Partial Underpass Impacts & Benefits
The impacts of a Partial Underpass at Churchill on the Southgate neighborhood are discussed.
Southgate Neighborhood - Closure Alternative
Closure of the Churchill crossing involves building a bike and pedestrian tunnel under Alma and the Caltrain tracks. Modifications to the Embarcadero intersections at El Camino Real and Alma will be needed to handle the traffic diverted form Churchill.
Southgate as a Cul-de-sac
With the closure of Churchill, Southgate will have only one access route to the neighborhood - via El Camino. This has consequences for emergency response, evacuations, and resident's access to the city. There aren't any other neighborhoods cut off like this in Palo Alto.
Bike & Pedestrian Safety
One version of the closure plan includes a tunnel from the middle of East Churchill, under Alma Ave. and the Caltrain tracks, to the middle of West Churchill. This would completely separate bikes and pedestrians from most traffic and would be a major safety improvement. A second version includes a tunnel below the tracks but requires crossing Alma Ave. traffic.
Emergency Response Time
Palo Alto Police and Fire Departments have been asked how the closure will affect response times. They reported that closing Churchill would add maybe 1-1.5 minutes to the current response times. Response time to EMS calls is 8 minutes (90% of the time). The official reports can be found below.
Change in reponse time impacts of closing Churchill:
You will note these reports are focused on estimating response time changes for the entire city, which will not be greatly affected, unlike the impacts on Southgate.
Evacuation Routes
Having only one route for evacuation reduces options for the residents. An urban wildfire is one example where it may be important to have more than one exit route.
Access to the City
Losing access to Alma means residents will need to use El Camino and Embarcadero or Oregon Expressway to get to the east side of Palo Alto. Parents dropping children at Walter Hays, for example, will have to fight early morning traffic. Does creating a physical barrier between Southgate and Walter Hays resurface the issue of transferring Southgate to Escondido?
Why not open the connection to Park Blvd.?
The connection to Park Blvd. was closed 50 years ago because of the disruption caused by traffic using Southgate as a shortcut between El Camino and California Ave. or Oregon Expressway. If this was a problem then, it will be a greater problem now because of the general increase in traffic, let alone the additional pressures caused by closing Churchill. A few years ago Castilleja became a bike boulevard, making it even less suitable for any additional traffic.
The Other Alternatives
Southgate Neighborhood
Details of the Partial Underpass
The design goals and details of the Partial Underpass proposal are presented and evaluated by neighborhood.
Southgate Neighborhood
Churchill Viaduct Impacts & Benefits
The impacts of a viaduct at Churchill on the Southgate neighborhood are discussed.