Before creating an EIR for the Palmdale to Los Angeles section of the California High Speed Rail, the Rail Authority will conduct an open house at Hart Park on Thursday.

The California High Speed Rail Authority is looking at a number of alignments for the 60-mile Palmdale-to-Los Angeles section of the project.

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On Thursday, representatives from the Rail Authority will host a meeting at William S. Hart Park in Newhall to hear community feedback on proposed routes that could pass through the Santa Clarita Valley.

The Hart Park meeting is the last of five meetings that the Rail Authority has held since May 20 between Palmdale and Los Angeles.

It will be an open house style meeting from 5 to 8 p.m., with a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m.

The purpose of the meetings is to determine which alignments the Rail Authority will study in their Environmental Impact Report, said Spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley.

“There have been a number of different tunneling alignment options that we’ve looked at in Santa Clarita,” she said.

Back in October 2013, a delegation of city officials attended a meeting with the Rail Authority board of directors, expressing their support for a two-mile underground tunnel or a route that would bypass the SCV altogether.

Related Article: High Speed Rail Project Questioned By Santa Clarita Officials

Santa Clarita officials would prefer the route avoid the Santa Clarita Valley altogether, said Councilwoman Marsha McLean at the time, because it’s proposed path doesn’t stop anywhere in the SCV, while essentially holding land development, businesses and schools hostage.

“The way the route is supposed right now, we would get all of the impact and none of the benefit,” she said.

At the most recent Rail Authority board meeting, the board discussed alternative alignments for both Santa Clarita and the Acton Agua Dulce area.

The Santa Clarita North alignment would employ a tunnel south of Interstate 5 in Canyon Country, near Lost Canyon and Oak Springs Canyon Roads.

The Santa Clarita South alignment would follow a similar route but use at grade tracks and bridges before proceeding into a tunnel, according to a Rail Authority map.

In Acton and Agua Dulce the SR 14 Hybrid route and the SR 14 East route pass on either side of Sierra Highway and both employ tunnels, but the SR 14 East route includes a longer portion of at grade tracks and a bridge south of Sierra Highway.

The last meeting held by the Rail Authority in Palmdale on May 29 attracted 125 people, Alley said, and they are expecting a good turnout at Hart Park.

“I think the feedback to date from the city of Santa Clarita is that they appreciate us working with them and looking at the options that have the least impact to the community,” Alley said.

For more information about this meeting and further developments with California High Speed Rail, click here or call 213-802-1113 or 916-324-1541.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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