Maybe it was a simple oversight. Maybe not.
But it was rather curious to note that last week’s 1,500-word, official announcement of the impending retirement of Mike Scanlon, the hard-charging general manager of the San Mateo County Transit District (which operates Caltrain and SamTrans), did not specifically point out his considerable history with high-speed rail and its potential impact here at all. Not one syllable, not so much as a strong hint.
High-speed rail, of course, continues to be the elephant in the local roundhouse. That’s because Scanlon’s Caltrain component is now firmly in bed with the state’s grandiose, controversial plan to create an electrified fast train system linking the Bay Area with Southern California.
Scanlon and the appointed members of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board pushed to have the use of Caltrain’s vital right-of-way shared with the high-speed setup if it comes to fruition sometime in the future.
In return, Caltrain’s electrification project will be partially funded by taxpayer monies obtained from HSR. But the devil, as they say, will be in the details because the state’s rail proposal would have significant impacts throughout the Peninsula, not all of them necessarily pleasant.
An expansion of the rail line at several key points, along with new grade separations and increased crossing-gate down times, would be just three such issues.
A preferred high-speed alignment (at least four total tracks, two for Caltrain, two for HSR), revealed several years ago by HSR officials, would impose massive viaducts/berms through much of the Peninsula south of Millbrae but that option engendered a concerted outcry from county officials and an eventual agreement was reached to take that divisive alternative off the table. For now.
Instead, Caltrain is to share its tracks with HSR, a so-called “blended” approach. Whether the viaducts/berms plan will resurface in the future remains to be seen. But influential people like former high-speed honcho Quentin Kopp, among others, continue to lobby hard for the four-track system.
In any event, no one can say that Scanlon’s 15-year tenure here has been boring.
A large, burly fellow with a booming voice, he has been a commanding presence here; he has been rarely shy about expressing his opinions and quashing criticism and he has been particularly effective at keeping the prying media at arm’s length whenever controversy erupted.
Under his aggressive leadership Caltrain has experienced a big boost in ridership; the district’s finances have been stabilized as well.
His local accomplishments have been well-documented. It’s just strange that his, and Caltrain’s, important relationship with the high-speed project got no mention at all last week.
St. Peter’s Church
Congratulations to the congregation at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Redwood City.
One of the oldest churches in San Mateo County is celebrating its 150th anniversary Sept. 13. St. Peter’s was officially founded during the U.S. Civil War in 1964. That was four years before Redwood City was incorporated as a California town.
The Sept. 13 observation will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will include “a walk through 150 years of history” and a documentary film detailing the church’s past, present and future.
The public is invited but interested individuals should call first; the number is 650-367-0777.
St. Peter’s is located at 178 Clinton St. near downtown Redwood City.
John Horgan’s column appears Thursdays. You can contact him by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com or by regular mail at P.O. Box 117083, Burlingame, CA 94011.
