Rail Workshop Focuses on Finalizing Station Alignments

The City of Gilroy held its fourth community workshop titled, “Finalizing the Vision,” at Gilroy High School’s student center Wednesday evening.

At the workshop, around 40 spectators listened to David Early, planning consultant for The Planning Center, as he presented four conceptual station visions based on potential vertical train alignments for Gilroy.

Two options detailed downtown stations, with the first one (DT1) being at ground level and the second (DT2) consisting of a trench-like structure resembling a freeway overpass. The other two station options consisted of alignments on the east side of the Gilroy outlets, with one being at grade level (EG1) and the other aerial (EG2).

DT1 would have 6,400 parking spaces dedicated to rails users, with parking structures scatted along Alexander and Chestnut Streets, while DT2 would have parking structures on 10th and Alexander with 7200 joint-use parking spaces.

EGI would have development west of the station and north of Leavesley Road, and would have 7100 joint-use parking spaces, while EG2 would be built on a grid-like network of streets elevated above ground, and would have 8400 joint-use parking spaces.

The consequence of the east-side stations is that they’d require more development, with both stations consuming some the Gilroy’s agricultural land, according to the center’s presentation.

The downtown station options would also require substantial development, but would contribute more residential and retail space, as would EG2, with the potential of greater sales tax revenue being generated from travelers, Early said.

After the presentation, attendees were asked to form small groups and discuss the pros and cons of each option. Group members then presented their number one station of choice, with the DT1 being the prevailing option. 

“It seems that there’s a fairly strong consensus that the at-grade option would in fact be better, provided that there are adequate sound walls and perhaps other visual shielding for the tracks,” facilitator for The Planning Center, Eric Panzer, said of one of the groups.

Resident Betsy Wesmer said the downtown at-grade option is her choice because it would allow for easier travel.

“I think the modified at-grade would actually make the travel through town a little bit easier than it is now, and having it downtown, rather than way out in the east, would also allow communication with the bus, and the other trains and the people driving in over Pacheco,” she said.

Aside from parking, another big factor for attendees in choosing the station is the cost, which ranges from a low of $0.97 billion for DT1, to a high of $1.19 billion for DT2, although the city's expected contribution would be far less.

Panzer said that EG1 would be the only option casting a significant financial obligation over the city in regard to the rail's track construction. In this case, the city would pay $70 million for the construction of road overpasses for the at-grade track.”

A breakdown of the four station visions detailed at the meeting should be available on the Gilroy High Speed Train Station Visioning Project website by the end of the week.

Early said the feedback from Wednesday’s workshop will be incorporated into the concepts they’ll present to the Gilroy City Council in December.