Editorial Editorial (January 30, 2004)

Caltrain should not bypass San Antonio

In an effort to speed up train service between San Jose and San Francisco on weekends, Caltrain is considering eliminating several stops on the Peninsula, including the San Antonio station.

Of three schedules the transit agency is considering adopting this spring, one provides no weekend service to San Antonio, one provides some limited service and another provides more local service.

The Caltrain Board of Directors will hold a public hearing Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. at its headquarters in San Carlos to help determine which schedule to select.

We think either of the latter choices are best.

While the main Mountain View station at Castro Street gets local and limited service and is scheduled to be a stop on the "baby bullet" train that begins operations this year, the San Antonio station is sadly and ironically overlooked.

It is adjacent to The Crossings, a so-called "transit-oriented neighborhood." One of The Crossings' main selling points is its proximity to public transit, specifically the San Antonio Caltrain station. In fact, the City of Mountain View often holds up the development and Whisman Station as prime examples of transit-oriented housing whenever it receives visitors from other cities, states and countries.

The San Antonio station's apparently low usage is the reason for the possible elimination of its weekend service, but it is still a vital part of the Mountain View, and more specifically, The Crossings' community.

Fortunately, the station's weekday service is not significantly impacted and provides the most treasured rider -- the commuter -- the resources he or she needs.

But the concept of a transit-oriented development doesn't go into hiding on the weekends and neither should Caltrain.

People who live at The Crossings were sold the idea of living close to a loud, rumbling train so they could use it on a regular, not conditional, schedule to go to work, to visit friends and to go to baseball games. It's now the time for them to show the Caltrain board why they need it and how they plan to use it, or they could simply lose it.

Caltrain will undoubtedly face pressure from riders who could potentially lose service at other stations, including those at Lawrence, Atherton and Belmont. We appreciate Caltrain's attempts at managing its often contrary goals of providing faster service while maintaining stops at every station between San Francisco and San Jose.

But The Crossings is adjacent to the San Antonio station so that residents could take advantage of Caltrain. Now is not the time to abandon the very transportation model that has the most hope of getting commuters out of their cars and onto mass transit.

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