15% Design at Churchill Avenue, Meadow, Drive, and Charleston Road As indicated in Staff Report #2510-5279, Item #2 on November 18, 2025, Rail Committee Agenda, Attachment E was expected to be distributed as a late packet on November 13, 2025. This attachment is included in this supplemental report. ATTACHMENTS Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker (New) APPROVED BY: Ria Hutabarat Lo, Chief Transportation Official DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker 1 1. Driving west on Meadow from Middlefield Road to El Camino Way: At the Meadow/Alma light, cars will need to make a right at Alma, then a left turn or U-turn at the Alma Village light, and then a right to continue on Meadow towards El Camino Way. My concern with requiring the right turn at Meadow to Alma is the morning commute of parents driving their students to Gunn using Meadow, and the impact on traffic. In the earlier May 2024 rendering of the underpass, it was still possible to remain on Meadow when crossing Alma going west. Is there a reason why going straight on Meadow is not possible? Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts Access to Schools Driving west on Meadow Drive from Middlefield Road to El Camino Way, drivers can continue straight on Meadow Drive. Meadow Drive will depress below the railroad tracks and Alma Street and then continue through to the east leg of Meadow Drive. 2 2. If you are going east on Meadow towards Alma, is there a way to access SB Alma from Meadow? I couldn't tell from the rendering.Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) destined for southbound Alma Street will not have a connection to southound Alma Street. Driver can use the Charleston crossing, which will allow this movement. 3 1. Can you please include bike/ped paths in any new renderings/animations? The renderings from 2024 didn't show bike paths. This is especially important because there is a separate grade separation project in the works for only bike/peds that also involves building tunnels under Alma and the tracks. If you include bike/ped paths in the grade separation plan for Charleston and Meadow, the bikeped tunnel option being proposed for Lindero (which is within 300 yards from Charleston and Meadow intersection on Alma) might become moot. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The refined alternative materials (plans, renderings, etc.) include bicycle and pedestrian facilities associated with the alternatives. Future exhibits will continue to include bicycle and pedestrian facilities. 4 2. Can you show property acquisitions on these renderings? But please don't send out any official communication regarding property impact yet. In the earlier renderings, the Meadow Grade sep showed property acquisitions but Charleston didn't. I heard that the new renderings for Charleston and Meadow reduce/avoid property takings. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right- of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 5 The new designs reduce the property acquisitions significantly. However, I don’t see any table of acquisitions. You should provide a spreadsheet that at least lists full acquisitions and partial acquisition even if you don’t know the percentage of partial acquisitions at this time. The city council and community should not be guessing how many property acquisitions might occur. Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right- of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 6 Why are the images so small with such large file sizes (>23MB) for a single image. I had trouble opening some of the images which I suspect had to do the with file size. The images could easily be down-sampled without loss of content and presented as a full size image on the sheet. Other Future exhibits will be optimized for clarity and accessibility, including full-size images with reduced file sizes for easier viewing and download. CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 1 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 7 Seale Ave: Alma Street Ramp Option This is an interesting concept that minimizes property acquisitions. The retaining wall section along Alma is ~161’. This may not be enough for even a 8’ tall tunnel. Does the ramp continue dropping in the tunnel as it rounds the bend? Why does the tunnel extend beyond the Caltrain ROW? It likely would be cheaper to have it stop at the Caltrain ROW. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts The Alma Street ramp (east ramp) to/from the tunnel continues to slope in the tunnel portion as it rounds the bend. The tunnel is shown extending beyond Caltrain right-of- way on the west side because--should box jacking be implemented--a jacking pit will be needed outside of the Caltrain right-of-way, with a buffer to the right-of-way. 8 Seale Ave: Seale Ave Ramp Why does the tunnel extend ~66’ beyond Alma? Some extension is desirable but this seems excessive. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts The tunnel is shown extending beyond Caltrain right-of-way on the west side because-- right-of-way, with a buffer to the right-of-way. 9 Charleston Ave: Underpass (Roundabout) With no houses fronting Alma on this block is this ramp really necessary? The new southbound ramp appears to allow a single lane roundabout. Does it require partial property acquisitions on Alma south of Charleston? You provide a radius for all car lanes. Why don’t you do that for bikes? You shouldn’t have to cross into oncoming traffic to make a turn on a 2-way bike path. Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Property Impacts While it’s true that there are no homes fronting Alma Street on this block, the bicycle and pedestrian ramp on the east side of Alma Street is for access across Alma Street to connect to the neighborhoods and bicycle and pedestrian facilities to the south. Roundabout alternative could impact up to 3 full and 25 partial parcels/dwelling units. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right- of-way boundaries as part of continued design actvities. The two-way multi-use path on the north side of Charleston Road is intended to provide continuous and safe access for cyclists and pedestrians, passing under both Alma Street and the railroad tracks. Additional refinement will be conducted during preliminary engineering if this alternative moves forward. 10 East Meadow: Underpass The 18-unit apartment will loose car access to the garages. Will that require acquisition? Meadow Drive Underpass Property Impacts For the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative, the preliminary potential property impacts identify a full impact for the 3553 Alma Street property (the 18-unit apartment building). 11 1. Both options for the Charleston/Meadow crossing require house acquisitions. Partial acquisition will make the house unlivable. Both partial and full acquisitions will force the house owners to move out their homes which is very hard for the house owners, particularly for senior owners. Since hybrid option doesn’t need to acquire any houses, we urge the city to choose hybrid on behalf of all city residents. While the Hyrbrid alternative may result in houses facing the concrete wall, that seems less impactful than a house owner losing his/her house. 2. When we compare the two options of Underpass, very clearly, direct access ramp option is much better than roundabout option: a. Direct access ramp option requires fewer house acquisitions. As we mentioned above, acquisitions, no matter partial or full, will give disasters to the house owners because they have to deal with many difficulties. b. The direct access ramp option is much cheaper than roundabout option ($390M-$480M vs $690M-$850M). There is no ANY reason why you guys to choose the option which costs a lot more but doesn’t provide ANY better outcomes! c. The direct access ramp option will provide two more lanes for car flows on Alma. Alma is a busy street. Two more lanes mean a lot for car flows. d. In yesterday’s hearing, when you guys were presenting how the cars go around the traffic circle to get their destinations in the roundabout option, the audiences immediately gave strong disagreement noises. Very clearly, the audiences don’t like this idea because circling the traffic roundabout is very inconvenient, takes time and is not straightforward, unlike Hybrid and Underpass with Direct Access Ramp. It will also block traffic flows at some degrees compared to both Hybrid and Underpass with direct access ramp. e. Since Underpass with Roundabout requires more house acquisitions and costs a lot more, we believe it will take much longer time to finish the whole project. As we know, the construction for the grade separation project will give huge noises, dusts, traffic inconvenience for the house owners on Charleston/Meadow. Even only for these reasons, you guys should not choose the Underpass with Roundabout. 3. You should provide the house numbers of partial acquisitions for each Underpass option on Meadow/Charleston ASAP. You also need to provide % of acquisition for each house. Not only the total %, but also the exact % of the house area and % of the yard area in each partial acquisition. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. These maps identify specific addresses and approximate area of impact. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminiary engineering. 2 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 12 Please advise as to which houses on Alma will be subject to any eminent domain related to the rail grade separation. Also, please confirm that the existing sidewalk and planter strip will be taken so that any new sidewalk would be via eminent domain. Where is this information to be found on a publicly available website? Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. These maps identify specific addresses and approximate area of impact. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of continued design actvities. 13 Dear Madam/Sir, I am a resident and am writing to you about the Charleston Road railway grade project. Our family's preferences are as follows. 1) Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option and saves more than $300 million for the city. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Please keep us posted on any future meetings/updates so we can attend these if necessary. Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback. Your comments regarding preference of the Charleston Road Hybrid option due to traffic impact, cost and property impact factors have been taken into account. 14 2) Underpass (Direct Access Ramp) - This is the 2nd best option. It also has less negative traffic impact on our neighborhood. No homes are lost.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarings Charleston Road Underpass consideration. 15 3) Underpass (Roundabout) - This is the worst option for us. Our neighbors lose their homes. It will have massive traffic consequences for our neighborhood. All the following traffic will end up being pushed down towards Mumford/Carlson to make a U-turn at the roundabout. - traffic headed south on Alma trying to make a right on W.Charleston - traffic headed east on W Charleston trying to make a left on Alma - traffic headed north on Alma trying to make a left on W. Charleston. Furthermore this option is going to cost the city more than $300MM compared to the Hybrid option. Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns The project team is conducting a comprehensive traffic analysis to maintain safe and efficient operations while balancing neighborhood access and school circulation. The draft traffic analysis memorandum and results are provided on the City website and part of the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 16 I am a resident on Walnut Grove, Palo Alto. I want to express a serious concern about the round-about option being considered for the new version of the Alma-Charleston intersection/crossing. I significantly prefer the hybrid option due to lower cost AND a more straightforward traffic pattern. I am NOT at all keen that the bulk of the traffic from this busy intersection should come right to the doorstep of our neighborhood, with significantly less direct turns. We absolutely want to avoid the roundabout option, and find the hybrid the best and underpass-with-direct-access-ramp as the second best option. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Please keep us posted on any future meetings/updates so we can attend these if necessary. Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the preference of the Charleston Road Hybrid option due to cost and circulation has been taken into consideration. 3 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 17 My curiosity questions rather than comments on what was presented: Did the public (those that a ended and provided comments) have diverse views or were they somewhat consistent? For example, was it mainly a bike coalition that would have similar interests that may not be necessarily aligned with the public at-large. Did you do a preliminary proﬁle to approximate how much track would have to be raised to achieve the 19 ? Did you do any renderings with the raised track to show to the public? Have you idenﬁ ed major u lity impacts? I thought there was a strong desire by the residents to depress the trackway, has that op on been taken oﬀ the table? Is the city recep ve to completely closing roadways to facilitate construc on. Is there a backup plan if the preliminary cost es mate indicates that the grade separa ons are not fundable given the Broadway ﬁasco and Mt View’s current situation? Construction Impacts The community meeting attendees and respondents included a cross-section of residents. Common themes were identified from the comments and are provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Rail profiles were developed for the alternatives that include raising of the tracks. Those rail profiles showed up to 5300 LF of track needing to be raised depending on the alternative. Profiles and renderings are provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. The engineering team are in the process of developing a major utility conflict matrix for analysis. The City Council decided not to advance the "Tunnel" and "Trench" alternatives which featured depressed tracks. The City would strongly prefer not to close roadways to facilitate construction but understands that closures may be necessary. Effort will be made to avoid simultaneous closures in order to mitigate impacts. The first step is to complete the refinement for the City Council. The City has acknowledged that getting all the grade separation funded (or even constructed) at the same time will be very challenging and would likely require prioritization/phasing of improvements likely starting with the southern crossings (i.e., Meadow/Charleston). 18 Please consider our preferred option for Charleston road as the Hybrid option. It would be the least traffic impact. No home acquisition and the least expensive option of all. Charleston Road Hybrid Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the preference of the Charleston Road Hybrid option due to cost and circulation has been taken into 19 Palo Alto scheduled a community meeting to discuss the rail grade separation alternatives for Meadow Drive and Charleston Road at the Mitchell Park Community Center, on 1 October 2025. That meeting was not held. The El Palo Alto Room remained dark. The people who came to participate in that cancelled(?) meeting were unable to provide their input. I trust you have informed City Council members that some community input was missed. Since I was unable to participate in that meeting, a few brief comments. 1. If I have understood them correctly, all of the alternatives currently under consideration for those two grade crossings will generate significant local opposition. None is a good solution to the problem, now and into the future. 2. A few angry residents and imaginative lawyers are likely to stall these projects for a long time, perhaps forever. We will have the same conversations a decade from now. In the interim, train traffic will, we hope, increase. Likely there will be pressure for more tracks. 3. A serious re-think is essential. The only manageable way to separate trains, cars, people, bicycles, and scooters is a separation that starts at the city's boundaries, or even farther south and north. Since Palo Altans will resist elevated train tracks that slice through the city, the only sustainable approach, it seems to me, is a tunnel. Yes, far more costly. Yes, far more engineering, construction, and disruption. But no other alternative will meet the city's needs for the coming decades. 4. The proposed alternatives are short-term fixes that may never happen. But if they do, the pressure to modify them will begin as soon as they are completed. Construction Impacts Other Thank you for your feedback. Your comments have been taken into consideration. Center: Meadow Drive and Charleston Road alternatives at 4:00 PM and Churchill Avenue (including Seale Avenue) alternatives at 6:00 PM. 20 As local resident and home office business we would like to give our preference to Hybrid solution due to impact on properties and cost of project.Meadow Drive Hybrid Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on preference of the Meadow Drive Hybrid option has been taken into consideration. 4 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 21 Thank you for arranging another community outreach meeting on the rail crossings on Meadow and Charleston. What will the format be? I have found that breaking attendees into small groups to discuss issues sometimes doesn't provide much information, just personal opinions on issues sometimes already settled (e.g., “We should have a viaduct.”) I would prefer a question and answer session with staff. But I'll be there since I live smack-dab in the middle of the Meadow and Charleston crossings. Lucky me! Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Other Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration. The community meeting materials are provided on the City website. 22 I am a resident on Walnut Grove and am writing to you about the Charleston Road railway grade project. Our family's preferences are as follows: 1) Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option for the city. 2) Underpass (Direct Access Ramp) - This is the 2nd best option. It also has less negative traffic impact on our neighborhood. 3) Underpass (Roundabout) - This is the worst option. Our neighbors lose their homes. It will have massive traffic consequences for our neighborhood. All the following traffic will end up being pushed down towards Mumford/Carlson to make a U-turn at the roundabout. - traffic headed south on Alma trying to make a right on W.Charleston - traffic headed east on W.Charleston trying to make a left on Alma - traffic headed north on Alma trying to make a left on W. Charleston. Furthermore, this option is going to cost the city more than $300MM compared to the Hybrid option. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Please keep us posted on any future meetings/updates so we can attend these if necessary. Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Road crossing (1. Hybrid, 2. Underpass Direct Access Ramp, and 3. Underpass with Roundabout) due to circulation, property impacts, and cost have been taken into consideration. 5 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 23 Hi I just looked at the updated grade separation plans for Meadow/Charleston at: https://www.caltrain.com/projects/CMCGS-Public-Engagement I have some follow up questions: 1.regarding cost: on the trade-oﬀ sheets - it lists the hybrid cos ng 390M-480M and underpass 690M-850M but it doesn't separate the underpass roundabout vs the underpass direct access. do you have the figures for these 2 underpass options? 2.regarding traﬃc impact - what are the considera ons made for traﬃc impact for the neighboring areas? for example, for underpass it seems like essentially there wouldn't be lights on Alma at Meadow and Charleston, so there will be increased speeding on Alma, such that it will be impossible for residents in the neighborhood north of Meadow along streets like Loma Verde, El Carmelo, El Dorado etc. to be able to turn left to go south (towards Mountain View)? If there will be a light installed at Loma Verde - then what will be the traffic delay at Loma Verde, i.e. will we end up shifting the traffic delay just to a different intersection(s)? 3.property impact - for par al takings, what is the actual expected takings of those proper es for each of the underpass op ons? currently on the slide it seems like there is only the orange to indicate there will be partial takings but doesn't show % of property taken? 4.bike lanes - for the underpass op ons, will the bike path going east from El Camino to Middleﬁeld on Charleston s ll be both direc ons on the north side, i.e. requiring bikers to go up the pedestrian ramp, cross, down the ramp and U-turn onto the path for both underpass options? that can be quite difficult or dangerous for Gunn students as some of them may end up just going with the cars on the road. Have you done a study with Gunn students? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Access to Schools 1. We do not yet have updated cost estimates that differentiate between the roundabout and direct access underpass options. More detailed and updated cost estimates will be developed as part of preliminary engineering. 2. For Charleston Road, there will be traffic signals at both the Upper Alma and Charleston ramps and at the Lower Alma and Charleston direct ramp. However at Meadow Drive, the signal at Alma Village will remain in place. At this time, we have not included an additional traffic signal at Loma Verde, El Carmelo, or El Dorado. 3. Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. These maps identify specific addresses and approximate area of impact. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 4. The underpass designs that include a separated bike path currently place the facility on only one side of the road, which creates the kind of access challenges you've described. In contrast, the hybrid alternative allows for bike lanes to follow the direction of vehicular traffic, providing a more intuitive and safer experience for cyclists. Each design option has different strengths and trade-offs. Your concerns about student safety are important, and we recommend including them in the formal comment process so they can be addressed during the design refinement. 24 How will people walk dogs on the street if cars are driving right against the sidewalk? Seems scary if someone falls Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility)strip has been taken into consideration. 25 No space between sidewalk and road? What happens when my dog pulls me? There would not be safe space.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility)strip has been taken into consideration. 26 Prioritize getting bikes as close to school as possible. Closing Churchill allow students to pass under the tracks.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Access to Schools The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue which does not allow for such provisions. A bicycle and pedestrian crossing will be provided at Seale Avenue as part of the Partial Underpass. However, there is a bicycle/pedestrian crossing with street closure at Churchill Avenue as a backup option. 27 Our preference is to prioritize bikers getting to school. Slow down Alma traffic - reduce lanes - close Churchill.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Access to Schools The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue which does not allow for such provisions. A bicycle and pedestrian crossing will be provided at Seale Avenue as part of the Partial Underpass. However, there is a bicycle/pedestrian crossing with street closure at Churchill Avenue as a backup option. 28 Alma is a main thoroughway - this will make it uncomfortable for pedestrians and dog walkers Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility)strip has been taken into consideration. 29 Fire can get around the city OK. Prefer to do ped/bike undercrossing Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Other The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue which does not allow for such provisions. A bicycle and pedestrian crossing will be provided at Seale Avenue as part of the Partial Underpass. However, there is a bicycle/pedestrian crossing with street closure at Churchill Avenue as a backup option. 