So you ditch the Palo Alto Humane service because you could "maybe" save 40,000 a year. Then you spend 500,000 for a "study" for high speed rail that should now happen anyway. Hmmmmmm

NOT

Elevating Calderon might work, except that where would it go on the other side? There is no north-south street to align with on the north side. This also would be a massive bridge, just as tall (even if narrower) than the Shoreline and Whisman overcrossings so that the trains could clear underneath.

Separating Rengstorff is absolutely necessary due to safety and congestion concerns. That is one of government's primary missions, keeping citizens safe, and this is a tricky corner because of the multiple jurisdictions [city street, county expressway, Caltrain]. It's only a matter of time before something horrible happens there.

@Mary: That's $500K to study grade separation of the CALTRAIN corridor, which will be there regardless of whether high-speed rail shows up.

In my opinion, I always hoped that pushing Caltrain below grade would help to extend the downtown corridor across Central towards Moffett, but I could be wrong.

Day-to-day the intersection at Central and Rengstorff is probably the worst one in Mountain View for congestion.

A grade separation for Caltrain and HSR usage at Rengstorff at Central Expressway is ABOUT TIME. This intersection is my most hated intersection in Mtn. View. I will be real happy when the work is finished.

Is it possible to create a grade separation that is friendly to pedestrians? Existing grade separations like San Antonio Road are really awful for pedestrians. Grade separations turn neighborhood roads into the equivalent of freeway interchanges with cars coming at pedestrians from all directions and at high speeds. I am not convinced that this is a real safety improvement for the city.

Hooray! Get it done! Yes, Rengstorff & Central is the worst intersection in MV. I sometimes wonder how much of the air quality improvement due people riding the train is offset by the idling vehicles delayed at grade crossings like Rengstorff. And electrify it too! It's appalling that the city Google calls home has a 19th century railroad running through it.

HSR will never happen. This is all just a waste of money. I agree that an underpass on Rengstorf will turn the street into an expressway.

Thank you, City Council for finally taking grade separation seriously. In my opinion, grade separation is needed for every Mountain View street that crosses the Caltrain tracks.

The study for the Rengstorff crossing is a good start but it should be a guide for the Castro crossing, and I'd like to see the San Antonio crossing improved as well. In all three cases, my preference is for the street to go under the tracks but I expect the Council to make their decision based on the study results, not my preference.

The Council has apparently decided that the Caltrain corridor will stay at its current elevation whether High Speed Rail comes or not. That may be correct, but the rail bed is more likely to be raised than lowered, and the Council should be prepared to rebuild San Antonio, Shoreline, Stevens Creek Trail and Whisman, not to mention the biggies, 85 and 237. Luckily, 85 and 237 are not Mountain View responsibilities.

@Doug: I don't think that's right.

Web Link

Central Expressway needs to be made a city street, an interchange where it meets Middlefield Rd. Improvements to Middlefield Rd will have to be done.

What I read on the Caltrain site, a platform needs to be built so riders can enter and exit northbound trains without crossing southbound tracks, this is a must even if we don't get High Speed Rail.

Do we lose the 1 block section of Castro St, do we teardown some buildings, or take Evelyn St where it would meet up with Villa St, if so where would this meet take place.

Tress will be cut down, so do we start figuring out how many and what trees.

The Cost will be high, what will it look like, will impact the residents, drive businesses out.

Study now, lets see some options and some plans