Council Revisits Archway Design in Special Meeting

The City Council has called a special meeting for today to revisit its discussion about the decorative arch that is being incorporated into the grade separation project downtown.

The council already approved the design for the arch at a meeting in September, but the study session today will be an opportunity for the council to review the design concept in more detail and make more suggestions to fit everyone's desires.

The arch, which would be placed on the east side of the elevated Caltrain platform on San Bruno Avenue, is slated to be a flat structure built with colored plexiglass and overlaid with perforated metal.

While the council agreed to move forward with the design, three council members had reservations. Councilman Michael Salazar cast the lone no vote when the council voted on the design, and council members Rico Medina and Irene O'Connell both said the design didn't have the "wow" factor they had envisioned.

City Manager Connie Jackson said the study session will allow the council to discuss some options that might make the final design more acceptable to a majority of people in the city.

"The meeting tonight is just an opportunity to see if any of the reservations can be addressed with a bit more time for discussion and detail on this item," Jackson said.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in Conference Room 115.