AgdaPkt 2021.02.08 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

From: Grea Greenway To: GRP -City Council Subject: Item 7.A Sequoia Station Date: Monday, February 8, 20214:10:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Members of the City Council: I am writing as a board member of Chamber San Mateo County to comment on item 7.A, the study session on the proposed Redwood City Transit District and Sequoia Station. I understand that no action will be taken tonight and that there will be future processes to address each plan and project. My comments are informed by a "Coffee Talk" held by the Chamber last month, attended by about 70 people. The subject was the relationships among the Redwood City Transit District, the creation of a new Redwood City Caltrain Station, and the proposed Sequoia Station development. The community conversation about the specifics of Sequoia Station will continue over time. The proposed project will deliver significant benefits in whatever form it takes: affordable housing, child care, public space, retail shopping, office space, and the long-awaited connection between Downtown and EI Camino. My main comment: I want to emphasize the critical connection between development of this site and the future of local and regional transit. In short, there can be no Transit District or improved Caltrain station without the development of Sequoia Station. With Caltrain electrification and the eventual arrival of high-speed rail, Redwood City will be the central hub of mass transit between San Francisco and San Jose. The future -oriented vision of clean, efficient transportation for the Peninsula can only be realized if this site is developed to enable and support a new transit station and transit district. An economically viable project will allow the station to be built. A synchronized planning process for Sequoia Station will enable the City to plan for the Transit District. A place where people live, work and shop will validate the case for locating a mid -Peninsula Caltrain station in Redwood City. My takeaway from the Chamber Coffee Talk was that local and regional benefits are mutually reinforcing. It is critical for regional transportation that Redwood City move the Sequoia Station process forward. It is critical for Redwood City residents that planning for the Caltrain Station and the Transit District move forward.