I attended that meeting in Atherton. I expect that there will be one on the Alternatives Analysis here in Menlo Park. Yes, people were angry. Why? Because they are afraid; afraid of losing their homes; afraid of having their communities destroyed; afraid of the devastation to be brought by ten years of construction. They (and I) are afraid because the rail authority already knows what it wants, and what it is going to do, but we don't. And, what they want isn't good for us.

Having said that, it is also the case that these meetings (there was also one in Palo Alto) are about the Alternatives Analysis stage of the CEQA project-level process. The people who run these meetings are contractor employees charged with one thing; that is, design and do the legally required paperwork for the high-speed train alignments on the Caltrain corridor. That's what they get paid to do. That's their job.

Many people raised all sorts of questions and issues that are totally out of the control of this group of PB and HNTB employees. By that, I mean Dominic Spaethling, Tim Cobb, John Litzinger and Mike Garvey. They are not decision-makers. They are not even messenger boys. Nonetheless, people persist in pressing them to consider alternative routes that are totally out of their jurisdiction.

Most questions on peoples' minds must be answered by the CHSRA. They are responsible for decision-making, such as ignoring alternative routes even though the Program-Level EIS/EIR has been de-certified.

What we should be asking the PB and HNTB representatives, is about their decision-making on the Caltrain corridor, such as why they are stacking the deck, so to speak, for elevated train alignments when they know that is our least desirable alternative. And that is their business. They are shunning tunneling solutions and biasing all the draft language and diagrams to favor elevated rail. That sucks!

Want to get angry? That's what to get angry about at these meetings.

What gall...asking to be treated like adults then scream and yell and
demand??? spolied rotten babies..YES you are Atherton and menlopark1
As far as the CAHSRA they have given you babies more than enough time and meetings and all you do is yell.