Another aspect of this that may affect Davis is parking. Already, we know many Sacramentans, especially those in outlying areas, find it easier to drive on open freeways and park free in Davis to catch the train to than drive to downtown Sacramento, deal with downtown traffic, and park for a fee. As the Sacramento station is now even more inconvenient to passengers, expect even more to choose the park-in-Davis option.

I went to the City Council meeting in Sacramento last night to testify. I looked up at one point and not one council member was looking at me. They were all buried in their laptops. Say what you will about the Davis Council, whenever I testify before Davis council, they make eye contact.

Perhaps it is because I am not a Sacramento resident. However, I’ve commuted on these trains daily for 11 years, worked in Sacramento, spend lots of money there. The station platform move hurts those who commute there, and some may choose to drive now. It’s that bad.

Our daily train–we used to get off, walk 150 feet, and get on the same trolley. Now, if the train is just a few minutes late, you either run about 1/4 mile, or more likely you miss your trolley. On the way back, some people are now leaving work 15 minutes earlier to catch an earlier trolley, because they are afraid if the trolley is a few minutes late they will have to wait 60 or 90 minutes for the next train.

Public transit is about convenience. Turning a 150 foot daily walk into a 1000 foot walk that is long enough people can’t connect is not convenience. Sacramento spent $50 million in public transportation dollars in order to build two road overpasses that will come down where the old tracks went, for the benefit of developers. To me, that is a misuse of public transportation dollars. This practice is all too common.

There is only one way that this situation in Sacramento is going to change. Train commuters must organize, and begin staying late on Tuesday nights regularly, and testify at the 6:00pm open public testimony section of the Sacramento city council meeting. And continue to do this until they actually look up from their laptops. It can’t be just me doing this. All of you who find this new situation less than stellar must let them know.

The fact is, the new intermodal station isn’t designed and isn’t funded. So it will be this way for many years.

There is a solution. Tne tracks can be relaid on the west end of the old line and tie into Track #2 at the I Street bridge. The tracks need only go as far as 5th Street, so Sacramento can still have their overpasses at 5th and 6th Streets. Three Capitol Corridor trains can be stored on three tracks overnight, or four if the storage track is relaid as well, so no moves to store the trains in the new facility need be made.

Of the 38 daily weekday trains, only 10 pass east of the station, and only these 10 would need to continue to use the new platforms. The other 28 trains, all Capitol Corridor trains that originate or terminate in Sacramento, could again terminate near the depot and cross platform transfers to the trolleys could resume. This will also cut down on the need to run so many handicapped and elderly people out to the far platforms in electric carts.

This need only be a ‘temporary’ situation until a new intermodal terminal is built and the trolley line extended closer to the new platforms. That will be years in the future at best.

First, the Sacramento city council needs to recognize and admit that there is a problem. I ask rail commuters to stay late Tuesday nights in Sacramento and testify — and don’t give up until you see the whites of their eyes.