Letter: San Mateo should pay attention

The San Mateo City Council and city manager have been sitting idly by while others plan the biggest change to San Mateo since the Bayshore freeway. The California High Speed Rail Authority has been planning how it’s going to come through town: Above grade or in a tunnel. Depending on which option the authority chooses, the project could leave a massive, 30-foot-high wall with 100+ mph trains screaming by on top of it. It could require closing or relocating downtown businesses, like the movie theater, and seizing property through eminent domain. Or it could replace the Caltrain line with an underground tunnel, topped by a pleasant, public greenway for all to enjoy. The city, and everyone living in it, most definitely has a stake in the outcome of that decision.

Remember that the high-speed train will have no direct benefit to San Mateo at all, as the nearest stop will be in Redwood City. Neighboring towns have already begun to take action, including Burlingame, Belmont, Menlo Park, Atherton and Palo Alto. Some have even filed suit against the HSR Authority. Burlingame has created an action plan and has reached out to San Mateo City Manager Susan Loftus for help. But from San Mateo? Not a peep. This is a project that will affect property values through much of San Mateo (and, by extension, tax revenues). It will affect the quality of life for many residents, and could change the character of the town for the next 100 years. Why has the city been silent on this matter?

Dylan Tweney

San Mateo