A Planning Ride-Along

By James A. Castañeda, AICP

Standing under a freeway overpass in the early morning fog, I await the next southbound train. As I spot the headlight in the distance, I hope I get on one of the newer, comfortable Bombardier cars, but any place to sit will do. Stepping aboard, I'm welcomed by the familiar "caution, doors are about to close" message, and as we roll away, I join the rest of my 6:30 a.m. commuting family watching the predawn light illuminate the San Francisco Bay.

I've ridden Caltrain, the commuter service rail between San Francisco and south of San Jose, nearly every workday since starting my job as a planner with San Mateo County 13 years ago. As a system, Caltrain has evolved and adapted to changes along the line, including a doubling of ridership in the last decade, primarily due to the substantial growth in the region.

The agency continues to meet growth head-on, breaking ground on the $1.9 billion modernization project called CalMod in 2017. "Given that the region continues to expand, Caltrain needs to expand with it," Dan Lieberman, public affairs specialist for Caltrain, told me recently. A major objective for CalMod is to electrify the system (it currently runs on diesel-powered equipment) to allow more frequent and faster train service, reduce noise, improve regional air quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CalMod is also expected to foster economic benefits for the region and encourage even greater transit ridership by 2022.

Progress in planning is often measured in years, and over the last 13, I've seen progress on my ride between San Francisco and Redwood City, the county seat of San Mateo County. Some changes have taken decades, others are starting now, and still others are visions of what could be.

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Riding the Caltrain Rails

The commuter route has been operational since 1863. I started riding it in 2006.

32 stations

77 miles

29 locomotives

65,000 average weekday daily ridership, 2018

34,120 average weekday daily ridership, 2010

7.76 million 2018 Bay Area population

7.15 million 2010 Bay Area population

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A Planning Ride Along: Caltrain's Past, Present, and Future

PAST: Industrial to Accessible

22nd Street / Dogpatch

1. Once a manufacturing hub, San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood is still home to numerous light-industrial businesses. But ongoing planning efforts, such as the Central Waterfront/Dogpatch Public Realm Plan adopted in 2018, are fostering its transformation to a mixed use, working neighborhood. Residents are seeing other changes too: improved biking and walking lanes, better street infrastructure, more open space, and leveraging of its proximity to Caltrain.

PAST: San Mateo Bay Meadows Development

2. Twenty miles down the line, in San Mateo, the transformation of the former Bay Meadows Racetrack, which closed in 2008, comes into view. Today, it is a walkable, transit-oriented community. Part of the 83-acre Bay Meadows Specific Plan, the project is just over two-thirds complete, with 1,145 residential units, five large office buildings, and 18 acres of park and open space. Caltrain is raising the tracks there to provide grade separation and introduce street connectivity. The Hillsdale Station will also be raised to provide even more accessibility.

PAST: San Carlos Transit Village project

3. This Romanesque revival-style train station was once surrounded by parking and vacant lots, but now anchors transit-oriented, mixed use development. The site will eventually house eight new buildings featuring 202 multifamily rental units, two commercial buildings for office and retail use, and a new plaza. Under way now is the redevelopment of a station parking lot into a multimodal transit center connecting SamTrans buses (providing service throughout San Mateo County), Caltrain commuter rail, and local shuttles.

PAST: Downtown Redwood City

4. Halfway between San Francisco and San Jose (and at the end of my 36-minute commute) this county seat once dubbed "Deadwood City" has boomed into a tech hub on the Peninsula. Over the last decade, Redwood City has revived its downtown by introducing a mix of uses in this highly strategic location, creating an attractive and walkable district. The ambitious Redwood City Downtown Precise Plan aims to add 2,500 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail, 670,000 square feet of office space, and 200 hotel rooms.

PRESENT: UPGRADES AND MODERNIZATION

Extension to Salesforce Transit Center

5. Efforts are under way to bring Caltrain — as well as high-speed rail — to the recently completed Salesforce Transit Center, the existing terminus and rail yard in San Francisco's SOMA district. While firm plans have yet to emerge, the area is ripe for significant development. San Francisco has already published a 4th & King Street Railyards Study to identify future development that could occur once planners determine how to modify or relocate certain current activities at the site.

PRESENT: Brisbane Baylands

6. A controversial project is the proposed development of an abandoned rail yard and landfill site south of San Francisco in the city of Brisbane. In November 2018, the Brisbane City Council adopted a general plan amendment that would allow development of 1,800 to 2,000 housing units and 6.5 million square feet of commercial space.

PRESENT: Millbrae Specific Area Plan

7. The city of Millbrae will see a dramatic change around the Millbrae Intermodal Station that currently serves Caltrain, BART, and SamTrans buses. As part of the Millbrae Specific Area Plan, two potential developments will provide more than 800 residential units, 441,000 square feet of office use, and 57,300 square feet of retail.

FUTURE: NO MORE 'WAIT AND SEE'

Usually, the commute home is when I tend to put everything into perspective and connect the dots on what we do as planners — as well as see the changes that are just around the corner.

With CalMod, Caltrain is positioning itself to grow with the region. The Caltrain Business Plan reflects a potential 300 percent increase in ridership by 2040, according to Dan Lieberman. Likewise, Caltrain's Rail Corridor Use Plan investigates how existing Caltrain properties can accommodate that growth and which of those sites could be home to TOD to alleviate the housing crisis and provide a revenue stream.

"Both of these studies are still under way," Lieberman told me, "but the overall picture is one of continued growth that Caltrain has to be prepared to meet. One only has to take a drive on Highway 101 at rush hour to understand the consequence of taking a wait-and-see approach to infrastructure."

If there's anything I take away from years as an observant commuter, it's that people on a crowded train car don't want to "wait and see" but are eager to take on what should be a planner's mantra — to plan and act.

James A. Castañeda is a planner based in San Mateo County, where he specializes in land-use and airport planning. He is also the director of the APA California Chapter, Northern Section. He lives in San Francisco.