30 Reconsider option B and all the students Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Access to Schools The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue. However, there is a bicycle/pedestrian crossing with street closure at Churchill Avenue as a 6 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 31 Paly students are scared of that last little bit to get to school Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Access to Schools The City understands concerns about the final approach to Palo Alto High School such as crossing Churchill Avenue at Castilleja Avenue. Design refinements will consider safe, direct, and comfortable routes for students, including ADA-compliant sidewalks and bike paths, improved lighting, and clear sightlines. 32 Prefer for kids to get to school as quickly as possible rather than circuitous route Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Access to Schools Design refinements will consider safe, direct, and comfortable routes for students, including ADA-compliant sidewalks and bike paths, improved lighting, and clear 33 Widening Alma will bring more vehicles.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts For the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass, Alma Street will remain a 4-lane typical section with two lanes in the northbound and southbound directions. The widening of this alternative is to accommodate a landscape strip between the travel lanes and 34 Don't like widening Alma - prefer to slow it down with 1-lane in each direction A majority of neighbors would prefer the ped/bike undercrossing/closure. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts For the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass, Alma Street will remain a 4-lane typical section with two lanes in the northbound and southbound directions. The widening of this alternative is to accommodate a landscape strip between the travel lanes and sidewalk. 35 This doesn't enhance the quality of life with shade.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Landscaping will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. However, new trees 36 37 A bike and pedestrian tunnel on Kellog makes much more sense than Seale.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The City Council selected Seale Avenue as the bicycle and pedestrian crossing location as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass due to the Seale Avenue crossing being more feasible. The City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) also identified Seale Avenue as a bicycle and pedestrian route across the tracks. 38 Close Churchill to car traffic use as most direct path to school. High school kids do not want to bike in tunnel.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Access to Schools The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue. However, there is a bicycle/pedestrian crossing with street closure at Churchill Avenuewith as a 39 Reduce Speed of Alma Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Traffic Impacts As part of preliminiary engineering, traffic control and safety measures will be 40 Have 3 lanes on Alma, use middle lane to change flow of traffic North or South depending on time of day and traffic volumes.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Due to the traffic volumes on Alma Street, the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative includes two northbound and southbound lanes on Alma Street to 41 Landscape strip is preferred for walkability.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on the preference of Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a landscape strip has been taken into consideration. 42 Signal controlled light southbound out of old Palo Alto neighborhood Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Traffic Impacts As part of preliminiary engineering, traffic control and safety measures will be 43 Please use native plants in the landscaping strip.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Landscaping for the grade separation alternatives will be further developed during later design phases, and the City will consider the use of native and drought-tolerant species consistent with City landscaping standards. 44 Bike cages for Paly are off Castilleja - so forcing people to cross Churchill at tracks is out of way Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on the location and accessibility of the bike cages has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of 45 People stop in the middle of Churchill to drop off kids. Sometimes if stop, multi-head issue Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on the safety and traffic implications of people stopping on Churchill Avenue to drop kids off has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 46 RRFB is not visible at Castilleja ; need a PHB Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on the visibility of the rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) at Castilleja Avenue andthe need for a pedestrian hybrid beach (PHB) instead has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 7 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 47 Need to get attention of drivers from both directions and lights don't help Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on the visibility of the rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) at Castilleja Avenue and the need for a pedestrian hybrid beach (PHB) instead has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 48 Usually cross Churchill at Castilleja. Feels dangerous - would like raised crosswalk- beacons feel dim and not sure if on Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on pedestrian safety at the Churchill Avenue and Castilleja Avenue intersection has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 49 During construction of Churchill bikeway please provide signs and instructions to go a different way.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on wayfinding and detours has been taken into consideration. Detours for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles during construction will be provided in future phases of the project. 50 If you make people go to Seale - that's not preferred for Paly students Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools The City Council has selected the Partial Underpass as preferred alternative for Churchill Avenue with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 51 Solar RRFB's don't always work - often dull Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on pedestrian safety at the Churchill Avenue and Castilleja Avenue intersection has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components such as non solar powered signs, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 52 Want to calm Alma rather than widen Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on calming Alma Street has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 53 Need light to turn left from the Old Palo Alto neighborhood onto Alma Street going South Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on traffic control from the Old Palo Alto neighborhood to southbound Alma Street has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary 54 Currently a Left turn from the center turn lane on Alma Street to Seale Ave results in crashes Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts existing turning movements are maintained as part of both Seale Avenue active transportation alternatives. Additional traffic control, striping, signing and safety measures may be identified during preliminary engineering. 55 Can you narrow to 1-lane when it narrows to 4-lane at Embarcadero?Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. The City would need to review additional traffic volumes on Alma Street to determine feasbility of one northbound lane on Alma Street between Churchill Avenue and Embarcadero Road. The scope of this project does not extend to Embarcadero Road. 56 Suggest posting on Schoolology to let school students know - in announcements/clubs know where to look Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on posting information on Schoolology has been taken into consideration. Additional engagement opportunities including engagement with students and parents will be identified for preliminary engineering and the City is working closely with PAUSD. 57 School publication or newspaper should cover this.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on posting information in the school publication or newspaper has been taken into consideration. Additional engagement opportunities including engagement with students and parents will be identified for preliminary engineering and the City is working closely with PAUSD. 58 Nice solution to the challenge of Churchill. I will miss being able to do E on Alma to S on Churchill.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment on addressing the challenges at Churchill 8 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 59 How will drivers turn left onto Alma Street from Churchill Avenue or other side streets if gaps and traffic control are not provided?Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. The Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative removes the existing vehicle crossing at Churchill to improve safety and reduce conflicts. This change means the westbound left-turn movements from Churchill onto Alma will no longer be possible. A westbound left-turn onto Alma will still be possible from Melville Avenue, Lowell Avenue, and Tennyson Avenue. The eastbound left-turn lane from Churchill to Alma will be accommodated. Additional traffic control and safety measures will be identified in preliminary engineering. 60 Bus circulation impacts - busses go SB (Southbound) Churchill to lot east of high school Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding bus circulation has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control and circulation as well as safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 61 I was concerned about loss of landscape strip, but if NB lane has 6 ft. buffer then traffic will be less intense Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the 6-foot buffer between the travel lane and sidewalk has been taken into consideration. 62 Walter Hayes Elementary South Gate Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. The project area does not extend to Middlefield Road and Embarcadero Road where the Walter Hays Elementary School is located. Access to this elementary school will not be impacted by the current alternatives. Students Seale Avenue bike/ped crossing. 63 "Scramble" signal phase for high schoolers at the intersection of Churchill Avenue and Alma Street Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools For the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass, bicyclists and pedestrians can cross the west leg of Churchill Avenue an at-grade pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Churchill Avenue. Bicyclists and pedestrians wanting to cross Alma Street will need to use the Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing. Traffic control and safety measures will be identified during preliminary engineering. 64 Taking away bike access for Paly on Churchill would be a pain Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Access to Schools The Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative will maintain bicycle access to Paly from the west leg of Churchill Avenue via the Embarcadero Bike Path. For the bicyclists traveling from the east leg of Churchill Avenue, the Seale Avenue bike/pedestrian crossing will accommodate the connect to/from Paly. 65 Traffic calming on Alma St needed Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. As described in the Traffic Study and project materials, as part of future design and coordination with the City’s transportation staff. 66 Some kind of landscaping should still be included in the plan Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Landscaping for the grade separation alternatives will 67 A traffic light at the crossing of Churchill Ave and Castilleja Ave is needed.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Additional traffic control measures will be identified as 68 Concern about the following items for the Seale Avenue Ramp option - removal of parallel parking - landscape strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the concern of the removal of option has been taken into consideration. 69 Cars coming out of Seale driveways can't easily see kids on bikes coming down Seale. Kids may get hit under this plan.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Under the Seale Avenue Ramp alternative of the Churchill Partial Underpass, bicyclists would travel up the ramp and emerge onto Seale Avenue, south of the intersection with Emerson Street. A crosswalk will be provided for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross to either side of Seale Avenue. Therefore, bicyclists will not interact with driveways until just south of Emerson Street. Additional active transportation components and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 70 Add green bike lane paint from point where bike pops up off ramp, until first crosswalk Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding green bike lane paint has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation components such as signing and striping will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 71 Consider raised crosswalk for the crosswalk across Seale Avenue just north of the ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding a raised crosswalk has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation components such as raised crosswalks will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 9 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 72 Need speed bumps on Seale to slow speeding traffic Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your suggestion to consider speed bumps will be documented and shared with the City’s Traffic Calming Program, which manages on neighborhood streets. Additional active transportation components such speed bumps will be identified in future phases. 73 Concern for trucks (Amazon, Mail, U.P.S.) blocking access along Seale Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding delivery vehicle accessibility has been taken into consideration. For the Seale Avenue - Seale Avenue Ramp alternative, the travel lanes on Seale Avenue are anticipated to be 16 feet wide. Pending type of delivery vehicle and personal vehicles, 16 feet should accommodate most personal vehicles (approximately 6 feet wide) and delivery trucks (approximately 9 feet wide for a box truck). 74 Where will people be able to stage their trash bins? Our property, has 8!Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the trash bin accommodations has been taken into consideration. For the Seale Avenue - Seale Avenue Ramp alternative, the travel lanes on Seale Avenue are anticipated to be 16 feet wide which should accommodate trash bins and vehicles (including trash collection trucks). 75 Railing create potentially poor visibility/blind spots coming on to or off Alma Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts ramp potentially blocking visibility has been taken into account. Active transportation components such as sightlines, railing placement, and safety measures will be identified during preliminary engineering. 76 For the Seale Avenue Ramp, will bikes and pedestrians be separate? And will the ramps and tunnels be lit?Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) For the Seale Avenue Ramp alternative, bicyclists and pedestrians will not be physically separated on the ramps and in the tunnels. The ramps and tunnel are anticipated to have lighting. Active transportation components such as striping and safety measures (e.g., lighting) will be identified during preliminiary engineering. 77 Are there mechanisms to slow bikers down?Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) There are mechanisms that can be implemented to control bicycle speeds. These mechanisms will be identified during preliminary engineering. 78 Make the ramps wheelchair friendly: - flat spots - not too steep - well lit Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The ramps to/from the tunnels were designed based on City, Caltrain, and ADA standards while minimizing the lengths of the ramps to reduce potential impacts. The ramps have landings. Acitive transportation components such as lighting and additional safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 79 Concerned that this concept will make it difficult for residents to move vehicles. Implementing 1-way traffic will require residents to change direction through U-Turns. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your concern regarding the mobility and circulation of traffic on the one-lane roads has been taken into consideration. Drivers can utilize Emerson Street and other parallel routes to Seale Avenue for traffic circulation. Traffic circulation components such as traffic control will be identified during preliminary engineering. 80 Add bike lanes and lighting like what is done on El Camino Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding reference for the El Camino bike lanes and lighting has been taken into consideration. Active transportation components such as lighting, signing, and striping will be identified as part of 81 Street parking on Seale is critical due to several multi-unit residences. Removing parking will be highly disruptive and impactful to residents.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the concern of the removal of option has been taken into consideration. 82 Provide info on the number of dwelling units (residences) not just parcels impacted by this concept.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 10 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 83 This plan will not just impact 15 houses. There are apartments behind the houses, so closer to 25 residences will be impacted.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 84 Concerned with the ripple effects of parking loss on the rest of the neighborhood.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the concern of the removal of option has been taken into consideration. 85 This Seale Avenue Ramp alternative is a non-starter. 29 homes affected. No thank you!Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the concern of the Seale Avenue Ramp option impacting 29 homes has been taken into consideration. 86 Seale Ave. should not be bike/ped crossing it's so close to California Ave. bike tunnel Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the proximity of the Seale Avenue crossing to the existing California Avenue crossing has been taken into consideration. The City Council identified Seale Avenue as the bicycle and pedestrian crossing as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass. 87 Paly & Stanford bicyclists will not ride down to Seale to get to school. They will cross at Melville to get to the high school.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding students will cross at Melville Avenue in lieu of crossing at Seale Avenue has been taken into consideration. Crossing the train tracks at Melville Avenue is currently and will continue to be prohibited due to no safe crossing location and fencing. Additional active transportation components such as barriers and fencing and safety measures will be identified during preliminary engineering. 88 Remove trees from the Seale Avenue Ramp renderings to make it look more accurate for Seale Avenue.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment.The Seale Avenue Ramp renderings have been revised to show a more accurate depiction of the removal of trees on Seale Avenue. There revised renderings can be found on the City website and in the November 18 Rail 89 Trees in the rendering would not be present on Seale Avenue as part of the Seale Avenue Ramp option.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment.The Seale Avenue Ramp renderings have been revised to show a more accurate depiction of the removal of trees on Seale Avenue. There revised renderings can be found on the City website and in the November 18 Rail 90 Probably more safe to have tunnel in the middle of the road because bikes don't have to go as far across the road to get to tunnel. Maybe raise the crosswalk for pedestrian safety. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding a raised crosswalk on Seale Avenue, just east of the ramp, has been taken into consideration. Additional bicycle and pedestrian components, traffic control, and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 91 Prefer not to have ramp in middle of street for the Seale Avenue Ramp option. This block is the most densely packed.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference to not have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp in the middle of Seale Avenue has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 92 The Seale Tunnel is a bad and unthinkable concept (no parking, tree removal, taking of property)Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference to not have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp in the middle of Seale Avenue has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 93 The Alma tunnel seems to be better alternative Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the preference of the Alma Street Ramp option has been taken into consideration. 94 This plan forces people on the north side of Seal to turn right coming out of their driveways and then right onto Alma to get anywhere, this essentially renders all the carports behind houses at the end of Seale useless. Residents will have to park blocks away. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding circulation and parking concerns for the Seale Avenue Ramp has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale 95 Faster to get to school for Pally kids if the ramp for the Seale Avenue Ramp went North instead of connecting to Stanford Avenue.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your commend regarding preference for the ramp to head north instead of to Stanford Avenue for the Seale Avenue Ramp alternative has 11 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 96 Include Bryant St. for bikes Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. As described in the City’s project website and community meeting boards, the Seale Avenue ramp alternative is focused on improving safety and access for people walking and biking near Alma Street. Your suggestion to include Bryant Street for bikes will be documented and considered in 97 Keep bikes close to Churchill. Close Churchill to car traffic.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your feedback regarding the closure of car traffic at Churchill Avenue and to keep bikes closer to Churchill Avenue has been taken into consideration. The City Council selected the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. Originally, Kellogg Avenue was considered for the bicycle and pedestrian crossing but City Council selected Seale Avenue due to the feasbility. However, the closure option is a backup. 98 No Parking for 29 residences. How do older family members visit?Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding circulation and parking concerns for the Seale Avenue Ramp has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale 99 Do not like that this concept offers no trees, no shade, and no parking.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding removal of trees and parking for the Seale Avenue Ramp has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 100 My concern is with a single lane and tunnel in middle of the road, it will be difficult to back out of driveways, for vendors to make deliveries, and to drop off people along Seale Avenue. