Bullet train reveals impacts

The report, which applies to the segment of the project between San Francisco and San Jose, includes two project alternatives: Alternative A and Alternative B. In both alternatives, bullet trains would travel on the existing Caltrain corridor, though Alternative B includes a six-mile passing track through San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos and into the northern portion of Redwood City. That’s in part why Alternative B would displace more properties.

Alternative A, which the California High-Speed Rail Authority has identified as the preferred alternative, would displace 14 homes and 48 businesses while Alternative B would displace between 40 and 62 homes and between 171 and 202 businesses, according to the report.  

According to the report, there are “sufficient residential relocation resources in the specific communities where displacements would occur for displaced residents to relocate within the same community.”

“[That] would prevent the loss of community character and cohesion,” the report states, but added some businesses in Belmont and Millbrae may be unable to relocate within the same community in both project alternatives.

Boris Lipkin, Northern California regional director at California High-Speed Rail Authority, said he expects to hear from the affected communities once they’ve had a chance to read the report.

“Property impacts are always a concern so I’m sure especially those places in Alternative B that have higher levels of impacts with passing tracks we’ll hear a bit about that,” he said, adding Alternative A is preferred in large part because it would impact fewer properties. “We want to minimize any effects we have.”

Millbrae officials have already expressed concerns about property impacts. In May, the City Council drafted a letter to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, claiming its plans in the city threaten both planned and existing homes near the city’s train station — the only high-speed rail one planned in the county.  

“This proposed plan is not only a destruction of approved housing, but of existing housing and the commercial viability of the city of Millbrae,” Councilwoman Gina Papan said at a City Council meeting May 12.

In addition to displacement, the report outlines a variety of other impacts, including temporary noise and vibration during construction, particularly in San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos and Redwood City. And once the project is complete, residents near the corridor will have to get used to noise impacts from the trains and their horns, the report notes.

Initiated in 2008, the California High-Speed Rail Authority aims to create a fast railroad system connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles with trains traveling up to 220 mph.

The approximately 49 miles of the San Francisco to San Jose section would provide service between the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco and the San Jose Diridon Station along the Caltrain Corridor primarily on a shared, two-track configuration. Initially, high-speed trains would stop at the Fourth and King Street Station in San Francisco and further to the new transit center once the Transbay Joint Powers Authority completes its Downtown Extension Project.

Each alternative includes high-speed rail stations in San Francisco, Millbrae and San Jose, with a light maintenance facility on either the east or west side of Brisbane.

Service is scheduled to begin by 2029, but only about one quarter of the $80 million budget has thus far been secured.

The EIR for the segment of the project between San Francisco and San Jose is currently in its 45-day public comment period extending to Aug. 24. Community meetings are scheduled this month in each of the relevant counties. 

High-Speed Rail Authority staff over the next year will review feedback on the draft EIR and a final version of the document will be considered by the board of directors in fall of 2021.    

Go to hsr.ca.gov to see the report and for more information.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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