The township of Mayfield California (established 1855) in the Silicon Valley area does not exist -- since July 1925. The Mayfield downtown area, around California Avenue (formerly Lincoln) and sometimes described as South Palo Alto, currently is in the City of Palo Alto (incorporated 1894). Supported by Leland Stanford, a founder of Stanford University, the new town of Palo Alto (formerly University Park) grew faster and larger than Mayfield. In July 1925, the City of Palo Alto annexed Mayfield and the Mayfield News newspaper reported:
(Excerpt) "... It is with a feeling of deep regret that we see on our streets today those who would sell, or give, our beautiful little city to an outside community. We have watched Mayfield grow from a small hamlet, when Palo Alto was nothing more than a hayfield, to her present size … and it is with a feeling of sorrow that we contemplate the fact that there are those who would sell or give the city away ..."
Source: Wikipedia
Palo Alto California today seems to have two geographically close downtown areas -- one of them around California Avenue (Mayfield's Lincoln). And one associated with the development of Stanford University, around University Avenue. Plus the also nearby upscale Stanford Shopping Center on El Camino Real, between Quarry and Sand Hill Roads, a short distance from the Palo Alto Caltrain Station at University Avenue.
Caltrain Stations in Palo Alto
In a distance of less than two miles of train tracks, Caltrain has three existing train stations near downtown in the City of Palo Alto. Station names and locations between San Francisco and Gilroy are listed from north to south by Caltrain:
(Excerpt) " ...Palo Alto ... 95 University Ave ...Stanford ... 100 Embarcadero Road ... [limited service] ...California Ave ... 101 California Ave ... "
Source: Caltrain Stations
Ridership Count Rankings
The 'Palo Alto' Caltrain Station at University Avenue had the second highest ridership count over all other 30 stations in the Caltrain system during 2007/2008. In comparison, 'California Ave' ranked 12th and 'Stanford' has limited train service only during football games. Other station ridership rankings include: San Francisco 1st, Mountain View 3rd, San Jose 4th, Redwood City 5th, and Millbrae Station (near SFO) ranked 6th.
High Speed Train (HST) Potential Station
(Excerpt) "... Potential station ... in the City of Palo Alto at the existing Caltrain Station near downtown will also be evaluated in this project EIR/EIS. Alternative station sites at or near the selected station locations may be identified and evaluated in this Project EIR/EIS ... "
Source: PDF Draft Scoping Report (Revised) for the San Francisco to San Jose High-Speed Train Project-Level EIR/EIS, August 2009, Table of Contents Section 1.2, pages 1 - 2.
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