Merced’s first high-speed rail workshop in the books

One common theme that emerged during a high-speed rail workshop in Merced this week is the hope that establishment of a downtown rail station will improve the immediate area without diminishing Merced’s small-town character.

More than 60 people gathered at City Hall on Wednesday to see some of the early plans for Merced’s proposed high-speed rail station, as well as share their vision of how it should change the city.

The plans are just beginning for the half-mile radius around the stop, which is proposed for near 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Hatch Mott MacDonald, the consulting firm organizing the information gathering, asked people what they want to see change and what should stay the same in that area of town.

Loreli Cappel, a planner focused on land use, said the firm will take several readings from the community and tease out the trends to find out what are most common. One of the earliest themes, she said, was that residents were looking to hold on to local businesses along Main Street rather than bring in large corporate stores.

“They wanted small-town mom-and-pops because otherwise it looks like Anywhere, USA,” she said.

The plans for the high-speed commuter train have changed in recent weeks, but the planning in Merced rolls on unchanged. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Draft 2016 Business Plan, released last week, would make Merced’s stop operational in 2029, seven years later than originally proposed.

Cappel said continuing the plans in Merced makes sense, because they are long-term anyway.

“We’re designing a long-range plan – that’s the whole point of this exercise,” she said.

The planners said they are working under a “doable” time crunch in Merced, as what is usually a two-year process is expected to be done in 11 months here. The Merced City Council voted in October 2014 to pledge matching funds to the grant for planning for a total of about $660,000, but didn’t pick a consulting firm until October of last year.

The workshop consisted of some mingling and perusing of maps and plans. Then the residents broke off into small groups to discuss pieces of the half-mile area around the proposed stop.

Keith Ensminger, 63, a Merced resident since 1988, joined in on the brainstorming session. The potential for the stop to change Merced got him to leave his home and join in.

“I think this is a tremendous opportunity for the area,” he said. “I’m happy to participate.”

He said he found himself often saying the city needs to keep its small-town feel while being willing to change to a university town, all while holding off gentrification of the older neighborhoods. It’s a balancing act, he said.

Frank Quintero, the city’s director of economic development, said he was pleased with the first workshop’s turnout. The meeting drew some skeptics of the rail, but attracted a mostly positive crowd.

“It’s people who are wanting to see high-speed rail and also those wanting a change in the downtown,” he said.

The next planning workshop is expected to be scheduled in late March or early April.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Merced’s first high-speed rail workshop in the books."