(The following story by Alan Lopez appeared at InsideBayArea.com on October 9.)
OAKLAND, Calif. — Traffic on the Park Street Bridge could become more congested if a plan to reactivate a rail line just north of the bridge in Oakland is pushed through, city leaders fear.
Just as distressing to Alameda officials is that Union Pacific initiated work to reactive the rail spur without letting either Oakland or Alameda know about it.
The issue has prompted e-mails from an Oakland city leader, contact with state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and a community meeting planned for Thursday in Oakland.
“We will have a joint Oakland-Alameda meeting to try to keep the public informed,” Alameda Mayor
Beverly Johnson said. “The public needs to be aware of what’s going on.”
A Caltrans project that would widen and seismically retrofit Interstate 880 along 5th Avenue in Oakland will encroach upon a rail spur there, putting it out of use.
Union Pacific is trying to find another way to get trains over to 29th Avenue in Oakland, where a few industrial businesses are located.
The solution is to reactivate a spur that runs from Fruitvale Avenue west through Glascock Street and crossing just north of the Park Street Bridge.
“I think the city of Alameda is concerned about traffic backing up and down Park Street, if the train is to be running during peak traffic hours,” Alameda city engineer Barbara Hawkins said. “What we’re trying to do is find out if this is the only alternative, if somehow tracks can be realigned by Oak Street (in Oakland).”
A Union Pacific media representative reached in Omaha, Neb., didn’t know about the project and could not provide information.
In an e-mail, Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said the train service would run three times a week — the same as before, but it could increase.
The railroad company began performing right-of-way work in mid-September without permits, De La Fuente wrote. He urged people to call the permit counter at 510-238-4777 if they saw more construction occurring.
De La Fuente also questioned the legality of the project, calling it a “complex and layered legal situation.” He said he’s requested an opinion from the Oakland city attorney’s office regarding the
permits the rail company needs and what environmental reporting it needs to complete.
A major concern in Oakland is that the rerouted trains will affect the people living in new condominiums on Glascock.
Meanwhile, Alameda Mayor Johnson and Councilman Frank Matarrese said they met with De La Fuente last week about the matter, and have been in touch with state Senate Pro Tem Perata.
“There are a lot of unknowns still,” Johnson said. “It could have a minimal impact on residents of Alameda, if this were to go through and the level of service stays the same. If the level of service of the line increased, it could have very significant impact on residents.”
A Caltrans public information officer painted the issue as one that needed to be dealt with between the railroad and Oakland.
“We do need more space,” said Stephen Williams, of the need to widen the 880 freeway. “You don’t want a flat tire on the (freeway) unless you pull over and address that safely.”