advertisement

---

Last week, the Sacramento Superior Court issued rulings from two challenges submitted by the cities of Menlo Park, Atherton and Palo Alto, Calif., regarding the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (CHSRA) revised Final Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Bay Area-Central Valley segment.

CHSRA prepared the revised report following a 2009 court ruling that required additional work on the programmatic environmental document for selecting the alignment connecting the Bay Area and Central Valley. After the authority decided in September 2010 to use the Pacheco Pass alignment, the cities issued challenges alleging CHSRA did not adequately address traffic impacts along Monterey Highway and did not properly respond to public comments when completing the revised environmental report.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled in favor of CHSRA on “key issues,” according to the authority.

“I’m pleased that the court rejected claims that the authority’s revised program EIR was a mere post-hoc rationalization,” said CHSRA Chairman Thomas Umberg in a prepared statement. “I am also pleased that the court found in the authority’s favor regarding our discretion in considering the alternatives, the infeasibility of train-splitting, found that we had indeed listened to public comment and, most importantly, found that our alternatives analysis complies with CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act].”

The court also found “substantial evidence” that supports CHSRA’s ridership model and the authority’s reliance on it, according to a CHSRA press release.

However, Kenny ruled CHSRA must conduct further analysis on impacts that the narrowing of the Monterey Highway south of San Jose would have on traffic, as well as freight and lane closure impacts on the San Francisco Peninsula.