City of Palo Alto, CA

05/03/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/03/2024 17:58

Track Upcoming Rail Grade Separation Discussions

Track Upcoming Rail Grade Separation Discussions

Published on May 03, 2024

Join the conversation about the City's rail grade separations.

There are several rail meetings coming up, potentially leading to Council approval of narrowing alternatives in June.

The City's effort, called 'Connecting Palo Alto,' is a community-based process to address Palo Alto's rail crossings due to the increased traffic congestion expected when Caltrain electrifies the tracks and runs more trains through the corridor.

There are seven streets where people and vehicles can cross the railroad tracks in Palo Alto. Three of these intersections, called grade crossings, are above the road and already grade separated, while others cross the tracks at the same level. Discussions underway seek to address four at-grade crossings including Palo Alto Avenue, Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road. Traffic congestion is expected to increase at all four of these locations as Caltrain begins to run electric trains on a more frequent schedule and implement their 2040 Business Plan.

The City is actively studying alternatives to improve traffic circulation and increase public safety. The City Council established a sub-committee of the Council called the Rail Committee to advance the City's rail grade separations progress. Track discussions taking place, learn how to share feedback, and more through the following update.

April 2024 Rail Committee Discussion Summary- NEW!

In mid-April, the Rail Committee took the following actions:

  • Selected Seale Avenue as the preferred crossing for bicycles and pedestrians as part of the Churchill Ave. Partial Underpass Alternative.
  • Recommended the Underpass Alternative and Hybrid Alternative at Meadow Drive and Charleston Road as the preferred options to advance for the Council to consider and move to the Preliminary Engineering review phase.

The Committee also recommended to consider the following elements for Underpass Alternatives at all crossings during the Preliminary Engineering phase:

  • Seek ways to reduce property impacts
  • Optimize bike/pedestrian crossings
  • Where feasible, improve connections to bike infrastructure beyond the study area to improve the network including improving the connection to Park Blvd and exploring modifications/refinements to the Bike Blvd and along Park Blvd to improve overall bike network.
  • Further refine the traffic circle on Charleston Road to reduce the property impacts
  • Refine construction impacts to better understand possible mutations needed during the lengthy construction process.

Join the Conversation at upcoming rail discussions

Timeline & Next Steps

  • April 29: City Council held a Study Session to discuss rail grade separation details, in advance of possible action in June.
  • May 23: Rail Committee Discussion & Possible Action. Meetings are held at 2:30 p.m. in-person at City Hall in the Community Meeting Room, and both in-person and virtual participation available.When agendas are posted, meeting materials can be found here.
  • June 10*: Council Consideration advancing recommendations to the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Documentation phase. Council meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. in-person at City Council Chambers and both in-person and virtual participation available.The June meeting materials will be published two weeks in advance here.

*tentative date

Learn More & Ways to Share Feedback

Read the April Rail Committee Staff Report

Read the City Council Study Session Meeting Materials

Email the Council at [email protected]

Attend Council or Rail Committee Meetings In-Person or Virtually. Find Meeting Dates, Materials and More

Timeline from March 19 Rail Committee Staff Presentation

Rail CommitteeCouncil AgendasConnecting Palo AltoTransportation Newsletter Signup