Amtrak Says Fairfield Station Will Not Replace Suisun Station, Mostly
Do you believe Amtrak? Vote in our poll and tell us in the comments.
City officials from Vacaville and Fairfield are holding a public meeting Wednesday on the new train station project and overpass over Peabody Road.
Amtrak officials have told Patch that the new station will not replace the Suisun City station, but that there will be reduced stops in Suisun City.
Do you believe Amtrak? Vote in our poll and tell us in the comments.
Peabody Road, of course, will need help if a new station is to be built.
"The existing Peabody Road crossing is undersized, outdated and creates a significant impediment to travel along Peabody Road," Fairfield's Public Works Director George Hicks said.
The new overcrossing at the railroad tracks will provide a safe and efficient passage for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, Hicks said.
Peabody Road is an important corridor for local businesses, students and faculty for three neighborhood schools and for commuters, Fairfield's Assistant Public Works Director and City Engineer Steve Hartwig said.
City officials agreed to temporarily close Peabody Road between Cement Hill/Vanden Road and Huntington Drive in mid-2013 while the new overpass is constructed. The overpass is expected to open in mid-2014.
At the meeting Wednesday evening at the Golden West Middle School multi-purpose room, officials from both cities will discuss the public safety plan, detour routes and efforts to minimize the construction's impact on the public.
The project's design and preliminary work are nearing completion and will include many suggestions from the public.
"In addition to evaluating the best approach for the safety of motorists, pedestrians, trains and construction workers, The City collaborated with Travis Air Force Base, Travis Unified School District, businesses, residents and the community-at-large to evaluate the approach and to look for ways to minimize impact to everyone," Hartwig said.
The new Fairfield/Vacaville train station will be located at Peabody and Vanden roads, bringing Amtrak's Capitol Corridor passenger service to northern Fairfield and southern Vacaville.
The meeting is between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Golden West middle school, located at 2651 DeRonde Drive in Fairfield.
-- Bay City News Service (David Ryan contributed to this article)
Jason L. Tulock
12:06 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
It's in the middle of nowhere, too expensive for the product, near two towns but not in them, will be sketch at night, is too close to the Suisun station, which is a destination with businesses nearby. A very poor idea. Though it is close to Elmira, so will be good for me . . . but that does not mean it makes transportation sense.
Jay Tulock, Vacaville
Garry Rowe
6:55 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I believe it's a very good location. Where the Suisun station is more about commuting out, this station will be good for communting in. It's close to Travis AFB, large businesses on Huntington Drive and the prison.
There is also a good density of housing nearby.
The more stops, the more riders.
Lawrence Collins
12:27 pm on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Yes Garry, and you also believed that the BID would be a good thing; and we know
thats not true. What Amtrak really needs to do is build a station that you can
actually buy tickets at. If they can't have a live person there to sell you a ticket or
give you information; then at least put ticket machines in the Station. With gas prices going up they should have a station in every town that has over 5,000
people. Amtrak should get off their high horse and send someone to Japan and
learn how to really run a train business.
Golden Orange
5:26 am on Monday, March 19, 2012
No I do not like the idea of having the train station built so close to Suisun's Train Station. In my opinion we really don't need another station. If people were determined to save on gas there would be more people already traveling from the Suisun City Train Station. I don't believe more people will change from driving to a train. Californians like their car too much to give it up. It would be a waste of money to build a new train station in Fairfield.