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City Council
Supplemental Report
From: Ed Shikada, City Manager
Meeting Date: May 11, 2026
Item Number: 8
Report #:2604-6305
TITLE
Expedited Evaluation of the Potential Temporary Closure of the Churchill Avenue Rail Crossing, Determination of Next Steps, and CEQA Status – Statutorily and Categorically Exempt.
RECOMMENDATION
Continue the expedited evaluation of the Churchill Avenue temporary rail crossing closure agenda item from the City Council meeting on April 15, 2026, as recommended by the Rail Safety Ad Hoc Committee to May 11, 2026, to finalize direction.
BACKGROUND
At the April 15, 2026, City Council meeting, the Rail Safety Ad Hoc Committee recommended that after receiving the evaluation and public input of the expedited evaluation of the Churchill Avenue temporary rail closure, the City Council continue the agenda item to the May 11, 2026, City Council meeting to finalize direction.
This Supplemental Report addresses questions requiring follow-up from the City Council meeting on April 15.
Quiet Zones Timeline
Quiet Zone implementation along the Caltrain corridor is a City Council priority. The Quiet Zone effort is planned to be implemented in two phases: 1) Palo Alto Avenue (Alma Street) crossing; and 2) Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road crossings.
For the Palo Alto Avenue crossing, design was completed in 2025, and required improvements are under construction. Next steps consist of staff seeking final review by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) staff before issuing the Notice of Establishment (NOE) expected in summer 2026.
For the Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road crossings, Quiet Zone implementation involves installation of four quadrant gate systems at each of these three
Item No. 8. Page 2 of 2
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crossings. The study was completed in 2025 and the conceptual plan for improvements was approved by the City Council on November 10, 2025. Staff is collaborating with Caltrain as the City will complete the design and Caltrain will implement the construction. The initial estimated cost for all three crossings is $5.7 million. The project design is currently funded in FY 2027 ($0.4 million) and FY 2028 ($1 million), with construction funded in FY 2029 ($4.2 million) and 2030 ($0.1 million) based on the availability of Measure K funding, the local business tax measure that includes funding for rail grade separation and safety improvements.
The following strategies have been considered for potential acceleration of the delivery timeline:
Project Design and Construction by Caltrain: This alternative was previously considered; however, due to limited staffing resources at Caltrain, it was determined that the City should complete the design before transferring the project to Caltrain for construction.
Additionally, the FRA requires that Quiet Zone requests be submitted by the local agency. Caltrain recommended that the City secure all necessary CPUC and FRA reviews and approvals prior to transitioning the project.
Process Efficiency and Streamlining in the Design Phase: The design phase includes procurement, agreement execution, and regulatory reviews. Procurement typically takes 3–6 months, while agreements with Caltrain require Rail Committee review and City Council approval. Negotiations, coordination, agendizing and approvals can be time- consuming and/or resource intensive. These activities could be streamlined by securing earlier funding availability (such as consolidating both phases of design into FY 2027) and providing the City Manager with authority to proceed with a solicitation exemption, negotiations, and contract execution. These actions could accelerate the project design timeline from 18 months to approximately 10 months.
Allocate Dedicated Staff to Accelerate Implementation: The Office of Transportation has currently engaged an hourly project manager to advance efforts associated with the Churchill Ave evaluation of the potential temporary closure project. This position utilizes salary savings associated with current vacancies. To continue to accelerate this work into the next fiscal year following successful recruitment efforts, funding would be needed for a limited term position or ongoing hourly project manager.
JED Foundation:
JED completed the final listening sessions virtually in April. JED is compiling all the research including the information from the stakeholder sessions, listening sessions, and focus groups to complete their assessment report. Staff anticipates this report will be published in late June 2026 by the JED Foundation team.
APPROVED BY: Ed Shikada, City Manager