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What they're saying on Town Square

New look at grade separations

Posted by Mickie Winkler, a resident of the Willows neighborhood.

There is one grade alternative not yet considered, which is the aerial viaduct option similar to what is installed in San Carlos. Note that this would partially raise the tracks, increase connectivity in Menlo Park, keep all current crossings open and potentially not require a disruptive shoefly during construction. A rendering posted on the city's website shows that the tracks are suspended on posts, such that parking or kiosks can exist underneath, and none of the roadways are closed. We have been told by a professor at Cal-Poly that trellis-style grade separations can be done without creating a shoefly, and without disrupting daytime traffic flows, which would be an extreme plus. The city should at least study this approach.

Posted by confused, a resident of Central Menlo Park

Grade separation like Palo Alto's would fit much better in Menlo Park than what is in San Carlos. The latter isn't going through a residential neighborhood like here. Just one side has housing, and that is separated by a street. Not so in Menlo Park. The ideal is to put the train underground like other civilized countries do in nice communities. The next best is to put the east-west street crossings under the tracks. That should help El Camino traffic, too. Even better would be to figure out how to build undercrossings of both the tracks and El Camino Real. Hard? Expensive? Yes, but the right things to do. Not a time to wimp out.

Posted by Peter B, a resident of the Linfield Oaks neighborhood