Blog: Did Redwood City Really Fix Mobility in 2019?

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Fact‑checking City Hall’s “On Track to Improve Transportation and Mobility” projects from Caltrain to Dumbarton.

On Track to Improve Transportation and Mobility

In November 2019, City Manager Melissa Stevenson-Diaz and her PR team distributed a pamphlet summarizing the city’s progress on various projects. The most interesting page, at least in the context of this blog, was titled “On Track to Improve Transportation and Mobility.”

“Several efforts are underway to make it easier to get around Redwood City and the region.“ [RWC]

The projects the city and its manager highlighted were:

Caltrain Business Plan (regional)
Caltrain Electrification Project (regional)
California High-Speed Rail (state-wide)
Dumbarton Transportation Project (regional)
Broadway Streetcar Study (local)
Downtown Transit Center (regional)
Sequoia Station Redevelopment (regional)

What was wrong with this picture?

How many of these projects are really about getting “around Redwood City”? These projects seem to be regional, even state-wide. Maybe a streetcar would help getting people around the city, but all others are about getting people in-and-out but not really “around”.

The first four projects are all essentially outside the city manager’s direct control. They are primarily under the jurisdiction of the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans/SMCTA) and thePeninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which operates Caltrain. That said, it is still worth taking a quick look at whether they were actually “on track” back in 2019.

If you build it, they will come

The famous farmer Kevin Costner (in the documentary Field Of Dreams) was told: “If you build it, they will come.”

In transportation planning, that idea is often called “induced demand”: if you increase automobile capacity, you can expect more cars, more air pollution, and more congestion. Conversely, if you improve public transit and bike infrastructure, more people are likely to bike or take transit to reach train stations and other destinations.

Usually, San Mateo County leadership likes to advertise the second part, but often only induces the first. Caltrain’s Business Plan, however, was really focused on improving service. First, by making trains quieter and more sustainable through a large electrification project, and then by increasing service frequency along the corridor. The business plan was based on the assumption that more frequent service, newer trains, and higher reliability would increase ridership.

The pandemic created two major setbacks. First, Caltrain’s primary riders – office commuters – worked from home. Second, the San Mateo 101 Express Lanes project – a $600 million freeway widening project – was advanced by Caltrans and SMCTA along US‑101. And once SMCTA decided to finance this car-centric project, they “induced demand” away from Caltrain and onto roads; unsurprisingly, ridership collapsed.

Now in 2026, congestion on US-101 has become so severe and so expensive again that some people decided to go back to enjoying the improved convenience of riding Caltrain.

“Faster trips, more trains, and improved reliability have coincided with ridership growth on Caltrain since the agency electrified its entire fleet of rolling stock in September 2024.” [Railway Supply News]

High-Speed Rail

Labeling California High-Speed Rail (CA HSR) as ‘On Track’ might have been generous. Proposition 1A, which started the HSR project, was voted on and approved in 2008. In comparison, Leland Stanford and his partners finished their part of the Transcontinental Railroad in roughly 6 years.

Redwood City began preparing for this project by proposing 5 to 6 grade separation projects. However, these are likely decades away and priced at $1-2 billion. One drawback of the Caltrain Electrification project is that grade separation projects will be even more expensive.

Both Caltrain and HSR will also need at least one segment of four parallel tracks on the Peninsula so high‑speed trains can overtake Caltrain services. One proposed location is in and around Redwood City and North Fair Oaks, and City Hall will eventually have to plan for it.

The Dumbarton Railroad Story

The Dumbarton Railroad Corridor is such a great political story that it may never fully disappear. Elected officials often highlight visionary rail or bike projects to win votes and funding, even though highway expansion receives the bulk of investment.

The same thing is happening again.

The Dumbarton Railroad Story was all about a new commuter railroad bringing workers from Fremont and Newark to Redwood City. This way, Redwood City could keep building offices, and hopefully, the East Bay communities would provide the affordable housing. Local governments and the grand juries of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties raised concerns early about paying for a service that would primarily benefit Alameda County. And the project repeatedly stalled but continued to waste millions on studies, surveys, and voter outreach.

Despite its long history, regional agencies still have not formally abandoned the corridor. Instead, the original rail fantasy has been replaced with a different one: “Dumbarton Bus Crossing.” At best, this bus concept risks becoming another recurring story used to support future transportation or sales tax measures. At worst, it could function as another highway widening that diverts funding from high‑quality public transit.

Talking about Alameda County. They converted an old railroad corridor into a popular walk-and-bike path named the Iron Horse Trail. In Texas, they created the fabulous Trail de Paris. San Mateo Democrats are giving us just another dangerous street.

Summary – Regional Projects

Caltrain electrification, despite substantial cost overruns, has become one of the few regional transportation success stories. However, the electrification system makes future grade separations significantly more complex and expensive. This may limit how many crossings San Mateo County can realistically fund. Redwood City might be lucky to get the Whipple Avenue project funded.

After the Dumbarton Railroad story tanked, the corridor should have been changed into a nice walk and biking path. This is happening on thousands of abandoned railroad miles around the country. There is a nationwide initiative to help with such projects called the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy.

That bus crossing can and will never happen. But SamTrans does not want to give that space to a long-promised walk-and-bike path along that corridor. They need this corridor to promote speculative transit concepts while prioritizing costly highway projects elsewhere.

Getting Around Redwood City

None of these first four projects – Caltrain Business Plan, Caltrain Electrification, California High‑Speed Rail, or the Dumbarton project – helps anyone get around Redwood City itself. All four are regional in scope, not local.

This leaves us with three local projects that were, in fact, under the jurisdiction of City Hall:

Broadway Streetcar Project
Downtown Transit Center
Sequoia Station Redevelopment

These three projects were closely interlinked. All three were rail-centric and all three were supposed to converge at the new Sequoia Transit Station.

How did these projects turn out? That is the topic for next time.
To be continued …

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Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.