CCMIN020502 - Laserfiche WebLink

Roger MeLain, 1787 Beachwood Way, said in all his years of community service, including four years on the Housing Authority, four years on the Planning Conunission, a year on the City Council and for the last few years on the Specific Plan Committee, he has never encountered such a filibustering group as the PLA. Their spokesperson continues to refer to the 1996 advisory measure and cites that 75% of the voters like the idea of bringing trains to downtown. What he didn't say from the ballot language was "at no cost to the city." Years ago, the downtown was split by two railroad tracks with multiple grade crossings which made it impossible for emergency vehicles to navigate the area to respond to alarms. At a cost of over $9 million, the City of Pleasanton and the County of Alameda built two grade separations to allow rapid emergency response to all areas of the city. Even if the tracks were only used on Sunday, and they will be used much more often as set forth on the PLA website, there will be a major traffic problem. No information has been provided on how the PLA can fund the Bernal crossings and suitable paving to allow rail, trail, and safe pedestrian use on the right of way. Their track record for maintenance is very poor. A local rail advocate had to be threatened by Alameda County to remove abandoned rail cars at the historic railroad station. The City had to force PLA to remove illegal signs and trash at Bemal Avenue. Not once in all the PLA testimony have they offered any kind of compromise. Bob Grove, 28 Grey Eagle Court, noted how passionate the residents feel about the issue of the excursion train coming into downtown Pleasanton. Those in favor state how downtown can become an even more unique and wonderful area and those opposed to bringing the train north of Bernal spoke equally passionately about what they feel are serious problems the train may bring. An issue that generates such strong feelings and interest deserves truly thorough review by the City Council and residents. In the 26 years he has lived here, he has not seen an issue as important as this. He felt the best course of action was to approve the Downtown Specific Plan with an amendment that leaves open the question as to whether the train comes north of Bernal until everyone can be certain the right decision is being made. Fred Krichbaum, 303 Neal Street, said he has lived here for 35 years and 27 years were spent on Neal Street, so he has a special interest in the downtown area. He presented pictures he had taken at the Sunol railroad station. He did not want that kind of railroad debris in the downtown area. Pleasanton has tried to be a first class community and has spent a lot of time and money to accomplish that. He felt the PLA was not a first class organization and did not want the train anywhere near downtown. If it does come to Pleasanton, he wanted it to stop at Junipem. This debate has been going on forever and it is time to put it to rest. Gary Dove, 5267 Meadowwood Court, indicated he was chair of the Parks and Trails Master Plan Committee and has worked on the Downtown Specific Plan Committee. This has been a long process because the committee took time to listen to people. He presented the analogy of the Transportation Corridor being like the axle of a wheel with all the spokes coming from it. He said he has heard discussions about the train at least five different times over the years and related the incidents. This issue has been extensively covered. The same questions and issues come up over and over again and there are still no answers. How many times will the train run? The Committee did not recommend any place other than south of Bernal because that was outside the scope of the Committee's mission. He was surprised that the PLA suggested to the Planning Commission that the City buy the Transportation Corridor and that they be given Pleasanton City Council 12 Minutes 02/05/02