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding circulation and deliveries for the Seale Avenue Ramp has been taken into consideration. For the Seale Avenue Ramp alternative, the travel lanes on Seale Avenue are anticipated to be 16 feet wide. Pending type of delivery vehicle and personal vehicles, 16 feet should accommodate most personal vehicles (approximately 6 feet wide) and delivery trucks (approximately 9 feet wide for a box truck). The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 101 Bike tunnel in the middle of the street combined removal of trees as part of street widening is an eyesore. Concerned that property values will be negatively impacted. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts well as property value for the Seale Avenue Ramp has been taken into consideration. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 102 How do we get to our house in a wheelchair if there is no driveway?Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The Seale Avenue Ramp alternative is not anticipated to remove access to/from driveways on Seale Avenue. However, on street parking will be 103 We need all the street parking on Seale Avenue (already it is insufficient).Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the need for parallel parking on Seale Avenue as part of the Seale Avenue Ramp option has been taken into account. The other option, Alma Street Ramp, was presented at the September 30 Community meetings as an option to have the bicycle and pedestrian ramp along Alma Street in lieu of Seale Avenue. 104 Please consider providing plants along pedestrian facilities to improve health and quality of life.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. The project team appreciates your suggestion to include plants along pedestrian areas has been taken into consideration. Landscaping will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 105 Students don't like biking through long, narrow, and dark tunnels.Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your concern regarding students preference to not bike through long, narrow, and dark tunnels has been taken into consideration. Additional active transpportation elements and safety measures such as lighting will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 106 Safety at intersection of Seale Avenue and Alma Street Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comments. Your comment regarding implementing safety measures at the intersection of Seale Avenue and Alma Street has been taken into consideration. Additional safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary 12 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 107 Concerned as to lack of visibility between a bicycle crossing on Seale, while southbound car on Alma makes a left turn ont Seale northbouhd.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comments. Your comment regarding safety and visibility for bicycles and pedestrians at the intersection of Seale Avenue and Alma Street has been taken into consideration. Additional safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering if this option is advanced. 108 You don't need tunnel if you do backup plan … close off streets and save money.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. Your feedback regarding the closure of car traffic at Churchill Avenue has been taken into consideration. The City Council selected the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. However, the closure option is a backup. 109 Bike/ped crossing is not needed here bcause there is one on Cal Ave. 3.5 blocks away.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your feedback regarding there is no need for a bcicyle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue has been taken into consideration. The City Council selected the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. The Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative only accommodates bicycle and pedestrians crossing Alma Street at Seale Avenue. However, the closure option is a backup. 110 Could this be a bridge? Would a bridge be cheaper?Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. A bicycle and pedestrian bridge was not selected by the City Council due to feasbility and safety concerns of a bridge structure over the 111 Paly students commute all day long because of extra curriculars. Tunnels not preferred.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding a tunnel is not preferred has been taken into consideration. Additional safety measures for active transportation paths will be identified in preliminary engineering. 112 Start transitioning grade earlier since no need to go lower.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. The project team appreciates your suggestion regarding ramp grading. The current design proposes a tunnel that passes beneath both Alma Street and the railroad tracks, which requires a specific depth to meet clearance and utility relocation requirements. The railroad tracks remain at grade for the CHurchill Avenue Partial Underpass with Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing. 113 How does this compare to the Charleston grade Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. The proposed ramps for both the Seale Avenue Ramp and Alma Street Ramp features an 8% slope with 1.5% landings, while the Charleston Underpass multi-use path has a maximum slope of 4.8%. These grades reflect the distinct design constraints and site conditions of each location. Both designs aim to balance mobility, safety, and engineering feasibility. 114 Please make it more beautiful to look at.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Streetscape and landscape design will be identified in 115 Consider only one lane each direction on Alma beginning by Cal Ave - use that space to build ramp on Alma for bikes or 3 lanes (not) similar to Chicago and use middle lane to choose the direction depending on traffic flow + time of day. Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Alma Street needs to remain 4-lanes with 2-lanes in each direction to accommodate the current and projected traffic volumes. In addition, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) does not identify Alma Street as a route with a separated bicycle facility. 116 How tall is the retaining wall?Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. The retaining wall associated with the Alma Street ramp is designed to meet both functional and aesthetic considerations. From the outside of the ramp, the wall will extend approximately 3.5 feet above ground level, while from the inside of the ramp, the wall will reach a maximum height of 15 feet. These dimensions reflect the grade separation requirements and are consistent with applicable engineering standards. The project team remains committed to minimizing visual and physical impacts while ensuring safe and accessible infrastructure. 117 Talk to kids. Nobody wants to walk/ride in a tunnel.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment about engaging with the students and dislike of a tunnel has been taken into consideration. A social media invite was sent out and signage was posted at the schools and crossings. However, additional engagement opportunities including engagement with students and parents will be identified for preliminary engineering and the City is working closely with PAUSD. 13 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 118 From a Paly student - Everyone hates going through tunnels; would rather drive to school.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment about engaging with the students and dislike of a tunnel has been taken into consideration. A social media invite was sent out and signage was posted at the schools and crossings. However, additional engagement opportunities including engagement with students and parents will be identified for preliminary engineering and the City is working closely with PAUSD. 119 Really like the tunnel here vs. on Seale Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference of the Alma Street Ramp has been taken into consideration 120 Provide mirrors to address blind spots Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding adding mirrors to the curve of the Alma Street ramp has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation components and safety measures will be identified as part of 121 If bikes don't feel safe, people will drive their kids to Paly, increasing traffic.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration as we refine designs to improve safety, connectivity, and accessibility for people walking, biking, and rolling. 122 Bike route goes toward Palo Alto High School. Better than other plan.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference of the Alma Street Ramp due to the route being closer to Palo Alto High School has been taken into 123 The Amla Street Ramp is a way better idea in lieu of the Seale Avenue Ramp.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Other Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference of the Alma Street 124 This proposal has much less impact to properties, residents, and parking. Much preferred over Seale tunnel Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference of the Alma Street Ramp due to less impact to properties, residents, and parking has been taken into 125 This is a better option.Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Other Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding preference of the Alma Street 126 What construction related disruption is to be expected along Alma/Park for the hybrid/underpass? What are your mitigation options?Meadow Drive Hybrid Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding potential construction disruptions along Alma Street and Park Boulevard has been taken into consideration. Preliminiary construction considerations were presented as part of the community meetings. However, additional construction considerations and information will be identified during preliminary engineering. 127 For Hybrid concept, is there a sound & privacy barrier on the train line to protect Alma/Park properties?Meadow Drive Hybrid Property Impacts Thank you for your question. Sound and privacy considerations will be identifed as part of preliminary engineering and environmental documentation. 128 For how long will there be construction related disruptions along Alma/Park when constructing the hybrid/underpass concept?Meadow Drive Hybrid Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding duration of construction along Alma Street and Park Boulevard has been taken into consideration. Preliminiary construction considerations were presented as part of the community meetings. However, additional construction considerations and information such as construction duration will be identified during preliminary engineering. 129 When will construction start? How long? Impact on neighbors?Meadow Drive Hybrid Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding construction start, duration, and impacts has been taken into consideration. Preliminiary construction considerations were presented as part of the community meetings. However, additional construction considerations and information such as construction duration will be identified during preliminary engineering. Construction start dates are highly dependent on the ability to secure funding. 130 This wall looks very unseemly, destroys urban landscape. Almost looks like a ghetto wall.Meadow Drive Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the wall aesthetics has been taken into consideration. Community input on aesthetics including concerns about wall design and urban landscape will inform future designs, if this alternative moves forward. Design treatments such as mixed wall/column approaches, landscaping, and architectural detailing will be explored during preliminary engineering. 131 I live on E. Meadow Dr. I am very pleased to see a hybrid solution for Meadow. How high will the train tracks be?Meadow Drive Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference of the Meadow Drive Hybrid alternative has been taken into consideration. For the Meadow Drive Hybrid alternative, the railroad tracks will be approximately 19 feet above existing grade peaking at Meadow Drive to achieve grade separation while minimizing property impacts. Detailed profile and track height information is provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 14 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 132 Most kids take Meadow (more than Charleston)Meadow Drive Hybrid Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding kids utilizing Meadow Drive more than Charleston Road has been taken into consideration. However, as part of the grade separation funding requirements for this project, the grade separation alternatives must include bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. 133 Hybrid plan wall is a very bad idea Meadow Drive Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the Meadow Drive Hybrid wall 134 Meadow is a nice flat route. The options make this circuitous with grade change.Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment.The Hybrid alternative is designed to minimize grade changes by lowering Meadow Drive only 4 to 6 feet, compared to deeper depressions required for the Underpass alternative. Your feedback will be documented and considered during active transportation design refinements. 135 Love the additional buffer width between the bike way and the travel lane.Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your support for a buffered bicycle lane in the Meadow Drive Hybrid alternative has been taken into consideration. 136 The Hybrid is the best option for bicyclists and pedestrians.Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the Meadow Drive Hybrid option is best for pedestrian and bicyclists has been taken into consideration. 137 What is this buffer at the intersection of Meadow and Park Blvd? Clarify which is the bike facility.Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility)sidewalk along both sides of Meadow Drive. The plans and renderings have been revised to show the the bicycle lane with green paint. These revisions are provided in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation. 138 At the intersection of Meadow and Alma, provide a dedicated right lane for going west on Alma instead of dedicated left lane for eastbound traffic on Alma. Meadow Drive Hybrid Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. The Hybrid alternative currently includes dedicated left- turn lanes to improve traffic operations at the intersection. Your suggestion regarding 139 What is the total height of the hybrid option? Solid wall vs. arched columns can we see a drawing (at street, towards, Alma) Meadow Drive Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts For the Meadow Drive Hybrid alternative, the railroad tracks will be approximately 19 feet above existing grade peaking at Meadow Drive to achieve grade separation while minimizing property impacts. The eletrical poles heights vary but could be 46 feet high. Detailed profile and track height information is provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Additional design details regarding the mixed wall/column design will be determined in preliminary engineering, if alternative moves forward. 140 We need a separate bike signal for the Meadow Drive Hybrid alternative.Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Signalization needs for each crossing will be evaluated during preliminary engineering in coordination with the City’s traffic engineering staff and Caltrain. 141 Please show whether there are bike facilities planned along Alma Street Meadow Drive Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. There are no current bicycle facilities on Alma Street and the Meadow Drive Hybrid does not include bicycle facilities on Alma Street. 142 Good to preserve right turn on Alma from Meadow Meadow Drive Hybrid Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarind preserving the dedicated right- turn to Alma Street from eastbound Meadow Drive has been taken into consideration. Intersection lane assignments were identified based on optimizing intersection 143 Please color in anticipated property takings.Meadow Drive Hybrid Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 144 Please provide more landscaping for this option.Meadow Drive Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. The extent and type of landscaping will be developed 145 The shared through/right lane does not allow vehicles to continue north on Meadow when pedestrians are crossing Alma. It would be better to have both lanes provide combined through/turn lanes. Meadow Drive Hybrid Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarind preserving the dedicated right- turn to Alma Street from eastbound Meadow Drive has been taken into consideration. Intersection lane assignments were identified based on optimizing intersection 15 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 146 Construction time - quad gates Thank you for your comments. Construction durations will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 147 How will the bike ramp from WB Meadow add to any trip to NB Park Blvd? (this is currently a very nice, direct, flat route, How much distance does this out- of-direction travel add? Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The active transportation travel times are provided in the previous traffic stufy on the City's website. For the Meadow Drive Underpass, the westbound Meadow Drive route from Ramona Street to Wilkie Way is approximately 3.5 minutes. 148 This is an extreme grade, 12%, if a cyclist chooses to take vehicle lanes Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The pedestrian and bicycle facilities for the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative are a maximum of ±5% grade. The 12% grade was for the vehicles. Bicyclists are encouraged to use the multi-use path on the southern side of Meadow Drive in lieu of riding in the vehicle travel lanes. 149 Move the bridge - put it at park Meadow Drive Underpass Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your comment to move the pedestrian and bicycle bridge from immediately adjacent to Alma Street closer to Park Boulevard has been 150 What is grade of multi-use path?Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The pedestrian and bicycle facilities for the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative are a maximum of ±5% grade. The 12% grade is for the vehicles. 151 No right turn on Alma, so cars from Barron park using Los Robles would need to use Wilkie Way which is curved. (and bike connections)Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts of the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative, drivers can utilize Park Boulevard, Wilkie Way, or other parallel routes to access Charleston Road to head south on Alma Street. 152 Do Nothing! Don't Destroy Our Neighborhood.Meadow Drive Underpass Other Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the preference to do nothing 153 Ensure there is a proper turn radius for bikes. My trike has 9' turning radius.Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Future materials will include bicycle radii. 154 Charleston underpass will affect traffic at Meadow.Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Traffic operations for Meadow Drive and Charleston Road were analyzed together to understand cumulative impacts and ensure coordinated operations. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided as part of the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 155 Bike bridge should be designed with a turning radius for biking speeds Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Future materials will include bicycle radii. 156 No twenty feet high concrete walls. Ugly & unpleasant.Meadow Drive Underpass Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the Meadow Drive Hybrid wall as unpleasant has been taken into consideration. Design treatments such as architectural detailing will be explored during preliminary engineering. 157 Meadow Hybrid: Provide path for students to cross Meadow with lights prior to crossing.Meadow Drive Underpass Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference for the Meadow Drive Hybrid path for students has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation elements such as traffic control and safety measures will be identified in preliminary engineering. 158 Slopes are difficult for accessibility and strollers Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The multi-use path as part of the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative is designed to meet ADA standards and provide gradual slopes for all users, including those with strollers or mobility devices. 159 Hybrid with traffic lights is much safer for school children on bikes, and offers a better way for mothers pushing carriages and older and slower pedestrians. Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comments. Your comments regarding the Meadow Drive Hybrid with traffic lights as the safer option for pedestrians and bicyclists have been taken 160 Property impacts need to be by # dwelling units not # properties i.e. this option impacts multiple properties Meadow Drive Underpass Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 16 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 161 Emersen is NOT a safe crossing for walk use path - NO LIGHT Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Lighting and visibility improvements are being considered for pedestrian and bicycle facilities as part of preliminary engineering. 162 Is multi-use on S. side of E. Meadow because less traffic impact than if on N. side Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts The multi-use path is currently proposed on the south side of the Meadow Drive 163 The multi-use path should connect to existing bike lanes at a safe crossing. Preferably at least a 4-way stop.Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. You comment regarding the connection of the multi-use path for the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative to bike lanes ad a 4-way stop controlled intersection has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation components and connections will be identified during preliminary 164 The westbound right-turn lane on Meadow Drive as part of the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative has slow turn geometry.Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the slow turn radius of the of preliminary engineering. 165 Not safe for bikes to cross east meadow.Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. An at grade bicycle and pedestrian bridge is provided on both east and west legs of Meadow Drive in the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative to allow for a separated active transportation crossing. 166 It would be great to plant more trees.Meadow Drive Underpass Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. The extent and type of landscaping will be developed further preliminary engineering. 167 The Charleston Road Hybrid is the best option for peds and bikes Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative as the best option for pedestrian and bicyclists has been taken into consideration. 168 Combo alternative is not equitable because one area will have the big wall. Better to be consistent.Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the combination alternative only being in one area has been taken into consideration. For the combination alternative, the tracks would be raised from Greenmeadow Way to just north of Meadow Drive. Profiles and track heights are provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 169 Hybrid is best choice, especially if it is built on pillars rather than on earth berm Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Construction Impacts Hybrid built with pillars has been taken into consideration. 170 Widening the bike lane on westbound Charleston would reduce right-turn hook conflicts for through bikes. Provide at least 8' to 10' for right turn and bike lane Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the width of the westbound bike lane as part of the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative has been taken into consideration. Active transportation components such as dimensions may be further refined in preliminiary engineering, if this alternative moves forward. 171 On Park Blvd. residences have a 15-foot easement, will the hybrid and/or underpass require taking this land. Please explain.Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. For the Charleston Road alternatives, properties on northeast and southeast corners of Charleston Road and Park Boulevard have potential property impacts. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right- of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 172 What is difference between the railroad viaduct and the hybrid bridge height?Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. In the 2024 conceptual designs, the Viaduct alternative featured a top-of-rail elevation that was approximately 6.5 feet higher than that of the Hybrid alternative. Following City Council direction in June 2024, the Viaduct was not advanced to the next phase of design. The current Charleston Hybrid concept places the top of rail at 23 feet above the roadway, reflecting a refined approach that remains committed to evaluating alternatives that best serve mobility, safety, and neighborhood character. 17 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 173 Why consider hybrid when bikes/kids/walkers have to stop and wait? The hybrid option does not completely separate from traffic, Versus in the underpass concept everything is separate. This impacts travel times. Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative where bicyclists and pedestrians are not separated from the travel lanes and have to stop at the traffic signal is taken into consideration. 174 For a house next to the railroad brdige crossing, how tall is the wall and how high up would the train be?Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts The track height varies by location and alternative. Profiles and track heights have been provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials to better communicate 175 Walls attract graffiti and will result in future blight Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. You comment regarding the Charleston Road Hybrid wall attracting graffiti has been taken into consideration. Additional aesthetics and design features will be determined in preliminary engineering. 176 Is the space between the yellow lines in the rendering of Charleston Road at Alma Street intended to be a bike/ped refuge, or could it be?Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Bicycle and pedestrian refuge areas and crossing treatments will be further evaluated during preliminiary engineering. 177 Ortho renderings would help better visualize impacts of this option Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding providing an ortho rendering to better visualize impacts has been taken into consideration. Ortho renderings have been developed for each alternative and are available on the City's website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 178 Please show picture of hybrid at 16 ft. plus train plus electrical structures needed.Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts The Charleston Road Hybrid renderings do include the train and the electrical structures needed for electrification. These materials are provided on the City 179 Extra width and separation created by 2 column rail overpass is essential for safer, bike crossing of Alma - allows for "protected" style intersection.Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the extra width created by the 2 column option for the Charleston Road Hybrid option has been taken into consideration. 180 Houses near/on Lindero Drive will be uninhabitable Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. There are no potential property impacts associated with Lindero Drive for the Charleston Road alternatives. However, if the Charleston Road wall height is a concern for residents on Lindero Drive, the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout and Direct Access Ramp are options that do not raise the tracks. 181 How long is the wall for the hybrid - how tall are they? Need a graphic to show that Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts The track height varies by location and alternative. Profiles and track heights have been provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials to better communicate 182 Hybrid doesn't acquire any houses, we should go forward to hybrid because partial and full taking will force house owners to move out of their homes! Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative based on least impact to properties has been taken into consideration. 183 Underpass with direct access ramp is a lot better than roundabout because 1) less acquisitions for houses 2) More lanes for car flows on Alma 3) Don't need long drive to circle back from roundabout Charleston Road Hybrid Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access ramp alternative based on least impact to properties, traffic operations, and traffic circulation has been taken into consideration. 184 Need turns from Charleston to Alma Charleston Road Hybrid Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. The project team appreciates your input regarding traffic operations. The Charleston Road Hybrid alternative is designed to maintain all current turning movements between Charleston Road and Alma Street. 185 The construction range & time will be long which will greatly affect house owners on Charleston/Meadow. How can the City solve this problem?Charleston Road Hybrid Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. Construction duration and mitigation measures will be developed during preliminary engineering, and noise and visual barriers will be 186 Would like to go directly across Charleston from Park Blvd w/o detours - build walkway from Park to Park/Charleston Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding direct acess to/from Park Boulevard for bicycles and pedestrians has been taken into consideration. All Charleston Road alternatives provide bicycle and pedestrian crossings across Charleston Road to/from Park Boulevard. Bicycle and pedestrian crossing locations were determined based on safety, circulation, and feasbility. 187 Active transportation: bike/ped still have to stop at Alma Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding bicycles and pedestrians needing to stop at the Charleston Road and Alma Street intersection for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative has been taken into account. Additional active transportation compoents including intersection control will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 18 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 188 Why considering hybrid at Charleston when it doesn’t improve the traffic times? Why spend $400M in no improvement for transportation of wait times for cars? Charleston Road Hybrid Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the Charleston Road Hyrbid option not improve traffic times has been taken into consideration. A revised traffic analysis was conducted and is provided as part of the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Traffic operations improve for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative compared to current conditions and traffic volumes. There is still an improvement in traffic operations for future conditions compared to current conditions. If no improvements are implemented, the traffic operations will continue to degrade. 189 Please tell community what the city can do for the owners when their homes are impacted (both full + partial property takes)Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback.Where property rights are needed, the City follows a transparent, state-regulated process. If any partial or full acquisitions or easements are required, potentially affected owners will be contacted directly and provided information about process, timing, and compensation consistent with applicable law. 190 Specifically tell the community what options they can have if their home is taken or partially taken.Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 191 How would City justify doing a hybrid design at Meadow and an underpass at Charleston? Meadow crossing population would be the only community members with a 16 feet wall in our entire city. Not equitable. Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. The community meeting materials identified the following track options: 1. Meadow Drive Underpass and Charleston Road Underpass 2. Meadow Drive Hybrid and Charleston Road Hybrid 3. Meadow Drive Underpass and Charleston Road Hybrid. The option to do a Meadow Drive Hybrid and Charleston Road Underpass is a possibility that would be determined by the City Council. 192 Where would the future double tracking section for Caltrain go? Useful to show for reference.Charleston Road Hybrid Construction Impacts Caltrain conducted a double tracking analysis to refine the double tracking segments. This analysis identifed the California Avenue segment from milepost 30.9 to 32.8 as the segment to accommodate double tracking for the adopted service vision. Churchill Avenue and Meadow Drive crossing are just outside the double tracking limits. The alternatives do consider potential double tracking and the full width of the tracks to accommodate double tracking. 193 A full take of apartment on East Meadow as 14 units. 14 familys are impacted by this option.Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 194 I like how separated the bikeway is. Its uncomfortable riding on arterials as a high schooler Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding the separated bicycle facility as part of the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative has been taken into consideration. 195 I'm sure the plan could have more plantings. Plantings should be native species.Charleston Road Hybrid Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Landscaping will be identified during preliminiary 196 Roundabout is still a convoluted solution for the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternative Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts with Roundabout alternative as convulated in terms of circulation has been taken into 197 How do bike access from Alma to the bike path?Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) For the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout, bicyclists access the multi-use path to/from Alma Street via the following movements: 1. If traveling southbound on the east side of Alma Street, a ramp at the northeast corner of the Charleston Road intersection will connect to the existing sidewalk to access the multi-use path. 2. If traveling nortbound on the east side of Alma Street, a crosswalk across the east leg of Charleston Road is provided to connect to the existing sidewalk. 3. Active transportation facilities are not provided on the west side of Alma Street currently. 19 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 198 Specify the exact size of property impact and whether it affects minimum setback, etc.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units and estimated area is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. Potential property impacts may continue to shift pending continuing design activities during preliminary engineering. Exact sizes of property impacts will be available during final design. 199 This sidewalk on the east side of Alma Street, south of Charleston Road, impacted by very narrow landscape strip, on the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout Alternative. Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the sidewalk on the east side of Alma Street, south of Charleston Road, being impacts by a narrow landscape strip has been taken into consideration. For the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternative, the existing sidewalk is be impacted by the widening due to the retaining walls on Alma Street and to include sidewalk. If a wider landscape strip is desired, the potential property impacts will increase, 200 This is the area where I live - on Lindero Drive. Fair meadow will be destroyed.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Property Impacts Thank for your comment. For the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternative, the design stops before Lindero Drive and no property impacts are 201 Redo the traffic analysis for regular hours - break down so we can see who's benefitting.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts data collection in May 2025 with school in session. Operational analyses were conducted for the morning and evening peak hours which is consistent with traffic study guidelines. To be conservative, the peak hours for each intersection were used in lieu of consistentpeak hours across all intersection. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 202 Are we just doing this to accommodate rush hour traffic? Don't see why it's a high priority.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts data collection in May 2025 with school in session. Operational analyses were conducted for the morning and evening peak hours which is consistent with traffic study guidelines. To be conservative, the peak hours for each intersection were used in lieu of consistentpeak hours across all intersection. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 203 This is over engineered for a school route Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternative as over engineered for a school route has 204 With no stop light at Charleston/Alma lower traffic would be in bursts so it would make it harder to get out Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your concern regarding gaps in traffic along Charleston Road due to no traffic signal on the lower intersection of Charleston Road and Alma Street as part of the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternatives has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control measures will be identified in preliminary engineering. 205 If an alternative is eliminated, please send a letter to property owners no longer affected to clarify change in property impacts Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The City will continue to provide updates through public meetings, the project website, and direct outreach to affected property owners as alternatives are refined or eliminated. Where property rights are needed, the City follows a transparent, state-regulated process. If any partial or full acquisitions or easements are required, potentially affected owners will be contacted directly and provided information about process, timing, and compensation consistent with applicable law. 206 Traffic flow nightmare!Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment on the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout alternative regarding traffic flow concerns has been taken into consideration. Traffic analyses were conducted for the morning and evening peak hours which is consistent with traffic study guidelines. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 20 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 207 Please give specifics for partial takes for example, " X square footage" so we can understand true impact on families. What % of frontage do 22-25 families lose? Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units and estimated square footage is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 208 Beautification is important to me Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Thank you for your comment. The project team appreciates your emphasis on beautification. Streetscape and landscaping design elements will be refined in later stages to support community character and visual quality. 209 Losing frontage is worse than losing backyard private property. Provide a range for ROW impact, example 5'-10', 10'-15'. Feel like need more info.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units and estimated square footage is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 210 Which option is easiest to get done? I am in favor of the option that has the highest chance of getting done.Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding which option is easiest to get delivered has been taken into consideration. These projects are complex and have 211 Much better than roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Underpass with Direct Access Ramp has been taken into consideration. 212 Loss of buffer makes walking and biking on Alma Street sidewalk unpleasant - less likely to be used. Comment was noted on the east side of Alma Street, south of Charleston Road. Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative includes a landscape strip between the travel lanes and the sidewalk on the east side of Alma Street, south of Charleston Road. 213 What is bike/ped slope for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative?Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The grade of the multi-use path is ± 5% grade for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative. The multi-use path is being designed to meet ADA standards, which typically require slopes of 5% or less where feasible. 214 Much better than roundabout but Hybrid is best for traffic, peds and bikes Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference of the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp over the Roundabout has been taken into consideration. In addition, your preference for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative as the best option has been taken into consideration. 215 This bike/ped route is an overkill. Send them down to Wilkie. That's where all bikes go now anyways.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the bicycle and pedestrian facility being overkill for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative has been taken into consideration. 216 Install quad gates and quiet zones and NO grade separation Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. These measures are part of the City's quiet zone study. 217 Get people out of their cars and onto the train Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding shifting people from vehicle trips to train trips has been taken into consideration. 218 A lot of noise impacts now and now sleep impacts Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. You comment related to noise impacts will be identified as part of preliminiary engineering and environmental documentation 219 Is the impetus HSR? Is this project worth the cost? Or should the focus be on quiet zones. Corridor wide approach wanted.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns The grade separation projects were identified as a need due to the projected increase in Caltrain train service, implementation of High Speed Rail, safety concerns, and potential future traffic operational impacts. 220 Need to show construction impacts Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Preliminary construction considerations were provided during the September 16 Rail Committee and September 30 community meetings. Additional construction considerations will be determined as part of preliminary engineering. 221 Currently have a screen of trees with no graffiti. Spending $1B to solve which problem.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the use of trees to screen infrastructure has been taken into consideration. Landscaping will be identified as part 21 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 222 Construction and 800 horn blasts per day in this area Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Preliminary construction considerations were provided during the September 16 Rail Committee and September 30 community meetings. Additional construction considerations will be determined as part of preliminary engineering.In addition, the City is currently conducting a quiet zone study. 223 Harmonize with Caltrain to put this as a regional issue under state control Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. The City is actively collaborating with Caltrain and regional partners to ensure consistency with corridor-wide planning and funding 224 Loss of privacy from trains raised 20 feet above grade.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for sharing your concern. Additional design treatments to mitigate these impacts, including landscaping, architectural screening, and visual buffers, where feasible will be identified during preliminiary engineering. 225 A decade of chaos that will cost $1 billion / $6 million for quad gates and a quiet zone Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. You comment related to cost of the grade separations versus quiet zone and quad gates has been taken into consideration. 226 My house and my neighbors houses on Lindero Drive will be uninhabitable during construction.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding disruptions during construction has been taken into consideration. Construction mitigations will be identified during 227 20' 1/4 mile wall of concrete replaces green foliage between us and the trains Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts The track height varies by location and alternative. Profiles and track heights have been provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials to better communicate the heights across the alternatives. In addition, design treatments such as aethestics and landscaping will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 228 Switchback ramps are dangerous for bicycles since people will ride even if it says "walk"Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration as designs are refined to improve safety, connectivity, and accessibility for people walking, biking, and rolling. 229 Bicycle access from Alma to bike path Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) For the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout, bicyclists access the multi-use path to/from Alma Street via the following movements: 1. If traveling southbound on the east side of Alma Street, a ramp at the northeast corner of the Charleston Road intersection will connect to the existing sidewalk to access the multi-use path. 2. If traveling nortbound on the east side of Alma Street, a crosswalk across the east leg of Charleston Road is provided to connect to the existing sidewalk. 3. Active transportation facilities are not provided on the west side of Alma Street currently. 230 8% ramp will not get to grade at Park in 100'Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The grade of the multi-use path is ± 5% grade for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative. The Park Boulevard grade will be adjusted to conform with the multi-use path grade so they connect. The multi-use path is being designed to meet ADA standards, which typically require slopes of 5% or less where feasible. 231 Extra wide bridge may result in property acquisition with jackbox coast zone.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the extra wide bridge may result in property impacts with jack boxing has been taken into consideration. Preliminary construction considerations were provided as part of the September 30 community meetings. Additional construction considerations will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 232 Excessive property acquisition west of Park Boulevard on the south side of Charleston Road. Use 5' sidewalk.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The sidewalk proposed on the south side of Charleston Road, west of Park Boulevard is 5 feet in width. The potential property impacts are due to the retaining walls for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp 233 This feel like forcing an interchange into a neighborhood Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative is designed to improve safety and mobility while minimizing property and visual impacts compared to other options. Your comment will be documented and considered during design refinements. 234 Where are bike/ped supposed to cross Charleston Road, to the east of Alma Street? Will there be a light?Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. For the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative, bicycles and pedestrians are anticipated to cross Charleston Road, to the east of Alma Street, at the Mumford Place intersection. Additional traffic control and safety measures will be identified as aprt of preliminary engineering. 22 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 235 Bicyclists that are going eastbound have to cross Charleston in order to bike on the right hand side. Design needs to help them cross Charleston safely.