The California High Speed Rail Authority’s plan to run its trains up the Peninsula along the Caltrain corridor has not exactly been met with great enthusiasm.

Some cities have even sued the rail authority in an attempt to keep all the construction related to the project in the East Bay or to have the final stop be in San Jose rather than San Francisco.

Mike Garvey is handling outreach for the rail authority in San Mateo County and made his first foray into Belmont this past week.

He presented the Belmont Outreach Plan to the City Council Tuesday, detailing the objectives and strategies the authority has for the region over the next two years including the alternatives analysis for how the rail might look, the draft environmental impact report and final EIR scheduled to be completed by January 2012.

“I am here to encourage public input,” Garvey said. Garvey is the former city manager of San Carlos and is not an employee of the rail authority but rather an independent contractor.

Funding for the project was approved by voters in November with the passage of Proposition 1A, which will raise $9.6 billion for the project.

“A lot of people, even if they voted for Prop. 1A, put no thought into the details. Some are concerned with elevated platforms or other issues. There has been contentious but healthy debate on the topic,” Garvey said.

His advice to those nervous about the project was “relax, don’t panic.”

Garvey is collecting comments, both pro and con, from the public that will help the authority establish up to five alternatives for how high-speed trains will run up the Peninsula. One of the alternatives is the “no-build” option, Garvey said.

Although the authority and Caltrain have an agreement for the high-speed trains to use the Caltrain corridor, many on the Peninsula have lined up against that option.

Members of the Belmont City Council wondered aloud whether the trains had to come up the Peninsula.

Councilman Warren Lieberman asked Garvey whether the trains could end in San Jose and have commuters use either Caltrain to get to San Francisco or configure the tracks so the high-speed trains could come up the Peninsula at a slower pace and using existing tracks.

“That option would reduce the level of disruption to the community,” Lieberman said.

Councilwoman Christine Wozniak said it seems sometimes that the rail authority has a bias toward certain alternatives. She requested all the alternatives be given equal weight when being presented to the public.

She also expressed concern for Belmont’s redevelopment plans along the Caltrain corridor at Ralston Avenue and said the high-speed trains could eventually split the town in two.

“There is no direct benefit from high-speed rail to Belmont,” Wozniak said.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.