Palo Alto advances design options for Churchill crossing; Meadow and Charleston remain council priorities

City staff and Caltrain presenters outlined design refinements on Thursday for three Palo Alto rail crossings, saying the City Council has already prioritized Meadow and Charleston for construction and has identified a partial underpass as the preferred concept for Churchill Avenue.

City officials said the work aims to improve safety and mobility while minimizing environmental and property impacts during a conceptual refinement phase that will feed 15% and 35% design milestones. Project staff said they plan to report refined concepts to the rail committee in November and to the City Council on Dec. 8 for direction on which alternatives to advance into 15% design.

"With partnership with the City of Palo Alto, we've been able to implement additional fencing really to ensure that we can close major gaps across the corridor," Caltrain government and community affairs manager Navi Alimwal said. "The most important thing about this is that it's sending instant alerts to train operators and control centers when something is in danger, and it can really trigger warning signs, even audible alarms at the crossing itself." Alimwal described near-term safety measures already deployed and said Caltrain…