Many folks have heard of the term “preferred options.” The City of San Mateo identified our City’s preferred options over the course of several years and through multiple transportation studies.

Prior to formal HSR studies, the City of San Mateo was working with various state and county transportation agencies on studies to determine transportation priorities for our train system. Read more about our history of involvement.

Caltrain and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority
As part of identifying “grade separation” priorities for Measure A, Caltrain and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) performed several “foot print” studies throughout the County of San Mateo.

The Footprint Studies were performed by the Transportation Authority with input from the PCJPB and local agencies.  The City of San Mateo City Council reviewed the Footprint Study for the segment between Belmont and the Hayward Park Station at a Study Session on February 12, 2008.  The Footprint Study for the segment between the Hayward Park Station and the Burlingame City Limit was reviewed at an April 6, 2009 City Council Study Session.

After studying various options evaluated by the SMC Transportation Authority, the City Council identified the preferred alignments as:

• Belmont to Hayward Park – Raised alignment with new grade separations at 31st and 28th Avenues and a grade separation at the existing at-grade crossing at 25th Avenue.
• Downtown Segment – The City Council reaffirmed its preference for a depressed alignment through downtown San Mateo.  The rail alignment north of downtown would depend on the alignment selected in Burlingame. The City Council asked that the HSRA investigate use of tunneling to construct the below grade alignment.

The Footprint Studies and the City of San Mateo alignment preferences were shared with the HSRA and have provided a starting point for their design effort.