Council vacates right-of-way, renames Railroad Avenue to Station Place and accepts rail project improvements

The Salinas City Council voted July 1 to vacate the former Railroad Avenue alignment at the Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC), dedicate new right‑of‑way for the renamed Station Place and accept completed improvements from the Monterey County Rail Extension (Salinas Rail Kickstart) project.

City Engineer Adriana Robles presented the proposal and said the action realigns property and easements to match the transportation improvements completed by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County and recorded through earlier agreements. The council approved a package of actions including vacating the former Railroad Avenue alignment, renaming Railroad Avenue to Station Place, dedicating right‑of‑way for a Station Place alignment and for a Lincoln Avenue extension, dedicating waterline easements and accepting the completed improvements for maintenance responsibility.

Robles summarized the history: the city acquired train‑station properties in 1998; the Transportation Agency for Monterey County led a rail extension design and construction effort under a 2017 memorandum of understanding; improvements were completed in 2021 and the land transferred to the city in 2022. "At the time when the exchange happened, the city took on the maintenance of that facility, but we never formally went through the acceptance," Robles said.

Council members asked whether the street‑naming process included a community appointment and whether nearby businesses would be affected. Robles said the street‑naming ad hoc committee recommended Station Place and that addressing had already been partially in use; she told the council that no current businesses held Railroad Avenue addresses and property owners had been engaged over time. A council member also asked whether changing the plan would require repayment of state grant funding; Robles confirmed the Caltrans/state grant terms would require repayment if the city materially altered the work beyond agreed terms.

Public comment included appeals to preserve railroad history and requests for continued effort to bring rail service to Salinas. Resident Mary Ann Wharton urged the council to preserve historical names: "Don't go changing names and stuff. That's part of our history." Eric Peterson, who noted project delays, said he expected the rail to arrive in 2029 and praised the work already completed.

The council approved the package in a single motion (motion read into the record) and adopted the resolution accepting the improvements, renaming, vacating and dedicating easements. The motion passed on a unanimous vote: Barajas Yes; Barrera Yes; Dirigo Yes; Dela Rosa Yes; Salazar Yes; Sandoval Yes; Mayor Dennis Donahue Yes. The city clerk will record the vacation and dedication documents and update addressing records as approved.

The action brings the ITC property and rights‑of‑way into a configuration that staff said matches the completed improvements and positions the city to maintain the Intermodal Transportation Center going forward. Staff noted any major deviation from the approved scope could trigger grant repayment obligations to state funders.