Mountain View’s rejected plan to build a $120 million underpass to tunnel Castro Street beneath the Caltrain tracks didn’t win much love when the City Council considered it last month. Instead, the city is focusing efforts on the cheaper option of closing Castro to traffic. But at least one major supporter of the underpass has stepped forward: the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
In a letter to the city, officials from the South Bay’s transit agency formally threw their support behind the pricier option, explaining that it would preserve an important link for mass transit.
“VTA believes, as a general principle, that it is best to maintain roadway connections and circulation for vehicles as well as pedestrian and bicycle users,” wrote VTA planning director John Ristow. “This connection is important for VTA transit vehicle as well as a number of private employer shuttles.”
While VTA officials wanted to keep the roadway open, Ristow noted that his team shared concerns about the impacts of a prolonged construction project.
VTA officials say they summarized their position in emails to Mountain View staff prior to the City Council vote last month. They later rehashed the same points in a formal letter to the city, which was shared with the Voice.
But those concerns apparently did not sway Mountain View council members. In June, the Mountain View City Council voted 5-2 in support of plans to close off vehicle traffic on Castro Street at the Caltrain tracks. To counterbalance the traffic impacts, the council backed a $45 million package to build a new overpass for cyclists and pedestrians across Central Expressway along with various improvements to reroute vehicle traffic along Evelyn Avenue.
Mountain View city officials still have a long way to go for planning out a construction project at the end of Castro Street.
Email Mark Noack at mnoack@mv-voice.com
