Commuter Rail Extension Alternatives Analysis - Transportation ...

CALTRAIN EXTENSION TO MONTEREY COUNTYALTERNATIVES ANALYSISCounty Regional Transportation Commission, San Benito County, and the cities of Salinas andWatsonville has been meeting to discuss and plan the initial steps to creating this train serviceextension. This project is an outgrowth of their multi-agency coordination.Local and regional agencies representing the study area or portions thereof have conducted manystudies that serve as precursors or complements to this selection of a locally preferred alternative.The project has been coordinated with the Union Pacific Railroad, the Peninsula Corridor JointPowers Board, Caltrans, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the City of Salinas, theRedevelopment Agency of Monterey County, Monterey–Salinas Transit, the City of Watsonville, theSanta Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan TransitDistrict.Specific ongoing efforts include the City of Salinas’ plans for intensified transit-oriented developmentnear the Salinas station site, Caltrans’ plans for upgrading SR 156 east of Castroville Boulevard, theCastroville Community Plan, the Pajaro Community Plan, Union Pacific’s short- and long-term plansfor freight and yard operations, and the California Passenger Rail System Five-Year ImprovementPlan.SELECTION OF THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVEThe results of this Alternatives Analysis study indicate that the Caltrain Extension to MontereyCounty is the most cost-effective alternative for serving inter-county commuters to SiliconValley and providing access to educational and health care resources in the San FranciscoBay Area. Selection of this option will meet the purpose and need of the proposed investment by providingadditional transportation capacity in the U.S. 101 travel corridor. Further, selection of the CaltrainExtension modal option can increase capacity over and above that defined for the CaltrainExtension Alternative by increasing the length of the trains and/or increasing the number of trains.The Caltrain Extension Alternative is also superior to the Express Bus Alternative for stimulating thelocal economy and supporting transit-oriented development.For the purpose of evaluating project worthiness, the Federal Transit Administration requires thatproject applicants for federal “New Starts” discretionary funding provide comparative information on aExpress Bus or “best bus” alternative. For this reason, performance characteristics of a “baseline”alternative have been included in this study along with those of the Caltrain Extension Alternative andthe minimum operating segment of the Caltrain Extension Alternative.Based on the array of technical information, evaluation findings and public input, a key outcome ofthe detailed Alternatives Analysis is the selection of a preferred long-term strategy for the corridor.The long-term strategy is defined as investments required to address the 2030 planning horizon. As asubcomponent of the locally preferred alternative, a reduced scope alternative is defined to addressnear term, opening year needs. This reduced scope alternative is known as the “minimum operatingsegment.” The minimum operating segment must address the purpose and need for the project withinthe context of near-term demographic and travel conditions. For the purpose of this study, the neartermminimum operating segment is defined for 2010 conditions.Three stations would initially be constructed as proposed for the full Caltrain Extension Alternative.Parking supplies would be reduced, however, commensurate with ridership expectations for the2010–2015 initial years of service operation. Other aspects of the minimum operating segment wouldbe as defined for the full Caltrain Extension Alternative.parsons EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-12