Dear Menlo Park City Council Members:
My name is Matt Normington and I am the President of the Marquis Homeowners Association in Menlo Park. I represent the 26 homeowners who live in the recently constructed homes on the corner of Encinal Avenue and Garwood Way at the site of the former Roger Reynolds Nursery. Our residents have lived in this community since the summer of 2019. I have been a resident of downtown Menlo Park since 1991 and am very familiar with Caltrain and the City’s ongoing, decades-long grade separation efforts.
I am writing to urge Council to prioritize an evaluation of a train quiet zone at the Encinal Avenue grade crossing.
An evaluation of a quiet zone at this location is critical at this time for three reasons:
1. Caltrain’s horn blasts throughout the day are disruptive to the residents working from home and school-age children that are distance learning. Historically the daytime horn noise was not a major concern to the homeowners due to the fact that many of our residents were outside the home at work and/or school during the day. Train horn noise has become a significant issue over the past year due to the pandemic as the vast majority of our homeowners and children are now at home working or distance learning during the day. Many companies have publicly stated that post-pandemic they will allow a flexible remote working arrangement which means our residents will continue working from home for the foreseeable future. Although Caltrain has currently reduced service as a result of the pandemic, this issue will only intensify as daytime train frequency increases when Caltrain ramps up its service post pandemic.
2. Atherton currently has a quiet zone established at the Fair Oaks grade crossing. The Town of Atherton will be partnering with Caltrain to establish a second quiet zone at the Watkins grade crossing beginning in the Summer of 2021. By adding a quiet zone at Encinal, trains passing through Menlo Park would not be required to sound its horn for approximately one mile between Fair Oaks and Encinal, thus significantly improving quality of life for all local residents.
3. The Encinal Avenue quiet zone is synergistic with the grade separation project in Menlo Park. All trains would return to grade level at Encinal Avenue regardless of the two different grade separation options currently being studied (i.e., a fully elevated platform or the hybrid alternative “Option C”). Because the Encinal Avenue crossing is not part of the future grade separation, any investment in evaluating and developing a quiet zone at Encinal Avenue would not be duplicative with the City’s future grade separation project. For example, any required modification to the Encinal Avenue grade crossing to comply with Federal Railroad Administration quiet zone requirements would remain and not torn out as a result of future grade separation projects at other Menlo Park crossings.
As you evaluate 2021 priorities, please consider studying the establishment of a quiet zone at the Encinal Avenue grade crossing.
Thank you for your consideration and for your continued service to our community.
Respectfully,
Matt Normington
President, Marquis Homeowner Association