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. For the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp alternative, bicycles and pedestrians are anticipated to cross Charleston Road via an at-grade bridge on the west side of Alma Street. 236 Please incorporate Native trees to support the local ecosystem.Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Landscaping will be identified as part of preliminary 237 Dedicated left lane from E. Meadow Drive means 2 cars block right turn into Alma North Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. This condition relates to the Hybrid alternative on both eastbound and westbound Meadow Drive approaches. Revised traffic analysis was conducted to identify the traffic operations for each alternative. The lane assignments on Meadow Drive were chosen to include dedicated left-turn lanes to maximize the traffic operations on each approach. 238 Preference for any plan that doesn’t require eminent domain.Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference for any alternative that doesn't require eminent domain has been taken into consideration. 239 Prefer the Underpass DAR. Safety, environment and less waiting time would improve my experience at both the Churchill Avenue/Seale Avenue and Meadow Drive/Charleston Road Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference for the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp due to safety, environment, and less waiting tie has been taken into account. 240 Please create physical 3-D models of the alternatives to bring to the meetings. It is hard to conceptualize what the alternatives would look like based on the 2-D designs. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Other Thank you for your comment. Physical 3-D models of the alternatives are not in the preliminary engineering scope of work. Renderings of each alternative have been are provided on the City website. 241 Who will pay?Costs and Funding Concerns Infrastructure projects like grade separations are usually funded through a combination of sources, which often include: Federal Grants: Programs such as the Federal Railroad Administration’s Rail Crossing Elimination Program or other transportation safety initiatives. State Funding: Allocations from state transportation agencies (e.g., CalSTA in California) and state-level infrastructure programs. Regional Measures: Local sales tax measures or regional transportation authorities (e.g., VTA Measure B in Santa Clara County). Local Contributions: City capital improvement budgets and municipal bonds. Other Sources: Occasionally, partnerships with transit agencies or private stakeholders. Funding is typically distributed across multiple phases of the project (alternative refinement, preliminary engineering, environmental review, and construction). Each phase requires separate approvals and reimbursement agreements. 242 Prefer the Hybrid option. Having a diffucult time understanding the intereaction of pedestrians and cars on Charleston Road/Meadow Drive. Curious about the aesthetics of the wall. Other Thank you for your feedback. Your preference of the Hybrid option has been taken into consideration. For the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road hybrid options, bicyclists travel within a separate bike lane while pedestrians travel on the sidewalk on both sides of the road. For the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative, a multi-use path on the south side of Access Ramp alternatives, a multi-use path on the north side of Charleston Road is provided. Additional design elements such as aesthetics will be identified in preliminary engineering. 23 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 243 Prefer the Hybrid option - the underpass is too restrictive to turning onto Meadow Drive Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback. Your preference of the Meadow Drive Hybrid option has been taken into consideration. 244 Prefer intersections. Instead of waiting for full cycle after train passes thru - revert back to where the signal phase that was in place prior to the train crossing. Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding traffic signal phasing and timing relative to the train crossings has been taken into consideration. 245 Underpass is preferred at the Meadow Drive/Charleston Road crossing because the massive wall of the hybrid plan is unacceptable Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Underpass alternatives in lieu of the Hybrid altenatives due to the wall has been taken into consideration. 246 How will easements be impacted with the hybrid option? Will easements along the track be used temporarily during construction or permanently for the wall along the tracks? How will this property use be compensated for loss of fences/landscape etc. ? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The Hybrid alternative is designed to minimize permanent property impacts. Temporary construction easements may be required for utility relocation or wall construction. Compensation for any property use or restoration of landscaping will follow applicable City and federal guidelines. Additional construction and property information will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 247 Prefer no increase in the number of trains. Prefer no grade separation at the Meadow Drive/Charlston Road crossing. My experience would be improved with the elimination of train horns (use quiet zones to stop train noise), and police enforcing speed limits. The City should encourage bikes and discourage cars. Planning seems to be based on Caltrain needs not Palo Alto residents needs. How much are we spending on Consultants? Where is the money for this? Community group feedback is not allowed. Planning for the future involves scenarios that are not captured here - such as work from home, other forms of transportation. No big wall along Alma. Grade separation will destroy our home and the Fairmeadow neighborhood who live near the tracks on Lindero Dr. These projects will do to our home making it uninhabitable, as it was during electrification. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Construction Impacts Thank you for sharing your concerns.We understand the importance of ensuring that this project reflects Palo Alto’s priorities and not just regional rail needs. Grade separation planning is guided by City decisions and extensive community input. Project costs, including consultant services, are publicly reported through City Council agendas and budget documents. Funding for this phase (preliminary engineering) is provided from the Federal Railroad Administration Rail Crossing Elimination and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Measure B grants. Additional design elements such as aesthetics will be identified during preliminary engineering. 248 Why is it multi-use facility on the south side of Meadow Drive? Does this take into account traffic turn counts at Alma?Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The multi-use path is currently proposed on the south side of Meadow Drive to minimize property impacts and provide connection to residents and key destinations like schools. Previous traffic counts were a data source utilized to identify the location of the multi-use path. 249 My experience at the Churchill Avenue would be improved if the left turn light could be made more visible. Currently the light cannot be clearly seen by southbound vehicles that are turning vehicles until they have crossed the tracks. If this project moves ahead, what will you do during construction to help traffic? Will improvements be made on Embarcadero to mitigate Churchill Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Currently. Embarcadero Road is not in the study area and is not anticipated to be impacted traffic wise. However, construction detours and mitigations will be developed during preliminary engineering. 24 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 250 I prefer the underpass alternative for the Meadow Drive crossing - other than the "no right turns" onto southbound Alma. The Hybrid alternative creates a visual block between the neighborhood across Alma. Providing a solid wall instead of arched/square columns would improve my experience at these locations. Can we see a drawing of the hybrid option from the Park Blvd (not alma) standing at Robles Park looking towards Alma Street (showing the wall behind the houses)? In the underpassalternatives, no right turns onto southbound Alma from eastbound Meadow Drive will cause traffic to instead use Wilkie Way as the southbound connection between Meadow Drive and Charleston Road. Is there any consideration on making Meadow Drive a bike/ped only crossing? How many cars go across Meadow vs how many cars turn onto Alma Street? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comments. Your comments regarding reference for the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative as well as making the Hybrid wall columns have been taken into consideration. Profiles and track heights vary based on location but have been provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Renderings have been chosen to provide the maximum views. The elimination of the eastbound right-turn movement from Meadow Drive to southbound Alma Street may divert traffic onto other north-south routes such as Wilkie Way. During the AM and PM peak hours, approximately 150 - 200 vehicles cross Meadow Drive in each direction under existing conditions. During the AM and PM peak hours, approximately 50 - 150 vehicles turn onto Alma Street in each direction during existing conditions. Meadow Drive was not considered for closure due to the amount of traffic crossing the intersection under current and future conditions. A revised traffic analysis with new traffic data has been developed. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided as part of the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 251 The Charleston Roundabout and Direct Access Ramp is dangerous for bikes/pedestrians and should be redesigned. Instead, consider a switchback ramp for bikes/peds. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. You comment regarding a switch back ramp for the Charleston Road Underpass alternatives has been taken into consideration. 252 Raise the tracks - underpass screws up traffic flow. Concerned that underpass restricts turn options which will impact traffic flow - what percentage of traffic is affected? What impact does this have on Charleston Road? I'm concerned about bike/ped on only one side of Meadow Drive so students/bikers have to cross Meadow Drive 2 times if going southbound. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Access to Schools Thank you for your comments. Your comments regarding the Meadow Drive Hybrid with traffic lights as the safer option for pedestrians and bicyclists have been taken into consideration. For the Meadow Drive Underpass alternative, approxiamtely 5-7% of the total intersection traffic during AM and PM peak hours will have to utilize other routes due to the turn restrictions. The multi-use path is currently proposed on the south side of Meadow Drive to minimize property impacts and provide connection to residents and key destinations like schools. Previous traffic counts were a data source utilized to identify the location of the multi-use path. 253 I prefer the Meadow Drive Hybrid option. The underpass is not as safe for pedestrians and bikes. I think bicycle lanes at traffic signals would improve experience at these locations. Same for pedestrians and cars. What will determine the heights of the trains tracks? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comments. Your comments regarding your preference for the Meadow Drive Hybrid option over the underpass alternative due to bicycle and pedestrian safety has been taken into consideration. Profiles and track heights for the alternatives vary based on location and have been included in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Track heights are based on roadway height clearance standards. 254 I prefer to close Churchill Road, and oppose the partial underpass. Improve experience at locations by: 1. Closing Churchill not partial underpass. 2. Providing stop light to allow safe left turn to southbound Alma from Palo Alto. 3. Returning landscape strip between neighborhood sidewalk. Additional input: 1. Pedestrian safety is at risk if there is no landscape strip is provided between sidewalk and northbound Alma. 2 Old Palo Alto neighborhood needs a controlled intersection/light to safely turn left from neighborhood to southbound Alma. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding the preference to close Churchill Avenue has been taken into consideration. In addition, your comments regarding the risk of no landscape strip and the need for a controlled intersection to turn onto Alma Street have been taken into consideration. You preference for the Alma Street Ramp due to property impacts has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control and safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 255 I prefer hybrid: it is the best alternative for bikes and pedestrians and most flexible for car traffic. The multi-use paths require 2 crossings. Will there be lights at these crossings? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference for the Hybrid alternatives due to bicycle and pedestrian facilities and traffic circulation has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control and safety measures for active transportation will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 25 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 256 The Alma crossing is bit awkward for bikes. Improve experience at Churchill Avenue/Seale Avenue crossing by removing the cars, have them well lit at night, make ramps ADA compliant. This all seem short sighted - putting the train underground would re-connect the city and circumvent the need for the sub-optimal "solutions". The future will have less cars, more bikes-we should plan for that. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration during preliminaru engineering to improve safety, connectivity, and accessibility for people walking, biking, and rolling. The City Council eliminated the trench and tunnel options due to various impacts. 257 The Seale Ave concept is unworkable, Alma St is much better. You need to be more upfront about project timelines and costs. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your comment regarding preference for the Alma Street Ramp alternative as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass has been taken into consideration. Construction timelines and costs will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. However, project construction start dates are highly dependent on securing project funding which is competitve and limited. 258 Alma ramp - only one angle so it doesn’t take parking away. A mirror on the corner would improve experience at this location. I like Alma ramp. Why is low point past Caltrain at Peers Park? Why not flat under Caltrain? Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comments. Your comment regarding preference for the Alma Street Ramp alternative as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass has been taken into consideration. Additional active transportation safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. The tunnel is shown extending beyond Caltrain right-of-way on the west side because-- right-of-way, with a buffer to the right-of-way. 259 I have concerns about parking, vegetations and trees. Concerned about blind spots, and parking.Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. You comments regarding concerns about parking, vegetation, trees, and blind spots have been taken into consideration. Please identify the specific crossing and/or alternative in future comments. 260 Need stop light on Alma Street and prefer no potential property takings Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding traffic control on Alma Street and preference for no property takings has been taken into consideration. Additional traffic control measures will be identified during preliminary engineering. 261 Minimize property impacts. To improve my experience at this location, do a traffic study of current vehicle use on Charleston Road. How do the disabled use the crosswalks safely? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment to minimize property impacts has been taken into consideration. A revised traffic analysis has been conducted to analyze traffic operations for all the alternatives. The draft traffic analysis memorandum is provided as part of the November 18 Rail Committee materials. All alternatives will include ADA-compliant crossings and ramps to ensure safe access for people with disabilities. 262 Keep Churchill open for Bikes and pedestrians Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing as the the preferred alternative. The closure is a backup alternative. 26 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 263 The Alma version of the Seale tunnel is vastly better than the Seale Design, but neither are necessary. My experience at the Seale Avenue location would be to not have a tunnel at all. We need traffic calming measures on Alma between Oregon & Churchill. People are driving much too fast there already and I'm concerned that the current plan for Churchill Ave would encourage traffic to go even faster faster. There should be only 1 lane in each direction with a turning lane in the middle. Even now, it is very dangerous to turn from Alma onto the perpendicular streets, or vice versa. Backing out of driveways onto Alma should also not be made more dangerous. I find it difficult to understand why a ped/bike alternative at Churchill that is less expensive than the proposed Seale tunnel can't be found. There are also numerous options for this tunnel that are closer to Palo Alto High than Seale, such as at Kellog. There are actually something like 29 families impacted by the Seale Ave version of the Seale/Alma ped/bike crossing, not 14-16 as implied during the presentation. The Seale Avenue tunnel is unnecessary given that there are existing crossings at California Ave and Embarcadero Rd. Seale Ave is only 3 and half short blocks from California Ave. Palo Alto High kids south of Seale will use California Avenue. Kids north of Seale Ave can use Embarcadero Rd. A tunnel at Seale Ave benefits very few people and is unnecessary. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Property Impacts Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. The Seale tunnel was proposed to provide a safe and grade-separated route for pedestrians and cyclists across the rail corridor, improving connectivity between neighborhoods and schools while reducing conflicts with vehicle traffic. This location was identified through the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) and refined during the Rail Committee (RC) and City Council (CC) review process. City Council directed staff to advance the Seale crossing alternative into the preliminary engineering phase as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative, with the goal of enhancing active transportation options and safety. Each alternative—including Seale, Alma, and other options—has its own trade-offs related to cost, property impacts, and connectivity. 264 I prefer to close Churchill to all cars - keep open for bikes and pedestrians only. How much land is taken and from which homes? Make legend clear on maps that the existing plants strip and side walk (owned by the City) will be repurposed. As this is not clearly noted/documented - explain min/max of land that will be taken from home owners and safety issues of reversing out of driveway. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing as the the preferred alternative. The closure is a backup alternative. 265 Please show existing bike/ped crossings at California Ave and at Emberacadero Road on your maps! We don't need a tunnel at Seale Ave because California Avenue has an existing tunnel only 3.5 blocks from Seale Ave. Instead, put a bike/ped tunnel at Churchill Avenue. Add traffic light at California Ave so we can turn left on Alma. Few Palo Alto High students would use Seale tunnel... students north of Churchill would use Embarcadero and those close to California Avenue would use that. Since we don't need Seale Ave, please make a 3rd alternative: 1. Seale Ramp; 2. Alma ramp; 3. No Seale tunnel/use California Ave tunnel + Embarcadero tunnel. The Seale Ramp affects 29 families, how are you compensating them? Ours is R3 lot -> we have 3 families. Street parking is already horrendous. We have 8 cars to put out every week. We lose our trees and plant strip. We lose view of our neighborhood and instead see retaining wall. This option is a non- starter. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. The Seale tunnel was proposed to provide a safe and grade-separated route for pedestrians and cyclists across the rail corridor, improving connectivity between neighborhoods and schools while reducing conflicts with vehicle traffic. This location was identified through the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) and refined during the Rail Committee (RC) and City Council (CC) review process. City Council directed staff to advance the Seale crossing alternative into the preliminary engineering phase as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative, with the goal of enhancing active transportation options and safety. Each alternative—including Seale, Alma, and other options—has its own trade-offs related to cost, property impacts, and connectivity. 266 Prefer the Hybrid Alternative because it will have less construction impacts and no homes taken out. No 20' tall concrete walls, instead please consider using berms like in San Carlos. My experience would be improved through a beautification effort. There is also congestion oin the surrounding neighborhood that needs to be addressed. Only do one intersection, why two a block away from each other? Meadow and Charleston: put in a dedicated right-turn lane at East Meadow in west direction instead of a left dedicated lane, which blocks vehicles attempting to go right on red with through traffic waiting. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Hybrid alternative for Meadow Drive and Charleston Road. Both crossings have been determined to be grade separated by the City Council due to the increased Caltrain service, safety concerns, and degradation of traffic operations. Additional design elements such as aesthetics and landscaping will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. The Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Hybrid intersection lane configurations were optimized for traffic operations. Your comment regarding a dedicated right-turn lane has been taken into condieration. 27 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 267 I would choose hybrid because the least amount of changes that would impact property acquisitions and negatively affecting residents'' lives. Also, construction is another huge impact that would affect everyone's life, not to mention its huge cost involved. Do we need to make both meadow and Charleston bike accessible? There is a huge cost associated with the ideas, but how do we pay for it in the end? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Costs and Funding Concerns Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your comment regarding preference of the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Hybrid alternatuves due to property impacts as well as the concern regarding construction impacts have been taken into consideration. Yes, both Meadow Drive and Charleston Road need to be bicycle and pedestrian accessible due to the hundreds of bicyclists and pedestrians crossing at each location on a daily basis. Infrastructure projects like grade separations are usually funded through a combination of sources, which often include: Federal Grants: Programs such as the Federal Railroad Administration’s Rail Crossing Elimination Program or other transportation safety initiatives. State Funding: Allocations from state transportation agencies (e.g., CalSTA in California) and state-level infrastructure programs. Regional Measures: Local sales tax measures or regional transportation authorities (e.g., VTA Measure B in Santa Clara County). Local Contributions: City capital improvement budgets and municipal bonds. Other Sources: Occasionally, partnerships with transit agencies or private stakeholders. Funding is typically distributed across multiple phases of the project (alternative refinement, preliminary engineering, environmental review, and construction). Each phase requires separate approvals and reimbursement agreements. 