California High Speed Rail forum set for Thursday
PALMDALE — The City of Palmdale, on behalf of the California High Speed Rail, invites the public to attend a virtual community open house on Thursday to discuss the California High Speed Rail Palmdale to Burbank modified build alternatives.
The California High Speed Rail will present the open house in English from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and in Spanish at 8 p.m.
This virtual meeting will provide the community an opportunity to learn more about the modified alternatives, including the environmental review process and other proposed project features. Interested persons should log onto www.hsr. ca.gov
The Palmdale to Burbank project section has added three modified build alternatives, which reduce potential impacts to sensitive aquatic resources south of Palmdale, including Una Lake. A total of six alternatives will now be included in the environmental review, including the three original alternatives known as Refined SR14, E1 and E2 and the three modified alternatives known as SR14A, E1A, and E2A. The Preferred Alternative is now the SR14A alternative; the previous preferred alternative was the Refined SR14. The modified preferred alternative will avoid Una Lake and will be underground through the community of Acton, and within the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. All alignments south of Angeles National Forest remain unchanged.
“We encourage residents to join in on this community meeting for the latest updates on this important project that will have an enormous positive impact on Palmdale and the entire Antelope Valley,” Palmdale’s Deputy City Manager Mike Behen said.
The Palmdale to Burbank Project Section is part of Phase 1 of the California High Speed Rail System connecting the Antelope Valley to the San Fernando Valley, which will bring high-speed rail service to the urban Los Angeles area with a new modern rail line that dramatically reduces travel time between the Antelope Valley and the Los Angeles Basin.
This project section will connect two key population centers in Los Angeles County with multi-modal transportation hubs at the future Palmdale High Speed Rail multi-modal station and at the Hollywood Burbank Airport Station. These station locations will provide an additional link between the Antelope Valley, the Los Angeles Basin, the state and the rest of the US through eventual connections to the Burbank Airport and other high-speed trains.
Upon completion, the Palmdale to Burbank project section will:
• Provide a new link between Central and Southern California and the statewide transportation network
• Connect the future Palmdale High-Speed Rail multi-modal station to the Hollywood Burbank Airport Station with a 15 to 20-minute high-speed rail trip
• Provide new opportunities for economic development and connections to many destinations and transportation options
• Connect high-speed rail to the region via existing and planned Metrolink stations
• Enhance performance and safety while reducing pollution by using next generation signaling technology (positive train control, intrusion barriers and warning system, earthquake early warning, and more)
• Provide connection opportunity in Palmdale for high-speed trains between Las Vegas and Los Angeles
For details contact Deputy City Manager Mike Behen at 661-267-5337 or mbehen@cityofpalmdale.org