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I <br />REPOR <br />To the Honorable Mayo# and City Council <br />From Council Member Ruskin <br />December 8, 2003 <br />Subject <br />California High Speed Rail Route <br />Recommendation <br />Information only. <br />Background <br />High speed rail is an excellent concept and will offer great benefits to our region and <br />state. This is an issue of importance to the people of Redwood City, from an <br />environmental and transportation standpoint. Redwood City has had a continual <br />interest and concern for the environment. In addition, we have taken a prominent role <br />in regional transportation issues, with Council representatives on CCAG, the <br />Transportation Authority, SamTrans and involved in Ferry service development. <br />It is therefore important to us that High Speed Rail be implemented in a way that <br />provides a good transportation solution and in as environmentally sensitive a manner as <br />possible. This means following existing transportation or utility alignments as much as <br />possible, minimizing sprawl- inducing design choices, and preserving existing wildlife <br />corridors. <br />There are four routes being considered for connecting the Los Banos station with Gilroy <br />through the Diablo Range. Two of these routes go directly through Henry Coe State <br />Park. cutting the Orestimba Wilderness in half. These routes should be unacceptable. <br />Southern alignments may be acceptable. The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) <br />will make a definitive evaluation. <br />Pacheco Pass and Altamont Pass are two possible routes for linking the Central Valley <br />to the Bay Area. However, the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) identified only the <br />Pacheco Pass alternative for review in its Final Business Plan in June of 2000 and the <br />upcoming DEIR. Yet, even the HSRA acknowledged that the Pacheco Pass option <br />would have more negative environmental impacts compared to the alternative, Altamont <br />Pass. CEQA guidelines clearly call for a reasonable range of alternatives to be <br />considered in the environmental review process. This can only be achieved with the <br />inclusion of Altamont Pass in the review process. The Altamont Pass option also offers <br />significant transportation system advantages. <br />I will make a presentation about these issues at the Council meeting. <br />Ira Ruskin <br />Council Member <br />