Should Caltrain be renamed when system is electrified?
Q Let me suggest a topic that might be fun: When we electrify Caltrain, should we change the name?
Caltrain is a throwback to when the state took over in the 1980s, and the Joint Powers Board decided to keep the name since it was an established brand.
Well, lots of well-established brands change their names.
I thought you could have some fun and undoubtedly spark reader interest in the idea. Mark Simon San Mateo County Transit District
A I love the idea, though I must admit I like the Caltrain moniker as well. But I’m sure train riders and others can suggest better names when the line from Gilroy to San Francisco is electrified in four or five years. Fire away, folks.
Q I occasionally use the express lanes on Interstate 580 in the Dublin area and frequently use the carpool lanes on I- 880.
But I sometimes get tailgated by a driver who wants to drive 70 or 75 mph when I’m driving 55 to 60 to be able to get where I’m going without running out of battery charge. I can easily imagine that situation will get much worse once more carpool lanes are converted to express lanes. Not every electric vehicle owner can afford a Tesla. Stuart Flashman Oakland
A That’s why I like double carpool lanes on 580 and possibly on highways 85 and 101 in the South Bay.
Q Before the Alameda County tax initiative was voted on, diagrams of how the Interstate 80 interchanges at Ashby and Gilman avenues would be rebuilt were shown.
Plans for Gilman involved traffic circles on either side of the freeway. Was that all just puffery to get us to approve the tax measure? Bill Schutze Emeryville
A Don’t be a cynic. Work on the I- 80/ Gilman interchange could begin by early 2020 and be completed by 2022. Studies on the $ 34 million project revealed that fatal and injury crashes ranged from 80 percent higher than the state average on the west side and 177 percent higher on the east side.
Ashby could be under construction in 2021 and finished in 2024.
Q Thank you for reminding people about what can happen to pets in cars in hot weather.
May I suggest an awareness test for pet owners?
We all know what it’s like to get into a hot car, but if we’re driving (maybe with the air conditioning) we don’t realize just how fast it can heat up.
Try sitting in the car (doors closed, windows cracked) for 10 minutes and see what it’s like. I did, and I was sweating after just a couple of minutes! And that was in the shade. It was sure an eye-opener. Linda Walker San Mateo
A And I’m sure for many others.