Rude passenger could soon be fined for their behavior. Press file photo
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, which runs the Altamont Commuter Express trains, may start issuing fines of $25 for first-time offenders, $50 for a second violation of that same law within a year and $100 for each one after that.
Tom Shepherd, the commission’s attorney, said the organization has received many complaints from passengers about rudeness and misbehavior on the trains, and he felt the fines would help to alleviate that problem.
“There are some uncooperative people,” Shepherd said. “If there’s a rule, they’ll pay attention to it. If they get a citation, they’ll remember that in the future. It alters your behavior.”
While the code of conduct includes rules specify against destructive behavior such as graffiti and drug use, it also enforces some common courtesy. If the fines are OK’s by the commission at its 8 a.m. meeting on Friday in Stockton, someone who places their bag in a seat on a full train can get a ticket.
Shepherd said many other transit agencies have rules like this in place and the commission has drawn from the Bay Area Rapid Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, among others, to come up with the code of conduct.
“There are fare enforcement officers on the trains and they will be watching for violations,” Shepherd said. “We’ve had quite a few passenger complaints about people who aren’t polite.”
The code of conduct, also on Friday’s agenda, would protect against gambling on the trains, placing feet on the seats, blocking aisles and panhandling in trains and stations, among many others.
If a fine is not paid in 30 days, according to commission documents, a $15 late fee is added.
Fare enforcement officers have to be trained to issue tickets for these infractions appropriately and signs warning passengers of this activity will be posted on trains and in stations, he said. Shepherd said he didn’t know how much this would cost.
Contact a Tracy Press reporter or editor at 835-3030 or tpnews@tracypress.com.
At a Glance
WHAT: San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission meeting
WHEN: 8 a.m., Friday
WHERE: South Hall Meeting Room, Robert J. Cabral Station, 949 E. Channel St., Stockton
Tracy, CA deserves high speed rail. The vision of high speed rail station with a stop in Tracy, CA would not only benefit the commuters it would also help the Tracy and San Joaquin economy, businesses, and the people who live in and around this valley. This area is known as the "gateway" to the Silicon Valley.
Come to think of it the downtown Tracy, CA Bbowtie area does have ample room for an underground high speed train. And I like that our Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger has put Tracy, CA on the map for high speed rail.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm
I'm glad to hear that high speed rail will be going through Tracy, CA.
Looks like they just put Tracy, CA on the map.
"A route around the southern edge of Tracy would require fewer grade separations — overpasses or underpasses — and would allow trains to travel faster, he said. Through town, more grade separations would be needed and trains would travel slower, but the center of population and the new transit station are balancing factors for the downtown route, said Ogden, a transportation specialist based in Oakland with worldwide engineering firm OECOM.
Because of the goodly sized chunk of land available in the Bow Tie area, some kind of excavated facility could be feasible, Ogden said. That would allow trains to pass under surface streets, including possibly MacArthur Drive, Central Avenue, Tracy Boulevard and 11th Street, he said, stressing that studies are just now in their beginning stages."
As written, it says high speed rail service to the south of the city...ACE tracks...would allow for higher speeds. Through the central part of town, underground tracks would probably have to be constructed to accommodate high speed trains. The second paragraph describes how long the underground tunnel might be.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm
Do a google search for ca high speed rail.
Turns out there's already funding to improve existing passenger train service through Tracy, CA. This fund is part of the High Speed Rail project.
My argument asserted that High Speed Rail through Tracy, CA would have much greater benefit. Dollar for dollar.
Additionally it would cost Californians less money. California has to make budget ammends. And given that most of the transportation links are already in place.
It's allready right here. In Tracy, CA.
Next stop eBart.
You are really reaching on this one twinkle toes!
I have used both services from Tracy to Bart to SF and will be looking forward to seeing the new SJRTD service to Bart from downtown Tracy, Ca when the new transit station opens in two weeks.
Ok, on a positive note. I can gripe until the cows come home about the new transit station but in reality, it's not going anywhere so...........how about getting BART to schedule stops to pick up people who work in SF or Oakland. Those people can be bussed to BART in Dublin and catch the train.
Maybe in the future the high speed rail could find ways to use the tracks the transit station is on.
Also AMTRAK.
But I still have to say that our downtown isn't the mecca of desired businesses that will attract others from out of town to use train, bus or taxi services that utilize the transit station. Until the transit station can get train service it will always be a useless building.