268 Prefer Underpass for both crossing locations, with DAR for Charleston. No Hybrid would improve the experience at these locations. Prevent cut-through traffic on Ely and Lindero. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comments regardings preference for both the Meadow Drive Underpass and Chalreston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp has been taken into consideration. 269 All of these options bring their own tradeoffs in terms of traffic flow/construction time/property acquisition. If I had to pick, I would vote for the underpass option at Meadow Drive and the underpass(DAR) option at Charleston Road. But candidly, my preference is for whatever option can actually be completed by the city in the next 5 years. The at-grade train crossing is the single biggest safety risk in Palo Alto, and I am disappointed that the city has not been able to make progress on any solution for this. We need to commit to a plan, stick to it, and execute. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Safety for Students Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comments regardings preference for both the Meadow Drive Underpass and Chalreston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp has been taken into consideration. Your comment regarding overall preference for any option that can be completed within the next 5 years is also taken into consideration. 270 The railroad crossing should be sealed off. Cars and pedestrians should be separated to go under (tunnel) or over (bridge) such that train tracks are not exposed to traffic. Improved separate access would improve experience at these locations. It would be safer for all. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for your comment. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing as the the preferred alternative. The closure is a backup alternative. The trench, tunnel, and viaduct options were eliminated based on City Council direction. 271 Need grade separation asap. Grade separation to help address safety and also improve traffic flow at these locations.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration. 28 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 272 Proceed with grade separation as quickly as possible without worrying about impact on the few houses on Seale and Churchill. We need this for the safety of our children. Bikes on separate path over or under or beside. Just do it. We will never get consensus and we need to put the safety of the bikes and pedestrians first Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Thank you for sharing your perspective. Your comment regarding the need to proceed with the grade separation for Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with the bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Seale Avenue due to safety has been taken into consideration. 273 I strongly recommend the Underpass (Roundabout) option. Although it will affect the most parcels, I believe it is most important to consider the long term benefit to the entire community. The Underpass (Roundabout) option looks great! We cannot continue to live with the current at-grade situation. What's the timeline and who gets to make the final decisions? Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your input. Your preference for the Charleston Road Underpass with Roundabout option has been taken into consideration. Preliminary engineering and environmental documentation will be completed in 2027. Ultimately, the City Council will make the final decision on the preferred alternative, informed by technical analysis, community feedback, and agency coordination. 274 I continue to believe that the Hybrid is the best option for Charleston/Meadow primarily because it has fewer impacts on private property but also analysis. As such, it would be very useful to have some renderings showing what a mixed wall/column would look like as well as some ballpark estimates of the cost implications of this approach. Regarding the Underpass option, the Direct Access Route (DAR) version is a substantial improvement over the Roundabout version. Indeed, the Roundabout version is such a flawed design and has such negative impacts that it should be eliminated from any further consideration. A simple solution to expedite crossing the tracks and also one that does not do violence to the notion of Charleston as a school corridor. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comments. Your comment regarding preference for the Hybrid alternative for both Meadow Drive and Charleston Road has been taken into consideration. Mixed wall/column configuration renderings and order-of-magnitude cost comparisons for this variation have been provided in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 275 Absolutely no need for this at the Churchill crossing as there is a large high school right there and Caltrain just did extensive work to upgrade crossing and safety with LIDAR and other measures. All this will do is back up traffic more on Alma or send it to Embarcadero Road. DO NOT put a tunnel in at Seale! This is a complete waste of time and money. Making the lights more efficient, especially after train crossings. The lights for east-west traffic should adjust after a train crossing instead of staying green for north-south traffic for much longer times. The City should save their money on this proposed "upgrade" and use it for other city services. Maybe even a community service officer enforcing the "left turn only" sign for west bound traffic on Churchill in the mornings, which has NEVER been enforced. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your preference to implement signal retimings and other safety measures has been taken into consideration. 29 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 276 I live on the 100 block of Seale where the proposed bike tunnel would be constructed. Building the bike tunnel on Seale would be highly disruptive and negatively impactful to the Seale residents. Street parking is critical for our street and can be difficult due to several multi-unit buildings on the block. Removing all street parking would worsen the parking situation and force most people to park on other streets away from their residences. The narrow street with no stopping allowed will make it difficult for people to pull out of driveways, difficult for mail and package deliveries, and uninviting for the residents and any visitors. The tunnel will become a target for graffiti and the homeless. The widening of the street would remove the charming and beautiful trees that we have on our street. All of these negative changes will significantly reduce the beauty of the block and property values. Do not build the bike tunnel on Seale. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for sharing your concerns. These issues—including parking availability, delivery access, and aesthetics—are important considerations in evaluating the feasibility of the proposed bike tunnel. 277 Our family's preferences are as follows. 1) Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option and saves more than $300MM for the city. 2) Underpass (Direct Access Ramp) - This is the 2nd best option. It also has less negative traffic impact on our neighborhood. No homes are lost. 3) Underpass (Roundabout) - This is the worst option for us. Our neighbors lose their homes. It will have massive traffic consequences for our neighborhood. All the following traffic will end up being pushed down towards Mumford/Carlson to make a U-turn at the roundabout. - traffic headed south on Alma trying to make a right on W. Charleston - traffic headed east on W Charleston trying to make a left on Alma - traffic headed north on Alma trying to make a left on W. Charleston. With the new housing development coming up near the Nelson intersection, this will mean that our community will be sandwiched between increasing traffic at both ends. Furthermore this option is going to cost the city more than $300MM compared to the Hybrid option. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Please keep us posted on any future meetings/updates so we can attend these if necessary. Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your alternative preferences and the basis of preference have been taken into consideration. 278 Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option and saves more than $300MM for the city. Separate crossing. Cheapest. No loss of houses. Traffic stays the same, but flow will improve. Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Hybrid option based on traffic impacts, cost, and property impacts has been taken into consideration. 30 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 279 We strongly recommend the Hybrid Option for Chrleston Road as the lowest cost, least disruptive, and most amenable option for Charleston road crossing modification. Walnut Grove is a treasured community of seniors and school children families who have worked hard for the last 20 years to calm and reduce the traffic on Charleston road school corridor for the safety of our children and seniors. Uprooting homes and installing roundabouts for improved prioritize the Hybrid Option. Thank you. Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Charleston Road Hybrid option based on traffic impacts, cost, and property impacts has been taken into consideration. 280 A tunnel for pedestrians on Seale is not an option for my HS daughter, it's too dark and could be dangerous when days get shorter. Why isn't there an option to raise the train altogether? Raising the train would improve my experience at these locations. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing a Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. However, the City Council identified the closure as a backup option. City Council eliminated the viaduct option. Your comments regarding the safety and security of the Seale Avenue tunnel has been taken into consideration. Additional safety measures such as lighting will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. 281 Underpass with Roundabout has the worst impacts compared to the other options: 1. Highest cost. 2. Highest number of house acquisition. 3. Taking time, inconvenient, not straightforward for drivers, and slowing down traffic at some degree. Dear city council and rail committee members: following concerns and opinions: 1. Currently, there are three options for Grade Separation on Charleston/Meadow: Hybrid, Underpass with Direct Access Ramp and Underpass One Lane with Roundabout. Both underpass options require house acquisitions. As we know, in many cases, partial acquisition will make the house unlivable. Please keep in mind, as a consequence, both partial and full acquisitions will force the house owners to move out of their homes which is very hard for the house owners, particularly for senior owners. Since hybrid option doesn’t need to acquire any houses, we urge the city to choose hybrid on behalf of all city residents. In the hearing, a person said he does not want his house facing the retaining wall or facing the concrete. But a house facing the concrete is nothing compared with a house owner losing his/her house. I am sure everybody agrees at it. 2. When we compare the two options of Underpass, very clearly, direct access ramp option is much better than roundabout option: a. Direct access ramp option requires fewer house acquisitions. As we mentioned above, acquisitions, no matter partial or full, will give disasters to the house owners because they have to deal with many difficulties. b. The direct access ramp option is much cheaper than roundabout option ($390M-$480M vs $690M-$850M). There is NO ANY reason why you guys to choose an option which costs a lot more but DOESN’T provide ANY better outcomes! c. The direct access ramp option will provide two more lanes for car flows on Alma. Alma is a busy street. Two more lanes mean a lot for car flows. d. In yesterday’s hearing, when you guys were presenting how the cars go around the traffic circle to get their destinations in the Roundabout option, the audiences immediately gave strong disagreement noises. Very clearly, the audiences DON’T like this idea because circling the traffic roundabout is very inconvenient, takes time and is not straightforward, unlike Hybrid and Underpass with Direct Access Ramp. It will also block traffic flows at some degrees compared to both Hybrid and Underpass with Direct Access Ramp. e. Since Underpass with Roundabout requires more house acquisitions and costs a lot more, we believe it will take much longer time to finish the whole project. As we know, the construction for the grade separation project will give huge noises, dusts, traffic inconvenience for the house owners on Charleston/Meadow. Even only for these reasons, you guys should not choose the Underpass with Roundabout. 3. You should provide the house numbers of partial acquisitions for each Underpass option on Meadow/Charleston ASAP. You also need to provide % of Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your detailed feedback. Your comments regarding preference for the Hybrid alternatuves for both Meadow Drive and Charleston Road based on potential property impacts, cost, and traffic circulation and operations. 282 You have scheduled the Mitchell Park meeting for Erev Yom Kippur, making it impossible for most Jewish residents to attend the meeting.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Other We recognized the conflict with Erev Yom Kippur and adjusted the schedule by holding both sessions on Sept 30 at Mitchell Park—Charleston/Meadow from 4–6 pm and Churchill/Seale from 6–8 pm. Meeting materials and an online feedback form are available on the project website. 31 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 283 I've lived in Southgate for almost thirty years. I know that this is an unpopular opinion among my neighbors, so it feels important to speak out: I'm disappointed that we continue to spend millions of dollars investigating this alternative, rather than taking the obvious action: Close Churchill at the railway crossing. This eliminates the horns, reduces congestion at the entrance to Paly, and removes one point of access for suicide attempts. The Seale Avenue overpass designs don't seem unreasonable, but I would suggest that since the majority of bike traffic on Churchill is headed to Paly High, there should be an undercrossing or overcrossing at Churchill, after closing the crossing. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing a Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. As part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative, there is a bicycle and pedestrian at-grade bridge crossing for those wanting to cross Churchill Avenue and connect to the Embarcadero bike path and the high school. However, the City Council identified the closure as a backup option. 284 All maps should clearly document eminent domain associated with each proposed plan. Where can I locate this information.Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Property Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration. Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information are provided for each alternative on aerial imagery. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation and materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right- of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. Where property rights are needed, the City follows a transparent, state-regulated process. If any partial or full acquisitions or easements are required, potentially affected owners will be contacted directly and provided information about process, timing, and compensation consistent with applicable law. 285 My primary concern is with the Charleston Road crossing, and my comment is that the hybrid alternative looks the best.Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Other Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative has been taken into consideration. 286 The Direct Access Route (DAR) version of the Underpass option is a big improvement over the Roundabout version. The Roundabout version should be property acquisitions and because it is less expensive. Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Charleston Road Hybrid alternative due to the property impacts as well as preference of the Charleston Road Underpass with Direct Access Ramp compared to the roundabout alternative has been taken into consideration. 287 Our family's preferences are as follows. 1) Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option and saves more than $300MM for the city. 2) Underpass (Direct Access Ramp) - This is the 2nd best option. It also has less negative traffic impact on our neighborhood. No homes are lost. 3) Underpass (Roundabout) - This is the worst option for us. Our neighbors lose their homes. It will have massive traffic consequences for our neighborhood. All the following traffic will end up being pushed down towards Mumford/Carlson to make a U-turn at the roundabout. - traffic headed south on Alma trying to make a right on - traffic headed east on W Charleston trying to make a left on Alma - traffic headed north on Alma trying to make a left on W. Charleston. With the new housing development coming up near the Nelson intersection, this will mean that our community will be sandwiched between increasing traffic at both ends. Furthermore this option is going to cost the city more than $300MM compared to the Hybrid option. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Please keep us posted on any future meetings/updates so we can attend these if necessary. Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your alternative preferences and the basis of preference have been taken into consideration. 32 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 288 Our family's preferences are as follows. 1) Hybrid - This is the best option because it has the least negative traffic impact for our neighborhood and no detours for the drivers. None of my neighbors' homes are being torn down. It is also the cheapest option and saves more than $300MM for the city. 2) Underpass (Direct Access Ramp) - This is the 2nd best option. It also has less negative traffic impact on our neighborhood. No homes are lost. 3) Underpass (Roundabout) - This is the worst option. Our neighbors lose their homes. It will have massive traffic consequences for our neighborhood. All the following traffic will end up being pushed down towards Mumford/Carlson to make a U-turn at the roundabout. - traffic headed south on Alma trying to make a right on - traffic headed east on trying to make a left on Alma - traffic headed north on Alma trying to make a left on W. Charleston. Furthermore this option is going to cost the city more than $300MM compared to the Hybrid option. We hope that our concerns are taken into consideration in the final decision. Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your alternative preferences and the basis of preference have been taken into consideration. 289 I live near Charleston and San Antonio. With the new housing planned along San Antonio, and the backup on Charleston caused by Caltrain, I worry my neighborhood will become unlivable. I've lived in lower Manhattan and feels like traffic there flows more than South Palo Alto some days. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding concern of traffic operations near Charleston Road has been taken into consideration. 290 As a resident living close to the South Palo Alto tracks, I appreciate this effort to make the rails safer. I hope the city staff prioritize this project and act fast. I support the alternative that's more feasible and has a faster way to the construction. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment regarding making crossings safer for all users and preference for an alternative that is feasible and fastest to implement has been taken into consideration. 291 What properties are being partially taken - Can you outline what properties are under consideration for partial possession at the Churchill Crossing. Living at the corner, It seems more than partial, given that my driveway and access to my garage appear to be taken. As well as access to my address which is on Churchill will no longer be possible. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Property Impacts Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units and estimated area is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 292 I live in Greenmeadow. I support the hybrid option for Meadow and Charleston because it'll be cheapest and quickest to build. The bridges and walls should not be utilitarian plain concrete design. I'd like to see creative and beautiful designs for the bridges and walls. They could be classical or modern and have faux stone, brick or tile faces with interesting colors and patterns. There could be a design competition. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comments. Your preference of the Hybrid options for both Meadow Drive and Charleston Road due to cost and construction duration has been taken into consideration. Additional design details such as aesthetics will be identified in preliminary engineering. Opportunities for community input on aesthetics, including potential design competitions, will be considered as part of the process. 293 A Churchill St/Alma pedestrian/bike tunnel similar to the one on California Ave would be the best and safest alternative for students to get to and from Paly High school, and would have the additional benefit of allowing more cars to turn right and left from Churchill onto Alma which would solve much of the traffic delays that was driving this project to begin with. It should be easy to simulate the traffic improvements. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. The City Council identified the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass with a bicycle and pedestrian crossing a Seale Avenue as the preferred alternative. However, the City Council identified the closure as a backup option. 33 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 294 From what I can tell (it's very confusing), the only description you have of current options for Charleston & Meadow (https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/transportation/rail/pl…) only covers one option (Charleston and Meadow underpass), with no description of the raised track option. In addition, the graphic is almost impossible to understand. e.g. I see no way to get from northbound Alma to eastbound Meadow. Is this possible, or have I missed something? Other parts of connections in all options are somewhere between extremely difficult to impossible to make sense of. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your comment. Revised plans, renderings, profiles, and cross sections have been provided on the City's website and are included in the November 18 Rail Committee presentation. For the Meadow Drive Underpass option, the northbound Alma Street left adn right- turn movements to Meadow Drive have been eliminated to minimize property impacts. These movements will have to utilize adjacent routes. 295 For all 3 crossings I like the undergrounding approach. Even the partial for Churchill. One addition thought for Churchill is that the city should purchase any homes that become available along Churchill between Alma and Emerson and along Alma close to Churchill. Rent the homes out and then in maybe 30 to 35 years the city will own all these home and a real underpass can be built with open Churchill. One question I have is how will traffic be handled during construction along Alma? Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration. Where property rights are needed, the City follows a transparent, state-regulated process. If any partial or full acquisitions or easements are required, potentially affected owners will be contacted directly and provided information about process, timing, and compensation consistent with applicable law. Additional construction considerations such a detours will be determined in preliminary engineering. 