Publication Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Caltrain proposal a mixed bag for Palo Alto
Caltrain proposal a mixed bag for Palo Alto
(April 13, 2005) More bullet trains, but fewer stops at California Avenue
by Bill D'Agostino and Carol Palinkas
Palo Alto's Caltrain riders would see a mixed bag of changes if a broad plan to limit overall service, but increase the frequency of popular express trains, is approved.
Palo Alto's University Avenue train station would get more Baby Bullet trains under the proposal, but the California Avenue station would lose approximately 50 percent of its total trains.
Caltrain unveiled the new Baby Bullet trains last June. They aren't faster but reduce travel times by skipping stations.
Thanks to the new express trains, the number of Caltrain riders has increased 16 percent, according to Jayme Kunz, a Caltrain spokesperson. The bullet trains are also a better deal for the transit agency, since they use less fuel but have more riders than local trains.
"Everyone rides the bullet," said Mark Gerow, an IT manager from Menlo Park who boarded one at the University Avenue station last week. "Others are half empty."
The proposal is designed to address Caltrain's projected $13.6 million budget deficit, a result of increased fuel prices and other factors. The Caltrain board is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its April 22 meeting.
The plan calls for increasing the number of Baby Bullet trains stopping at Palo Alto's University Avenue station each workday from 12 to 18.
"The more train services, the better," said San Francisco State University student Kenji Tzshiro, who commutes from Palo Alto. "The bullet is too crowded."
The University Avenue station is the second most popular stop on the Caltrain line. Approximately 2,400 riders board trains there daily.
The budget proposal has received much publicity because four stations on the line are threatened by it: Atherton, College Park in San Jose, Broadway in Burlingame and Paul Avenue in San Francisco would all close. Fares would also increase 25 cents.
Also under the plan, for the first time some new Baby Bullet trains will not stop at Palo Alto, but rather at Menlo Park. Caltrain is proposing to spread the Baby Bullet stops out, Kunz said, because there is limited parking at the current express stations.
Palo Alto city officials are pleased with the proposed increase in local Baby Bullet stops, but concerned about the loss of trains at the California Avenue station.
It's a major destination for employees of Stanford's Research Park, according to Gayle Likens, the city's senior transportation planner. The proposal "will have a greatly detrimental effect on our ability to promote alternate transit to the business community," she said at a public hearing last week.
The ticket station at the California Avenue station would also close under the proposal. Only 834 riders use the station to board trains on an average workday.
Brian Perdue, a produce buyer for Country Sun Natural Foods, said it would "stink" to have fewer trains running near his workplace since he rides the train to various spots on the Peninsula most days.
"I'd hate to be stuck in the place I've been all morning," he said.
For more information on the proposal, visit www.Caltrain.com.
Andrea Gemmet, a reporter with the Almanac, the Weekly's sister paper in Menlo Park, contributed to this report.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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