High-speed train could stop in Tracy
by TP staff report
Nov 13, 2009
STOCKTON — The public got its first glimpse Thursday afternoon of plans to build a $40 billion high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento, with a connecting line that will stop somewhere in Tracy after it glides over the Altamont Pass.
Over five hours, people trickled into the San Joaquin Council of Governments building on Weber Avenue in Stockton to mingle with rail officials and get a look at drawings and photos of trains, suggested timelines and maps of the proposed rail lines.
Where exactly a bullet train would stop in Tracy is a decision that’s far from being made — and, in fact, comments from people at Thursday’s meeting and other future chances for people to chime in will influence where the platform goes.
But it is possible the train could stop at Tracy’s soon-to-open downtown transit station, which for now will be the city’s bus hub.
The state’s new high-speed rail authority fancies downtown train stops for the train’s route through the east side of the Central Valley. Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Stockton and Sacramento will all have downtown bullet-train stations, though the exact location of each has yet to be worked out. In Modesto, a downtown stop is one of two spots considered for that city’s train station.
Downtown stations are favored in part to lift downtown economies that have drooped now for decades, said Dan Leavitt, deputy director of the Altamont Corridor Rail Project.
Whether Tracy will have a downtown station depends partly upon what people want here — and partly on money.
The rail authority estimates it will cost about $32 billion to build high-speed lines from downtown San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles, a trip expected to take about 2½ hours, as the train could top 200 mph.
Bullet train officials will buy the right-of-way to build railroad tracks used exclusively by that train, which will increase its cost but also its speed. Through cities, it can be highly expensive to build, as tracks must be built either over existing streets or under them.
First, officials must identify the route of the track so it can complete an environmental report to study its impacts. That alone is expected to take about three years, said Brent Ogden, the Altamont line project manager.
Officials say people should be able to buy a bullet train ticket by 2019.
Check these links out.
I believe it makes sense to link highspeed rail in the Central Valley to the Bay Area by adding a proposed station with the ACE Train Station(s). Because it is already existing and there are more people along the Altamont path. More people means more users and more benefit to CA.
At any rate, there are already proposed conventional rail improvements being made to the Altimont route (ACE) and I believe there is an additional $300k (recent) amount of federal monies for ACE's train route.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm
http://www.highspeedrailforcalifornia.com/
http://highspeedrailblog.com/
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/news/MayMOUs.pdf
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/images/chsr/20091001231546_CHSRAARRAFACTSHEETFINAL.pdf
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/president.htm
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/governor.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High_Speed_Rail
Another idea, would be eBART from Tracy to Pitsburg/Antioch. And link those two already existing stations with a shuttle, or other service in Tracy, CA.
There are jobs there where eBART would travel and I think that could give people living in the Central Valley better access to those jobs in addition to the Bay Area jobs that Tracy citizens already have.
I also believe that if the ACE were linked to BART in Livermore (an idea that if thought out makes more and more sense) it would better serve the CA High Speed rail, by not requiring a separate Bay crossing.
California could probably stand to save billions by.
1. Using what we already have. Example ACE Rail.
2. Planning where there are existing people Tracy, CA.
3. Use case scenario planning. Jobs and commuters.
Palo Alto sadly HAS gone too trendy...it used to be cute and fun and different...now it's just an outside mall with a crappy food court and way too many rug stores. No more used cd store...no more fun little shops...its all chains and restaurants that last about a month. All overpriced too. Yes, they have Stanford and that is huge...but you don't need a U for a cool downtown...Burlingame is nice, Livermore is nice, Pleasanton is nice...the U helps (especially a nice cashy one like Stanford!), but it isn't necessary. Now, that said, I too think the campus should've gone someplace in town instead of in No Man's Land (I mean Mountain House!)...that was just lame.
