The city of Gilroy is gearing up to conduct a study on proposed
high-speed rail station sites.
The city of Gilroy is gearing up to conduct a study on proposed high-speed rail station sites.
David Bischoff, Gilroy’s Director of Planning and Environmental Services, said he will present the city’s “visioning project” for two potential stations to Supervisor Mike Wasserman and the South County Joint Planning Advisory Committee at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at the Morgan Hill Civic Center.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is considering two locations for a station in Gilroy – downtown and East of Highway 101.
The city’s study, paid for by grant contributions from the Valley Transportation Authority, will highlight “pros and cons” for both sites, Bischoff said.
The grant is a $150,000 Community Design in Transportation grant and is intended to aid cities with transportation-related planning studies, and requires cities to offer matching funds of 20 percent.
The city has been requesting bids from firms to prepare the project, and the deadline is 4 p.m. on March 8, according to an e-mail from City Transportation Engineer Don Dey.
In December, the City Council voted 6-1 to approve a seperate $150,000 for high-speed rail funding. That figure included $30,000 in matching funds for the VTA grant, $7,000 to hire an expert to prepare the grant and $113,000 for future bullet-train grant applications applications and similar issues.
Bischoff said the study wouldn’t begin for at least a month. Once its completed, the study will be sent to CHSRA officials, he said.
Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President Susan Valenta said she would encourage Gilroyans to attend the March 10 meeting.
“That’s really important for Gilroy to be tuning into,” she said. “The high-speed rail is going to be a real game-changer.”
