Redwood City manager addresses Sequoia Station

The letter was also shared on Facebook, which generated significant engagement from the community, mainly from residents who shared the concerns.

The city has been working with Samtrans and Caltrain on improvements, Stevenson Diaz said at the Dec. 16 City Council meeting. These improvements include more frequent pressure washing, daily trash pick up, weekly inspections and newly installed cameras to “monitor criminal activity.”

New plants in areas once used for encampments “has been effective for reducing that activity,” Stevenson Diaz said. Caltrain is also considering a paid fare zone at its station to minimize loitering — individuals would need to show they were in the zone because they bought a ticket and are about to board the train.

While not all incidents are related to people who do not have housing, in instances where they are, Stevenson Diaz said the city is “continuing to provide outreach services.” Stevenson Diaz said homelessness is a top concern of residents.

“We need to recognize that these transit centers don’t just exist in a vacuum, they exist in a community,” Councilmember Jeff Gee said. “We can’t just keep moving people around.”

In her letter, Johnson pointed out that Redwood City has dedicated a substantial amount of resources toward providing services for homeless individuals, but the transit stations suggest they are not being utilized.

“We are a city of big shoulders and have set the standard for homeless services,” Johnson wrote. “On the surface, it appears our County and Transit officials are oblivious to the situation or neglectful at best.”

Stevenson Diaz also shared that Redwood City Police Department — who is responsible for responding to incidents at the stations, while the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office handles matters on the buses or trains — is considering implementing a satellite office space at Sequoia Station to allow for quick response times.

“We need to find a strategy that works that ensures that our riders and community members are safe and don’t feel intimidated or harassed or uncomfortable riding the train,” Gee said. “To get ridership up, we need to make sure people feel safe, not only on the trains or buses, but in our stations too.”