Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
March 14, 2024 Project# 28476
To: Ozzy, Arce
Palo Alto Office of Transportation
,
From: Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
RE: Seale vs Kellogg Grade Separated Rail Crossing Assessment
Seale vs Kellogg Grade Separated Rail
Crossing Assessment
The BPTP Update consultant team evaluated the merits of each location (Seale and Kellogg) for a grade separated rail crossing based on the following assessment topics:
Prior analyses and plans
Proximity to alternative routes
Landing location
Network connectivity
Community input
The findings of the assessment are presented in Table 1. 155 Grand Avenue, Suite 505
Oakland, CA 94612
P 510.839.1742
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Table 1 Seale vs Kellogg Grade Separated Rail Crossing Assessment Assessment Topic Seale Kellogg
Prior analysis and plans The 2012 BPTP identifies Seale Avenue as a recommended location for an across barrier
connection.
The 2013 Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study
identified Seale Avenue a potential crossing
location.
The 2021 XCAP Report identified the addition
of a bike/ped crossing at Seale as a general
potential mitigation for the Churchill grade
separation. This option was selected with
mitigation.
The 2012 BPTP does not identify Kellogg
Avenue as a recommended across barrier
connection or location for a grade separated
rail crossing.
The 2013 Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study
identified Kellogg Avenue a potential crossing
location.
The 2021 XCAP Report included a ped/bike
tunnel as part of concept designs for the
Churchill Avenue Partial Underpass. This option
was not selected.
Proximity to alternative routes Seale Avenue is located about 1,700 feet north of the Cal Ave Tunnel and about 1,850 feet
south of the at-grade rail crossing at Churchill
Ave.
Kellogg Avenue is located about 450 feet north
of the at-grade crossing at Churchill and about
1,200 feet south of the grade-separated rail
crossing at Embarcadero.
Landing locations
There is space available at Peers Park for a
landing.
There is limited space available for a landing at
Paly High School.
Network connectivity
Seale Avenue connects to the Serra Street/Park
Boulevard and Stanford Avenue east-west
bikeways (along with the north-south
Castilleja-Park-Wilkie Bicycle Boulevard) across
Caltrain.
Kellog Avenue connects to the Embarcadero
Bike Path and Bryant Street Bike Boulevard.
Kellog Avenue terminates at Waverley Street
three blocks east of the rail line, limiting utility
of this route as a through connection.
Community input Comments received on the interactive map during the BPTP Update indicate a strong
demand for a grade-separate bike/ped
crossing of Alma and the rail line. Ideas
proposed for a new crossing include an
While comments received on the interactive
map during the BPTP Update indicated
demand for grade separated crossings, they
did not identify Kellogg as a preferred
alignment.
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alignment at Seale under the tracks to Peers
Park.
Churchill Avenue, the crossing nearest to Seale,
was flagged as stressful for cyclists and
pedestrians, indicating a lower stress route is
desired. A grade separated crossing at Seale
would provide an alternate low-stress facility.
Overall The Seale Avenue crossing is supported by
prior plans and analyses, would fill a longer
gap between alternative crossing locations,
appears to have adequate space for a landing
location, would increase connectivity to the
transportation network, and has been
identified as a potential alignment for a grade-
separated rail crossing in public involvement
efforts for the BPTP Update.
The Kellog Avenue crossing would not fill as
long a gap between crossing locations and
have limited utility in terms of increasing
network connectivity.
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REFERENCES
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BPTP Update – Existing Bicycle Facilities Map
Yellow = pedestrian-involved collisions
Orange = bicycle involved collisions
Red line = Kellog (northwest) and Seale (southeast) crossing locations Green line = bike/ped path access to Paly
BPTP Update – Draft Technical Analyses
o Five-Year (2018-2022) Collisions TIMS
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Rail Crossing Study
o Figure 4.1
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2021 Report of the Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) on Grade Separations for Palo Alto, page 57
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School Catchment Area Maps - https://locator.pea.powerschool.com/?StudyID=171992