FTUD...love the comment about the transit station being safe from trains...hahahaha! I agree that our downtown is currently overrun with a few types of stores. The mom-and-pop clothing stores CAN be a good thing...we NEED more mom-and-pop stores in this country and less chains that own the world. When all you have to shop at is Wal-Mart...you'll crave a little variety! But I agree...we have I think 3 Hispanic/Mexican/Latino groceries, one Halal grocery...but none of those have a "generic" appeal. I don't mean any offense to anyone, but to many who are not of those backgrounds...a generic Central Grocery would be more appealing to shop in. Personally, I love the ethnic markets, but at the same time...I grew up in part in Montana and I know that people are scared by that which is different. Why not have a little local store that carries produce, meats, breads etc from within a 200 mile radius? There's a way to promote local business. We are in the heart of America's food production...yet we get it all trucked in! Sizzler downtown? Could we not get a GOOD steakhouse instead of a fake crappy one? Who cares about the dumpster...I can say I'd never hit the Skizzler but I'd go to Dave's Steak House! We need to make a broader appeal downtown...and we need to make it a destination that people spend time in...hence the outdoor seating at cafes and bookstores. Maybe then people will visit. Personally, I'd like a little outside revenue, but I don't want things to get TOO carried away...I like sleepy little Tracy! ;-)
Green_Acres...I agree. I moved here because I can afford a good life in a great little town. No, it's not Yup-ville like Palo Alto (thank god!)...but that's not a bad thing. It's a fine line between going overboard and making a successful wonderful little community. Palo Alto hurdled that line and University Ave is now not nearly as hot a destination...unless you like being begged from and buying rugs. ;-) I too have gone to the Grand Theatre (gorgeous, but it DID annoy me to watch people taking off their shoes and using the other seats as footrests...someone WILL have to sit on your foot glop! The transit station WAS mostly funded by the (broke) state...but why is the state paying money it doesn't have to a city who can't afford the extra money...for a station to nothing? The location is great if the tracks carry passenger trains, but they need to make the future hurry...because otherwise the station will rot and more money will have been wasted.
I have hopes (very faint, but hopes!) that maybe something will change in our bassackwards rail system in this country and the rail lines will start being opened for more use. Then maybe those lines WILL provide a commuter train and the station will have a use. Sadly, by then, the station will have been burnt down by a meth head stealing the copper wire, but hey! ;-)
Meantime, let's get some ideas out there about how to make it better instead of bitching about how bad it is! Positive ideas will get soooo much farther than negative griping. I've been here for a little over a year, so I'm still trying to figure out WHO to tell...but I'm trying!
To say that Tracy doesn't have the allure that other towns have is easy to say, for one thing. However, fortunately it certainly does NOT represent the thinking of every one in Tracy. Or even people considering moving here to Tracy. I used to live in some of those cities and moved here because I can afford the lifestyle here. The downtown per square foot is much lower than all of those cities you described.
I recall moving here when I had to watch a play at a high school or a stripmall. Since I've lived here I've been to at least twenty events at the Grand Theatre. I've noticed new lighting, trees, benches, streets, restaurants and a lot of other niceities. The transit station is an improvement that was paid for by the State of California. Mostly.
As far as the tracks go. I think it's the most perfect location and has great potential for example. eBart. I doubt very much you could find a more suitable location for a transit station in downtown Tracy, CA. As you stated, Union Pacific already paid for the upgrades in the Bowtie. So, in the future when the city has money they can add passenger trains if necessary.
Perfect for now and for Tracy's future.
Obstructionist BS, and griping, started before the station was completed. Now that it's a done deal any obstruction of the project would be pointless and the comment made about it being further proof the downtown has improved is laughable. Improved by what standard? That there's a transit station located near the tracks? And for what? Buses and taxis. Maybe the city can build a heli-port nearby, I'm sure there will be lots of people from out of town who will make the trip to shop Tracy's downtown. Don't make me laugh.
And what about the comment made that Palo Alto is "chain restaurants and rug stores"? Similar can be said about Tracy's downtown. I see Tracy's downtown as every other business being a Hispanic grocery store and those in-between being a mom and pop clothing store. (No offense to Hispanic grocery store owners or mom and pop clothing store owners.) This is what our city gov't has approved.
I heard a story recently where the city refused a Sizzler restaurant because they didn't like where a dumpster was located. It's crap like this that has businesses not wanting to locate in this city.
Tracy will always be the name you see on freeway signs as you drive the 205 and head out of town.
"adios wrote on Thursday, Jan 14 at 09:33 AM »
By LAW, it is OUR right to know what the two public, civic employees pay package and retirement is. It is our money that they will be using in retirement.
According to the Public Records- Jeff Mason makes - 140k - Retirement?
Jim Oliveria - 132K - Retirement?..."