296 I strongly support the Meadow / Charleston viaduct alternative. Allowing the free flow of bicycles, pedestrians and vehicles at grade level is safest for our community. This also reduces the access to tracks for people suffering from depression and other emotional disturbances. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility)documented. The City Council has eliminated the viaduct option. 297 We strongly prefer hybrid option.Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Other Thank you for your feedback. Your preference for the Hybrid option has been taken into consideration. 298 Please consider our preferred option for Charleston road as the Hybrid option. It would be the least traffic impact. No home acquisition and the least expensive option of all. Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback. Your preference for the Hybrid option at Charleston Road due to cost and property impacts has been taken into consideration. 299 At the Meadow Drive/Charleston Road crossing, the underpass offers better traffic improvement, but the hybrid one is cheaper and would not result in future ponding issues. Overall I prefer the option that has shorter construction/earlier completion date, and offers the safer option for kids crossing the tracks on their bikes. The experience at this intersection would be improved by no train horn noise and less wait at the traffic light. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Construction Impacts Thank you for your comments. Your preference regarding the one with the shortest construction duration and safest for kids has been taken into consideration. 300 Our preferred option for Charleston road as the Hybrid option. It would be the least traffic impact. No home acquisition and the least expensive option of all. Traffic impact and noise abatement. No underpass please! Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your preference for the Hybrid option at Charleston Road due to cost and property impacts has been taken into consideration. 301 The table listing numbers for “Intersection Delay” for the Charleston roundabout should include the time it will take to drive to and around the roundabout and back to the intersection. Gunn students from the Greenmeadow neighborhood currently ride bikes on the Alma sidewalk traveling north then cross Charleston and use the crosswalk to cross Alma and proceed west on Charleston to Gunn. With the underpass options will this still be possible? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Access to Schools Thank you for your comment. Travel times were provided in the previous traffic study which is on the City's website. According to the Traffic Study, intersection delays and travel times for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians were analyzed for future conditions at Churchill, Meadow, and Charleston crossings. The study evaluated both peak and non-peak hours, and compared delays for each turning movement under different grade separation alternatives. The analysis found that some alternatives, such as the Underpass at Charleston, may result in increased delays for certain movements due to circuitous routes, while others may reduce delays for specific users. Additional breakdowns and updated information will be shared in future project materials and community meetings as the design phase progresses. Your comment will be documented and considered during this process. For the Charleston Road Underpass alternatives, the Gunn students can travel northbound on Alma Street and cross Charleston Road at the cross walk to connect into the multi-use path which crosses Alma Street. 34 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 302 Prefer Underpass. Strongly against hybrid. Minimize construction disruption for local residents. Minimize train noise and train horn after construction is completed. Please coordinate with the city on pedestrian crossing plans to minimize disruptions. How long will construction go on for, and what disruptions will occur? What disruption mitigation do you have planned? Will there be sound and visual barriers for the train once construction completes? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. Construction duration and mitigation measures will be developed during preliminary engineering, and noise and visual barriers will be evaluated during environmental review. 303 Underpass is preferred. Strongly against hybrid. Closing the crossing and doing no work would improve my experience at these locations. How long is disruption to Alma residents and traffic while construction? I want this minimized. Is there any privacy/sound barriers on the hybrid option? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Construction Impacts Thank you for your comment. Construction duration and mitigation measures will be developed during preliminary engineering, and noise and visual barriers will be evaluated during environmental review. 304 I have one concern regarding the proposed bike and pedestrian crossing at Seale. This change would likely increase the number of students traveling to Castilleja via that route. Currently, many students come from Park and then proceed to Castilleja, but the new crossing could shift more traffic to Seal. From what I understand about recent city improvements on Churchill, there are still no protections where Castilleja crosses into the Palo Alto High parking lot. Under PUC rules, that area is so close to the tracks that our ability to add protections is restricted. This is an issue we need to address in parallel with the crossing plan so we don’t reach a point where the solution becomes insurmountable. I know Mike Meader has worked with the PUC on several matters and has seen expedited responses and more flexibility than in the past. However, that doesn’t guarantee they will approve everything we believe is necessary. So, this is important to keep in mind. Finally, regarding Churchill: while we anticipate significant improvements there, I don’t expect all benefits to accrue to Churchill. Drivers may adjust their exclusively at Churchill. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Safety for Students Access to Schools Thank you for your comments. Additional active transportation compoents such as safety measures and control type will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. However, the City and Caltrain are working together to identify additional satey measures to be implemented at the Palo Alto crossings in the near term. 305 Did you look at other places for the roundabout?Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Traffic Impacts We explored shifting the roundabout to the north, and also considered placing it at Mumford. However, neither option met the City Council direction to minimize or eliminate property acquisitions. We then examined what was driving the need for the roundabout: the high demand from northbound Alma for left turns onto Charleston. To address this, we developed an alternative that includes a direct access ramp from Alma to Charleston. This design accommodates both the right-turn movement from eastbound Charleston to southbound Alma and the left-turn movement from northbound Alma to Charleston. By incorporating these ramps, we were able to remove the roundabout and significantly reduce property impacts. Additionally, we identified a lower-volume movement from southbound Alma to westbound Charleston. To accommodate this, the intersection at Mumford is being designed to allow U-turns. Overall, this approach eliminates full property acquisitions east of Alma and Charleston, though some full acquisitions remain near the underpass on the west side of the tracks, along with potential partial acquisitions along Alma Street. 35 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 306 I have two concerns. First, is there any property acquisition planned to the west of Alma for the Meadow and Charleston projects? I know the roundabout was discussed, but I’m not sure if that was fully addressed. Second, the community meetings for grade separation were originally held in the evenings, but the meetings for Meadow and Charleston have been changed to 4:00–6:00 p.m. This makes it difficult for people who work to attend. After seeing this presentation, I believe it’s important to attend in person and ask questions. While the online option is helpful, I don’t think it’s enough. I’d like to request that an additional evening meeting be scheduled for Charleston and Meadow. Property Impacts Thank you for your comment. Right-of-way needs for the Meadow and Charleston alternatives—on both sides of Alma—are still being refined. If any temporary easements or permanent partial/full acquisitions are required to the west of Alma, affected owners will be contacted directly, and a public-facing table and map will be provided at the next design milestone distinguishing temporary and permanent needs. Regarding meeting times, we recognize that a 4:00–6:00 p.m. window can be difficult for working residents. For awareness, the project team held two time slots for the recent community meetings at the Mitchell Park Community Center on September 30: Charleston & Meadow from 4:00–6:00 PM and Churchill & Seale from 6:00–8:00 PM. These sessions were designed to provide multiple opportunities for in-person questions and discussion.We will convey your request for an additional evening session to the outreach team and continue to provide multiple ways to participate (in-person, online materials, and written comment) so community members can review exhibits and ask questions at times that work for them. If unable to attend, staff can be contacted via the City's website to discuss the project. 307 I’m glad to see some refinements happening, though there are still questions and issues to address. I’m encouraged that we’re open to changes—this is a big step forward. On the bike network, I believe this needs to be a priority in the conversation. For example, if we implement an underpass, any bike lane should extend all the way to Carlson, where there is a signalized intersection. Beyond that, we need to help people understand how bike networks work and how travel patterns might change depending on where bike lanes are placed. It’s not just about replicating what exists today—different configurations could significantly influence how people ride. This also ties into pedestrian underpasses into Seal Park. We should analyze travel times from major origin-destination points and consider reliability. People often underestimate how much removing a signal improves consistency—knowing a trip will always take seven minutes instead of fluctuating between six and nine can make a big difference, especially for students trying to get to class on time. I’m looking forward to continuing this work with everyone. I think we’re making real progress, and that’s exciting. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration as we refine designs to improve safety, connectivity, and accessibility for people walking, biking, and rolling. 36 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 308 First, thank you for all the improvements at Churchill. The electronic and high-tech upgrades are impressive, but the physical changes are even more significant. Widening the pedestrian walkway and installing “No Turn on Red” signs have made a huge difference. While enforcement still needs improvement, prohibiting right turns on red is a major safety enhancement for both pedestrians and drivers because it prevents vehicles from encroaching into the crosswalk. These are excellent changes—thank you. The main point I want to raise concerns the proposed Seale Ave tunnel. In my view, its construction should be entirely contingent on the Churchill grade separation. If students can still bicycle across Churchill, they will likely avoid using the tunnel. Even if Churchill is closed, I have serious concerns about tunnel safety. Mixing bicycles and pedestrians in a confined space is dangerous. Just recently, I saw a child fall while trying to maneuver around pedestrians in the Caltrain tunnel. The Seale Ave tunnel would be even longer, and I worry about students traveling through a dark tunnel late at night. For comparison, the Homer underpass is wide, open, and well-lit, which feels much safer. The Caltrain tunnel, on the other hand, has had issues with trash, people sleeping inside, and even assaults. These problems raise real concerns about the proposed Seale tunnel’s safety. Lastly, thank you, Pat, for mentioning speed issues on Alma. Speeding there is a serious problem, and enforcement is virtually nonexistent. I’ve seen cars roll through the intersection at Seal and Alma. Please consider measures to address this—perhaps reducing Alma to one northbound lane in that area. Seale Bike/Ped: Seale Avenue Ramp Seale Bike/Ped: Alma Street Ramp Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Safety for Students Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. The Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing is part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative and will be implemented together. Additional active transportation design elements such as lighting and other safety measures will be identified as part of preliminary engineering. limits on City streets. 309 I feel much better about the progress being made compared to past meetings. The safety improvements that Caltrain has committed to, and the speed at which the City is implementing them, are very impressive. One request: I live near Caltrain between Meadow and Charleston, and I would like a study on the impact of construction—not just the final outcome. During previous upgrades, such as the transition from one track to two tracks and electrification, we endured years of nightly construction and lost sleep. Please ensure that Caltrain and the City consider the neighbors during these large projects. Thank you for taking positive steps to improve safety, and we hope to be able to sleep at night during construction. Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback. Your comment has been taken into consideration as we develop plans to minimize construction impacts. Construction mitigations will be identified as part of final design. 37 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 310 I’ve followed this process closely and am struck by what the city and residents are willing to do to the street network just to avoid elevating the train slightly more. The hybrid alternatives propose lowering roads by four to six feet, but if the train were raised an additional four to six feet and paired with a thin bridge, you could achieve the necessary clearance without displacing properties or making major changes to the street network. This would avoid complex solutions like blockages, roundabouts, and closing Park Avenue. All movements could be preserved, and it seems perfectly logical. I understand the charts showing level of service, but the state has moved away from LOS because the focus should be on VMT. Making driving easier generally increases driving, which is controversial, but I believe people should remain at ground level rather than being forced into tunnels. Let traffic wait a little longer—the streetscape of Palo Alto would be far more pleasant and human-scaled compared to the tunnels and bridges proposed in the hybrid and partial underpass options. From a cost perspective, with Caltrain’s increased allowable maximum grade, ramping distances and costs should now be competitive and likely cheaper for a full elevation of the train over both Charleston and Meadow. This approach would maintain the existing street network and avoid unnecessary property impacts. I strongly urge reconsidering full elevation as an alternative. Meadow Drive Hybrid Charleston Road Hybrid Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your feedback.The City Council has eliminated the viaduct option. 311 I would like to align myself with the idea that a viaduct is the proper solution. However, I believe the traffic analysis for the Churchill partial closure overlooked a key point: what is the amount of delay caused by closing one of the six or seven east-west crossings of the tracks? Traffic will be diverted to other streets, increasing crossing times. If someone wants to cross at Churchill, where do they go, and how much longer will it take? That’s an important question. long construction timelines, and major impacts on traffic. This will involve heavy trucks and dump trucks operating day and night, moving hundreds or thousands of tons of material. The costs and disruption raise the question: are these underpass options truly better than a viaduct? While a viaduct may have higher initial costs, it avoids complicated traffic changes, roundabouts, and prolonged disruptions during construction. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Construction Impacts Thank you for your feedback.The City Council has eliminated the viaduct option. 312 I’ll focus on Charleston and Meadow. There are thousands of new housing units planned for South Palo Alto. I want to emphasize the importance of incorporating this growth into future traffic analyses. I’m also curious whether anyone has studied if the proposed changes could encourage neighborhood cut-through traffic in South Palo Alto. There are school routes through the Circles area and the Green Meadow neighborhood, and we want to avoid increased traffic there. Additionally, new bike routes are being planned for the San Antonio area, including a bicycle boulevard extension, which makes this consideration even more important. Finally, I noticed that a bike facility was narrowed from 20 feet to 14 feet—a loss of six feet in a curved area where pedestrians and bicycles mix. That seems significant, especially on a school route. Is there an opportunity to widen this section to provide more comfortable space for all users? Meadow Drive Hybrid Meadow Drive Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) The traffic modeling for Charleston and Meadow alternatives incorporates the future development projections including the housing growth in South Palo Alto. Your observation about the reduction from 20 feet to 14 feet in a curved section is noted. Design refinements will prioritize comfort, safety, and ADA compliance, and any adjustments will be documented in future plan sets and renderings. 38 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 313 I am interested in the Charleston Road Crossing. I think the Underpass option is better for the surrounding with less long term impact. Elevating Caltrain by 17-19 feet is ugly and will be a blight on the city. I also believe alternatives can be made to the underpass plan to avoid acquisition of property if using less road lanes on Alma. We don't always have to build wider/more road! Charleston Road Underpass - Roundabout Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Property Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your comment. You preference for the Charleston Road Underpass alternative has been taken into consideration. 314 I am a resident and homeowner who lives less than 500ft from the proposed Seale bike/ped underpass, and I am writing to give VERY strong support in FAVOR of this project. My wife and I moved to Palo Alto in large reason due to the bike-ability, and have encountered numerous challenges at the Churchill crossing. We cross here multiple times a week (sometimes daily), and it is sorely insufficient for the amount of bike/ped traffic it sees. Some issues we encounter: 1. Waiting for up to 10 mins when the light cycle + train crossing timings are out of sync 2. Crossing Eastbound on Churchill from the bike path puts you on the wrong side of the road 3. Large traffic of PA High school students who do not have room to buffer for the light This is a vital bike corridor and I believe it is imperative that an alternative be developed, which the Seale avenue alternative accomplishes. Additionally, it gives Old Palo Alto residents better connection to Peers park for use of the community amenities. As we grow our family and think towards how to live a sustainable lifestyle, this type of infrastructure would be a strong step towards this goal. Please reach out if I can be of help for advocating for this project. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Access to Schools Thank you for your feedback. Your support for the proposed Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing as part of the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass has been taken into consideration. 315 The hybrid alternative would raise the trains almost as high as a viaduct, increasing noise and making neighborhoods in the area much less appealing and livable. This is a bad solution and I imagine pushback among the community will grow if this seems like it will actually be implemented. Has a pedestrian/bike underpass at one of the Meadow/Charleston crossings and a car underpass at the other been considered? Or blocking off one street to through traffic? The streets are so close together that it seems unnecessary to have full-scale underpasses at both. Meadow Drive Hybrid Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Thank you for your thoughtful comments regarding the concern of the track height for the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Hybrid alternatives. As part of preliminary well as landscaping and aesthetics will be considered. Your suggestion to separate functions—for example, a bike/ped undercrossing at one other—recognizes the short spacing between Charleston and Meadow. Both crossings are needed due to the amount of vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic crossing on a daily basis. A draft traffic analysis memorandum with new traffic volume data is included in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. 316 I am in favor of the hybrid options for Meadow and Charleston. They require less (or no) property acquisitions and much less alteration of driving patterns than the underpass options. Also, the currently estimated costs are much lower. I am in favor of completing the Churchill crossing as currently "planned" - realizing that costs will make it less likely to be completed in the near future. Meadow Drive Hybrid Charleston Road Hybrid Traffic Impacts Property Impacts Thank you for your comments. Your preference for the Hybrid alternatives at Meadow Drive and Charlston Road based on property impacts and cost have been taken into consideration. 317 I noticed that cars on the south side of Park Blvd will no longer be able to directly make a turn at Charleston. This makes it less than ideal to the current residents on Park Blvd. Traffic congestion is already a huge problem and this design would make the current situation worse. Traffic Impacts Thank you for your feedback. The Charleston Road Underpass alternatives include restriction of traffic turning onto Charleston Road from Park Boulevard due to the grade difference of Charleston Road and Park Boulevard. 39 of 40 DRAFT Attachment E: DRAFT Community Comment Tracker CommentComment #Comment ResponseCommunity ThemesAssociated Alternatives 318 We need to be realistic about the cost of these projects. The Underpass option is nearly double the cost of the Hybrid option. At the same time, sense to splurge on one set of crossing at the expense of other badly needed projects. Cost alone favors the Hybrid option, not to mention the Hybrid option's lack of need for property takings. Meadow Drive Hybrid Charleston Road Hybrid Property Impacts Costs and Funding Concerns Thank you for your comment. Your preference for the Hybrid option based cost has been taken into consideration. 