Editor’s note: For any student struggling with suicide, depression, or mental health, resources are listed at the bottom.
Facing board members, educators, and students alike, board representative Dylen Chen confronts a stark truth: Palo Alto needs to implement real change.
“What I heard from students was honest, heavy, and very clear,” Chen said. “We’re tired of condolences, and we want action.”
With the recent death of a Paly student on the train tracks on Churchill Ave., changes are being made by the city, the school, and even local residents.
Working together with the school board, the City Council signed a contract with Orion Security to place guards at all four Caltrain intersections in Palo Alto.
Originally, Trackwatch, an old organization meant to monitor Palo Alto crossings, was brought back by parent volunteers, but the city later replaced them with paid positions.
Along with the guards, council member Pat Burt explained that Palo Alto is working with Caltrain to implement new anti-intrusion technologies funded by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
“The ones that were visible were all of the solar delineators and bollards and markings to try and make that intersection safer,” Burt said. “What’s not so visible is a RailSentry technology that uses LiDAR and video cameras, and is AI empowered to detect irregular behaviors — either a person where they shouldn’t be or a vehicle.”
LiDAR — light detection and ranging — uses pulsed lasers to detect the distance between objects. RailSentry uses this technology to observe an area and alert railroad operation groups to prevent collisions.
Lastly, there have been anti-trespassing panels placed around the outside of crosswalks. These panels are covered in raised, pyramid-shaped bumps that make it significantly harder to walk across.
The school has also implemented school-wide training for all teachers. Assistant superintendent Yolanda Conaway explained it was meant to develop the necessary skills to better support their students.
“Whenever we are talking about anyone who intervenes with an individual wanting to end their lives, it is so important to have trained individuals,” Conaway said. “[Without training], the chances of someone being able to effectively respond to someone in need […] reduce.”
Another proposal is closing off the Churchill crossing entirely.
During the Palo Alto Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 10, then-superintendent Don Austin expressed a need to close off the crosswalk despite the concerns of nearby residents.
“I made a statement recently that I think Churchill Ave. should be closed. I got a lot of people who wrote back about how inconvenient it will be for their travel,” Austin said. “I’m fully aware of that, […] and it doesn’t matter. I’m not looking for a permanent closure, […] I think a temporary closure is exactly what we need right now.”
Train-related deaths are not new to Palo Alto, and suggestions for solving this issue have been made before.
Back in 2021, the Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) was tasked with evaluating information related to alternative grade crossings, which is when a railway intersects a road at the same level.
It voted on the implementation of grade separations for train crossings, including the Churchill intersection. These separations would allow for the train to either pass over or under the intersecting road.
According to Gregory Brail, a Palo Alto resident and former member of XCAP, there were several different options: a partial underpass, a bike/pedestrian tunnel, a train viaduct, and a car underpass. Out of these options, the partial underpass had the most support from councilors, and the train viaduct would be the most effective.
The partial underpass would introduce a car intersection in the space currently available, meaning surrounding houses would not be affected. The cars heading towards the intersection would then only have the options of turning right or left onto Alma.
A train viaduct would raise the tracks above the ground; however, the price of construction would cost up to several hundred million dollars, which was out of budget at the time.
“Because the bikes could sail right under and the cars could sail right under, traffic would be better,” Brail said. “You’d have a very hard time getting to the tracks. It would actually be quieter for the students because the train would be up high. It would be great, but it would be so expensive.”
Beyond that, Brail noted that residents surrounding the Churchill crossing have consistently been against railway construction.
Some residents, like Noga Arditi, are reluctant to begin construction due to noise.
“I live by Churchill, and there’s already a lot of noise around my house,” Arditi said. “I feel like the constant construction will be too disruptive, and with how long it’s going to take, I think there should be other alternatives.”
Aside from the noise, traffic issues caused by the blockage may discourage local residents from supporting the closure.
“There are a lot of people who are going to be uncomfortable with anything that increases traffic or anything that makes it harder to get around,” Brail said.
With hundreds of Paly students crossing Churchill every day, sophomore Helen Li feels that closing the crosswalk would do more harm than good.
“Too many students go through that way, and not just students,” Li said. “Adults going through their everyday lives, going to work, they go through that crossing. Closing will only increase traffic congestion.”
Because of the complications that come with closing the tracks, residents and students alike seem to disagree with this approach. However, there is still an expectation that the district should be making changes.
“This is a recurring issue, and the district should have taken action a while ago,” Li said. “It just feels like this would receive a lot of backlash.”
According to PAUSD assistant superintendent Yolanda Conaway, the school district does not necessarily have the power to implement the closure in the event that the change is agreed upon.
“Within the district, there are some things we don’t have control over,” Conaway said. “We may not have the final decision-making in what happens with public rail infrastructures, or decisions regarding railway access.”
The parties with the most influence over decisions regarding the grade crossing include the city of Palo Alto and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which is the government organization that owns Caltrain.
Because Caltrain has ownership over the tracks, any changes made need to be approved by the organization. Even before the change can be approved, it has to go through the school board and the city.
Nadia Naik, co-founder of Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design and former chair of XCAP, explained that there have been several material changes that affect how construction would proceed. These changes include the electrification of Caltrain, which introduces significant complications due to the new overhead wires.
“Caltrain now has very specific limitations on when construction can take place, known as work windows, and on how far machinery and workers must be from the active train line, since we are required to keep all trains running while we build grade separations,” Naik said.
Because of these limitations, the initial plans for the Churchill crossing are no longer fully applicable.
“The original concepts that XCAP reviewed had to expand to be much longer and wider,” Naik said. “This, along with inflation, has significantly impacted the cost of all the grade separations, now far exceeding the money that is available. In addition, the costs of constructing grade separations have ballooned while the funding available has become more limited.”
Overall, while closing the crossing may not be possible, there are still other changes being made. The main importance is supporting all members of the community as best as possible while still acknowledging the fact that mental health is a complex issue.
“Sometimes we can put all of the supports available in place, and we will still have tragedy,” Conaway said. “But what I do know is that we have the power to reduce the influence of suicide, and we can prevent suicide. So we’ve got more work to do, and we’re excited about getting started on some of that.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact the resources below:
Suicide and crisis lifeline: 988
Youth & Teen Suicide & Crisis Hotline: 1-888-247-7717
Trevor Project support for LGBTQ+ Lifeline: 1-886-488-7386
Santa Clara County Suicide & Crisis Hotline: 1-855-278-4204