In the fall of 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A, an ambitious plan to construct a high-speed rail (HSR) network that would allow passengers to make the 432-mile journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a mere two hours and 38 minutes. The plan calls for one station in the mid-peninsula, located either in Palo Alto (near Caltrain), Redwood City or Mountain View. Construction on the rail line is set to begin before 2012, but resistance from mid-peninsula communities threatens to delay the segment linking San Francisco with San Jose and the rest of the rail network. Mid-peninsula communities cannot legally stop construction of the rail line, but they do have a say in where or if a local station is built.
On Oct. 25, the Palo Alto City Council voted to tell the California High Speed Rail authority that it does not want to be considered for a station. The council’s concerns echoed those voiced by Stanford on Sept. 20 when the University claimed that “the city and its surroundings have very little available traffic and parking capacity for such a facility…and a station for HSR would not, in our view, constitute a priority justifying further reduction of this limited capacity.” The problems associated with a new parking garage and heavier local traffic are substantial, but compared to the benefits an HSR station offers, they are insignificant.
The presence of a local HSR station would allow Palo Alto residents and the Stanford community eight-minute access to San Francisco International Airport. This is a vast improvement over the current system, which requires two train rides, can take well over an hour and often confuses infrequent travelers. The station would also provide 20-minute trips to downtown San Francisco and a two hour, 21 minute travel time to Los Angeles.
Silicon Valley, especially Stanford and Palo Alto, is having trouble providing housing to workers who cannot afford the high local real estate prices. An HSR station in the mid-peninsula would give workers another transportation choice and significantly reduce the gridlock on Interstate 280 and Highway 101. More traffic around the station would be a small price to pay for a fast alternative to car travel and clearer highways to boot.
The HSR station would also provide more direct economic benefits, such as large increases in foot traffic to local businesses and higher property values downtown. Building the station elsewhere would shift these benefits away from Palo Alto to another city, which is perfectly reasonable. However, alternative locations cannot offer easy access to Stanford for students, tourists and professors. Redwood City and Mountain View cannot boast an attraction like Stanford, and neither city has as much difficulty bringing in workers as Stanford and Palo Alto.
In our opinion, passing up the opportunity to fully integrate Stanford and Palo Alto with the rest of California because of fears that a parking structure will be unsightly or that there will be more traffic around University Avenue is woefully shortsighted. If we want Stanford and Palo Alto to remain the region’s focal point, all parties involved should work to make an HSR station near University Avenue a reality