319 Looking at the direct access route for the Charleston Road grade separation solution and its talking about a U-turn on Mumford, to go back the other way, but the renderings don't show any of the impact that will have on the two properties that abut Mumford Place. So, mine is 270 Charleston and I think the one over from me 284 - so I'm wondering, do you know what the impact would be of making that street - it's a pretty wide street - are they planning on doing anything else to make it U-turn accessible ? and at the corner properties, how does that impact our properties? I know the project team had talked about moving the crosswalk which currently to the side of my house on Charleston to the opposite side of Charleston for better traffic flow - but there was no conversations about property takes and there's nothing on the renderings that show the impact on Mumford for our properties. My driveway faces Mumford and I'm hoping it will still be navigable - but mostly I'm looking to see how that would impact me as a corner property so if you could give me a call back I'd appreciate it Secondly, do we have some better estimates for the impacts of partial property takes per property, is there somewhere I can look at that for that because I don't see it yet I'm wondering if there's maybe a progress that can give me a better number - I appreciate if you could give me a call back, okay thank you! Charleston Road Underpass - Direct Access Ramp Traffic Impacts Property Impacts The current layout would allow for U turns by passenger vehicles, however if a larger truck needs to be accommodated then it might prompt additional review and analysis. Preliminiary potential property impacts including full and partial information with number of dwelling units and estimated area is provided for each alternative. This information is provided on the City website and in the November 18 Rail Committee materials. Detailed boundary surveys and title research is underway to determine the exact right-of-way boundaries as part of preliminary engineering. 320 I am writing to express my EXTREME dissatisfaction with the proposed Churchill partial underpass plan currently under consideration. Churchill and Alma is one of the most trafficked pedestrian and bicycle intersections in the city due to the adjacency of Pal Alto Senior High School. The idea that you would build an earthen wall to block direct pedestrian access to one of the largest child pedestrian thoroughfares in the city only to redirect them to a longer detour route that they then will have to cross a now-higher-speed and higher-volume traffic stream in order to get to school each day is preposterous. Just close the Churchill crossing to vehicle traffic. There is no need for this vehicle shortcut when much larger vehicle crossings exist nearby in both directions. All this will do is force parents who currently let their children walk or bike to school to instead drive their kids each day, causing massive congestion, traffic, and making the area around the school less safe for students, while making Churchill into a gridlock each day during morning rush hour. This an expensive and counterproductive endeavor that will only make traffic worse and the city less livable. Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass with Landscape Strip Churchill Avenue - Partial Underpass without Landscape Strip Traffic Impacts Thank you for your comment. Your dissatisfcation regarding the Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass alternative due to the bicycle/pedestrian and school connection has been taken into consideration. 40 of 40 City of Palo Alto Grade Separation Project Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road Rail Committee November 18, 2025 Funded by: Receive community engagement update Review each alternative with considerations, and community feedback Action:Provide recommendations to City Council on which alternatives to advance to 15% Meeting Purpose 2 Project Site City Council Direction 4 Motion approved to prioritize addressing the Charleston Road and East Meadow Drive crossing over other grade separation alternatives being considered and studied. Meadow Drive and Charleston Road November 2021 Motion approved to recommend Seale Avenue as the Bicycle and Pedestrian crossing location for the Partial Underpass Alternative at Churchill Avenue to advance into the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase, with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing (Street Closure) alternative as a backup. Churchill Avenue June 2024 Motion approved to advance Hybrid (including mixed wall/column approach) and Underpass alternatives into the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase. Council requested updates through the alternatives’ refinements (during 15% design) with opportunities to change course and refocus on one option, if desired. June 2024 Meadow Drive and Charleston Road Alternatives 5 Churchill Avenue Meadow Drive Locally Preferred Alternative (Includes Seale Bike/Ped Crossing) Bike/Ped Crossing Backup Charleston Road Current Project Phase 6 202720262025 Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2 Preliminary Engineering and Environmental 35% Design and Environmental15% DesignAlternative Development and Refinement Funding Total:$20 Million (VTA Measure B = $14 M + FRA Rail Crossing Elimination = $6 M) Deadline:Complete 35% Design and Environmental Documentation by the end of 2027 We are here Receive direction from City Council on which alternatives to advance to 15% Design. Community Engagement 7 914 Mailers sent to residents/owners Social Media Blasts Promoted project via Palo Alto Weekly 6 Lawn Signs placed Email blasts to Neighborhood Associations 9/30: Two Community Meetings + Online Feedback Presentation and interactive workshop Community Engagement 8 290+ Comments 100+ Attendees for both meetings Traffic Impacts Active Transportation (Safety, Connectivity, and ADA Accessibility) Property Impacts Safety for Students Aesthetics and Visual Impacts Costs and Funding Construction Impacts Access to Schools Feedback Themes Across All Alternatives 9 Summary of Alternatives 10 Roundabout Direct Access Ramp OPTION ALTERNATIVE CROSSING Meadow Drive Charleston Road HYBRID UNDERPASS HYBRID UNDERPASS With Landscape Strip Without Landscape Strip Seale Avenue Ramp Alma Street Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS Churchill Avenue Vehicle Crossing Bike/Ped Crossing Crossing Content Flow 11 Plan Views Renderings Potential Property Impacts Construction Considerations Community Feedback Consideration Summary Considerations to Advance Selected Alternatives to 15% 12 Traffic and Circulation Active Transportation Potential Property Impacts Construction Based on City Council direction, Rail Committee feedback, and key community engagement themes Preliminary planning level cost estimates developed in 2020 and updated in 2024 as part of City’s previous planning efforts. Churchill Avenue – Partial Underpass with Bike/Ped Crossing $260M to $320M combined Meadow and Charleston Hybrids $390M to $480M combined Meadow and Charleston Underpasses $690M to $850M combined Previous Preliminary Cost Estimates 13 Key Considerations: These preliminary costs have not been vetted or validated by the integrated project team. Recent contractor cost estimates for grade separation projects have shown actual costs are substantially higher than previously estimated by project sponsors. Bottom-up cost estimates for project completion will be complete in mid-2026 based on 15% Design Drawings, to be informed by: Construction work hours/rail service disruptions Construction clearances required for active electrified rail operations Current market costs Churchill Avenue (and Seale Avenue) 14 PARTIAL UNDERPASS 15 Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass (shown with landscape strip between curb and sidewalk) DRAFT Reduced Upper Alma Street from two northbound lanes to one PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS 16 DRAFT Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass (Looking south on Alma Street –with landscape strip between curb and sidewalk) PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS Reduced Upper Alma Street from two northbound lanes to one 17 Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass (shown without landscape strip between curb and sidewalk) DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS 18 DRAFT Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass (Looking south on Alma Street –no landscape strip between curb and sidewalk) PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS Without Landscape Strip Partial:7 Parcels* (8 Dwelling Units) Mostly intersection corners for ADA ramps Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass 19 With Landscape Strip Partial:17 Parcels* (29 Dwelling Units) Potential Property Acquisition *Count does not include Palo Alto High School Construction Considerations 20 Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass with and without Landscape Strip Bike/ped crossing built first to maintain access high school Method TBD –Proceeding by assuming box jacking and no shoofly Utility relocation, including potential undergrounding of electrical Phasing for maintenance of traffic, retaining walls & bridge construction Alma Street may be reduced to one lane during construction Soil export from site Community Feedback 21 Churchill Avenue –Partial Underpass with and without Landscape Strip Prioritize student access and safety. Include a physical buffer for walkability and perceived safety along Alma Street. Calm Alma Street traffic while preserving practical neighborhood access and egress. Provide clarity of potential property impacts including driveway, sidewalk, and planter strip changes. PARTIAL UNDERPASS DRAFT Seale Avenue –Seale Avenue Ramp 22 PARTIAL UNDERPASS East ramp centered in Seale Avenue Tunnel under Alma Street and railroad tracks West ramp connects to Park Boulevard near Stanford Avenue Removes on-street parking and trees on Seale Avenue Potential partial property acquisition on Seale Avenue PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS 23 Seale Avenue –Seale Avenue Ramp This rendering is shown for illustrative purposes only. DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS Ramp to/from Tunnel Ramp to/from Tunnel PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS 24 Seale Avenue –Seale Avenue Ramp This rendering is shown for illustrative purposes only. DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS 25 Seale Avenue –Seale Avenue Ramp This rendering is shown for illustrative purposes only. DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS DRAFT Seale Avenue –Alma Street Ramp 26 Ramp on east side of Alma Street Tunnel under Alma Street and railroad tracks Ramp to Castilleja Avenue Potential partial property acquisition on both sides of Alma Street PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS DRAFT Seale Avenue –Alma Street Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS Ramp to/from TunnelRamp to/from Tunnel PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS Seale Avenue –Alma Street Ramp Ramp to/from Tunnel PARTIAL UNDERPASS PARTIAL UNDERPASS DRAFT PARTIAL UNDERPASS Seale Avenue –Alma Street Ramp Ramp to/from Tunnel PARTIAL UNDERPASS Alma Street Ramp Partial: 4 Parcels (15 Dwelling Units) Note: Peers Park entrance closer to Palo Alto High School Seale Avenue Ramp Partial:15 Parcels (28 Dwelling Units) Note: Removes Seale Avenue on-street parking & trees 30 Seale Avenue – Bicycle/Pedestrian Crossing Potential Property Acquisition Construction Considerations 31 Alma Street Ramp Potential temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Temporary disruption of utility services to Alma Street homes for utility relocation Seale Avenue Ramp Potential interruption of access to homes on Seale Ave Temporary disruption of utility services to Seale Ave homes for utility relocation Disruption and changes to dog park and removal of large trees Seale Avenue – Bicycle/Pedestrian Crossing Utility relocations Construction of tunnel from Peers Park towards Seale Avenue May require sewer pump station Community Feedback 32 Seale Avenue – Bicycle/Pedestrian Crossing Alma Street Ramp Concern regarding bike/vehicle conflict at intersection; opportunity for delineation & sightline improvements More direct route to Paly Fewer property and parking impacts. Seale Avenue Ramp Loss of on-street parking; driveway conflicts Tree removal concerns Concern regarding student use of tunnel given California and Embarcadero facilities Wall/tunnel heights; interest in design/landscape treatments Provide more user specific views/context of the crossing Alma Street RampSeale Avenue Ramp More bike/ped traffic on Seale & Peers Park No left-turns to Alma from Seale More bike/ped traffic to Peers Park & PalyTraffic & Circulation Tunnel under Alma and tracks Direct access to Peers Park Connects closer to Palo Alto High School Tunnel under Alma and tracks Peers Park entrance closer to high schoolActive Transportation Potential Acquisitions: Partial: 4 Parcels (15 Dwelling Units) Potential Acquisitions: Partial:15 Parcels (28 Dwelling Units)Potential Property Impacts Both: Relocation of utilities Construction of tunnel from Peers Park towards Seale Avenue May require sewer pump stationConstruction Potential temporary lane closures on Alma Street Potential interruption of access to homes on Seale Ave Removal of dog park and large trees Seale Avenue: Considerations Summary 33 Meadow Drive and Charleston Road 34 DRAFT Crossing Alternative Profiles 35 UNDERPASS HYBRID COMBINATION Meadow Drive Charleston RoadEl Verano Avenue GreenmeadowWay Not to Scale HYBRID 36 DRAFT Meadow Drive – Hybrid Lower Meadow Drive 4’ to 6’ at crossing Raise railroad tracks 17’ to 19’ Dedicated left-turn lanes to align lanes across Alma Street Added bicycle queuing area on westbound Meadow Drive 1 potential partial property acquisition HYBRID HYBRID 37 DRAFT Meadow Drive – HybridHYBRIDHYBRID Center Columns Side Columns Side Columns – Extra Wide Note:Bridge column options are for illustrative purposes only. A decision on column configuration is anticipated as part of future design discussions. Bridge Column Options UNDERPASS 38 DRAFT Meadow Drive –Underpass Reduced width of multi- use path and corresponding shoulders Checked which size vehicles can navigate turns in proposed design Potential full and partial property acquisitions UNDERPASS UNDERPASS 39 DRAFT Meadow Drive –UnderpassUNDERPASSUNDERPASS Underpass Full: 2 Parcels (12 Dwelling Units) Partial: 5 Parcels/Dwelling Units Hybrid Partial: 1 Parcel/Dwelling Unit 40 Meadow Drive Potential Property Acquisition Construction Considerations 41 Underpass Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Blvd at Meadow Dr; Alma St may temporarily reduce to one lane More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Hybrid Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import into and export out of site Meadow Drive Temporary or full closure of Meadow Drive crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services; major sewer line relocation Community Feedback 42 Underpass Steep grades, long ramps, tight turns for bikes/wheelchairs Turn restrictions, indirect routes, spillover to Alma, Park, Los Robles Indirect travel for southbound trips from the intersection Hybrid Comfortable walking/biking (grades, ramps, lighting) Consider mixed wall/column treatments Meadow Drive Minimize property acquisitions Concern over construction period impacts (closures, noise, disruptions) Avoid graffiti-prone concrete; include landscaping and shade UnderpassHybrid Disconnects Park Blvd (south of Park & Meadow intersection) Improved traffic operations for existing and future Adds left-turn lanes Traffic operations similar to existing and futureTraffic & Circulation Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridges Added bicycle queuing area on westbound Meadow Dr Sidewalks and on-street bike lanesActive Transportation Potential Acquisitions: Full:2 Parcels (12 Dwelling Units) Partial: 5 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisition: Partial:1Parcel/Dwelling UnitPotential Property Impacts Temporary or full closure of Meadow Drive crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services; major sewer line relocation Construction Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Blvd at Meadow Dr; Alma St may temporarily reduce to one lane More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import to site Meadow Drive: Considerations Summary 43 HYBRID DRAFT 44 Charleston Road –Hybrid Lower Charleston Road 4’ to 6’ at crossing Raise railroad tracks 17’ to 19’ 2 potential partial property acquisitions HYBRID HYBRID 45 Charleston Road –HybridHYBRIDHYBRID Center Columns Side Columns Side Columns – Extra Wide Bridge Column Options DRAFT Note:Bridge column options are for illustrative purposes only. A decision on column configuration is anticipated as part of future design discussions. UNDERPASS DRAFT 46 UNDERPASS Reduced roundabout from two to one lane Reduced width of multi-use path and corresponding shoulders Potential partial and full property acquisition UNDERPASS Charleston Road – Underpass Roundabout UNDERPASS 47 UNDERPASS DRAFT Note: Rendering shown is for two-lane roundabout. Current alternative is one- lane roundabout. Renderings are working drafts for initial review and feedback. UNDERPASSUNDERPASS Charleston Road – Underpass Roundabout UNDERPASSUNDERPASS 48 DRAFT Eliminated the roundabout Reduced width of multi-use path and corresponding shoulders Potential partial and full property acquisition UNDERPASS Charleston Road – Underpass Direct Access Ramp UNDERPASS DRAFT UNDERPASSUNDERPASS Charleston Road – Underpass Direct Access Ramp 50 Potential Property Acquisition Full: 3 Parcels/DU Partial:25 Parcels/DU Full:1 Parcel/DU Partial:23 Parcels/DU Charleston Road Partial: 2 Parcels/DU (DU = Dwelling Unit) Hybrid Underpass Roundabout Underpass Direct-Access Ramp Construction Considerations 51 Underpass Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Boulevard at Charleston Road Alma Street may temporarily reduce to one lane Roundabout has more disruption to Charleston Road Direct-Access ramp has more disruption to Alma Street More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Hybrid Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import into and out of site Charleston Road Temporary or full closure of Charleston Road crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services; major utility relocation Community Feedback 52 Charleston Road Roundabout Property impact concerns Perceived safety challenges for bikes/peds Indirect travel Less favored vs Hybrid and Direct Access Ramp Hybrid Least property impacts Maintains neighborhood access; minimal traffic detours Visual concerns on retaining walls; suggest creative treatments Better for bikes/peds with safer, direct crossings Direct Access Ramp Mixed views on roadway/ped/bike design Fewer property impacts; better traffic operations Underpass Concern over construction impacts (closures, noise, disruptions, dust) 53 Underpass – Direct Access RampUnderpass –RoundaboutHybrid Direct-access ramp Allows northbound Alma Street left-turns to westbound Charleston Road at intersection Restricts turning movements between Park Boulevard and Charleston Road Improved projected traffic operations for both existing/future One-lane roundabout Restricts turning movements between Park Boulevard and Charleston Road Improved projected traffic operations for both existing/future May divert Alma traffic Traffic operations like existing/future Traffic & Circulation Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridge Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridge Sidewalks and on-street bike lanesActive Transportation & School Access Potential Acquisitions Full:1 Parcel/Dwelling Unit Partial:23 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisitions Full: 3 Parcels/Dwelling Units Partial:25 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisitions: Partial:2 Parcels/Dwelling UnitsPotential Property Impacts Temporary or full closure of Charleston Road crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services (including major utilities) Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Boulevard at Charleston Road Alma Street may temporarily reduce to one lane Roundabout has more disruption to Charleston Road Direct-Access ramp has more disruption to Alma Street More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import into and export out of site. Construction Charleston Road: Considerations Summary Recommendation to City Council 54 Proceed with 15% Design at City Council for selected alternatives 12/10 (Presentation) and 12/15 (Action) Churchill Avenue with Seale Avenue Charleston RoadMeadow Drive Summary of Alternatives 55 Roundabout Direct Access Ramp OPTION ALTERNATIVE CROSSING Meadow Drive Charleston Road HYBRID UNDERPASS HYBRID UNDERPASS With Landscape Strip Without Landscape Strip Seale Avenue Ramp Alma Street Ramp PARTIAL UNDERPASS Churchill Avenue Vehicle Crossing Bike/Ped Crossing Alma Street RampSeale Avenue Ramp More bike/ped traffic on Seale & Peers Park No left-turns to Alma from Seale More bike/ped traffic to Peers Park & PalyTraffic & Circulation Tunnel under Alma and tracks Direct access to Peers Park Connects closer to Palo Alto High School Tunnel under Alma and tracks Peers Park entrance closer to high schoolActive Transportation Potential Acquisitions: Partial: 4 Parcels (15 Dwelling Units) Potential Acquisitions: Partial:15 Parcels (28 Dwelling Units)Potential Property Impacts Both: Relocation of utilities Construction of tunnel from Peers Park towards Seale Avenue May require sewer pump stationConstruction Potential temporary lane closures on Alma Street Potential interruption of access to homes on Seale Ave Removal of dog park and large trees Seale Avenue: Considerations Summary 56 UnderpassHybrid Disconnects Park Blvd (south of Park & Meadow intersection) Improved traffic operations for existing and future Adds left-turn lanes Traffic operations similar to existing and futureTraffic & Circulation Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridges Added bicycle queuing area on westbound Meadow Dr Sidewalks and on-street bike lanesActive Transportation Potential Acquisitions: Full:2 Parcels (12 Dwelling Units) Partial: 5 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisition: Partial:1Parcel/Dwelling UnitPotential Property Impacts Temporary or full closure of Meadow Drive crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services; major sewer line relocation Construction Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Blvd at Meadow Dr; Alma St may temporarily reduce to one lane More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import to site Meadow Drive: Considerations Summary 57 58 Underpass – Direct Access RampUnderpass –RoundaboutHybrid Direct-access ramp Allows northbound Alma Street left-turns to westbound Charleston Road at intersection Restricts turning movements between Park Boulevard and Charleston Road Improved projected traffic operations for both existing/future One-lane roundabout Restricts turning movements between Park Boulevard and Charleston Road Improved projected traffic operations for both existing/future May divert Alma traffic Traffic operations like existing/future Traffic & Circulation Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridge Dedicated multi-use path and pedestrian bridge Sidewalks and on-street bike lanesActive Transportation & School Access Potential Acquisitions Full:1 Parcel/Dwelling Unit Partial:23 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisitions Full: 3 Parcels/Dwelling Units Partial:25 Parcels/Dwelling Units Potential Acquisitions: Partial:2 Parcels/Dwelling UnitsPotential Property Impacts Temporary or full closure of Charleston Road crossing during construction Temporary lane closures on Alma Street (extents dependent on construction method) Utility relocation and temporary disruption of utility services (including major utilities) Currently assuming box jacking (no shoofly) Temporary closure of Park Boulevard at Charleston Road Alma Street may temporarily reduce to one lane Roundabout has more disruption to Charleston Road Direct-Access ramp has more disruption to Alma Street More utilities relocations and interruptions; sewer pump station Phased work for retaining walls & bridges Soil export from site Shoofly anticipated Potential for phased approach to mitigate traffic impacts to Alma Street Fewer utility relocations and interruptions Soil import into and export out of site Construction Charleston Road: Considerations Summary Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass With or without landscape strip Seale Avenue bicycle and pedestrian crossing Seale Avenue Ramp Alma Street Ramp Rail Committee Motion 59 Rail Committee recommendation to City Council on which alternatives to advance to 15% Design in preparation for environmental review Meadow Drive Hybrid Underpass Charleston Road Hybrid Underpass With Roundabout With Direct Access Ramp