Stuck in Traffic? Think a Moment on How Important High Speed Rail is to California

Calpirg, supposed works for the public interest. They have made a terrible mistake in promoting this project as their number one priority.

Emily Rausch apparently convinced the higher powers in the organization to make this effort, which included paying for full time summer jobs to college students in the attempt to contact 100,000 voters personally.

Now we have Kevin Powers promoting the train as relief of commuters. Kevin, I hate to alert you to the fact, but this HSR project in not a commuter train. Why don't you at least understand its mission, and that is to provide longer trips between cities; the primary aim being between the LA basin and the SF peninsula.

What you are promoting is going through a pristine park in Henry Coe (Pachecho route). You are promoting urban sprawl, but having places like Fresno become much larger, and bring with it a major increase in auto traffic, as workers move to this cheaper land area and buy homes.

Calpirg supposedly stands up the powerful special interests on behalf of Californians. Yet look who is promoting this project. Out of State and Country hardware manufacturers. Wealthy land speculators and developers. Just why in the world are you promoting this project.

Prop 1A is destined for defeat for sure with the fiscal crisis the State and Country is now immersed.

Calprig will be a major loser being seen as a promoter of this project, which certainly does not have the public good in its intentions.

Why don't you read the due diligence report at

www.reason.org.

Why don't you read the 40 page highly critical State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee report of July 1.

Voters will Vote No On Prop 1A.

@ Morris -

you know very well that the Pacheco route hews close to Hwy 152, well south of Henry Coe state park. Stop spreading falsehoods.

Rafael, please consider in regards to HSR as it is currently proposed:

-No current business plan is in place. Will this thing break even? Or will it soak taxpayers with subsidies for decades to come ala AMTRAK?

-There are NO-ZERO private investors involved. Only taxpayer dollars.

-These trains are suposed to be electric powered. Recall this is the state that has to "Flex your power now" which translated means we DON'T have enough electricity for our existing needs NOW!

-The route isn't even finalized yet! Politicians will decide that AFTER they get their hands on this money.

-There is NO agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad about sharing critical right-of-ways along the route either.

-Proposition 1A (a potential law mind you), as written has NO station-stops in Merced or Visalia. Getting those later? Perhaps. But we are the weak central valley competing with a big city interests in this thing which wants a connection between LA-SFO that's fast. Note "Express Service" which is a kind that makes NO STOPS along the way. This short duration trip between LA-SFO is the main selling point for THOSE folks to vote for it.

-Prop 1A as written also delineates funds to "improve" existing transit systems, including CABLE CARS. Now what city has those do ya think? Why don't they pay for improvements to their cable cars not from STATE tax dollars but from CITY tax dollars?

-This "plan" has "hopes' it will get federal matching funds to construct this. Do they really think such funds, if they ever really existed, will be there with today's $750 BILLION plus "bailout" the feds are spending to "fix" the economy? Heck, our Governor just asked the feds for a 4-7 Billon dollar loan to tie over our STATE government...the same state government that couldn't pass a budget or write Proposition A correctly in time (6 plus years mind you) to make the ballot that it made it late as Proposition 1A which had a supplimental voter guide mailed at additional taxpayer expense!

-If HSR is built it will eliminate the need for existing AMTRAK San Joaquin service (Corcoran will no longer have a stop)and Coast Starlight service along the coast. The latter will not have their train service replaced by this HSR, it will just be GONE. Just what was the net gain in jobs & service again?

No, a half-baked plan is not what we need here, especially in this economy. Not anti-HSR, Pro DOING IT RIGHT and the HSR Authority didn't do their homework enough over 6 years to place a viable plan on the ballot here today.

Lets concentrate on improving alternative fuel vehicles. Everyone will STILL NEED to travel to work, the store, to school, etc. The roads they would use? Already BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. An expensive train connecting LA-SFO helps out the business trip or vacation traveler in the main only.

Jay Gould is yet again (again!) ignoring certain critical facts:
* The budget was passed (very) late, so the Authority simply had no money available to prepare a buisness plan (government agencies can't spend money they don't have).
* HSR is NOT going to use the UP right-of-way, it is going to run BESIDE it.
* There will be no federal funds available if this doesn't pass. Maybe there won't be if it does pass, but the bonds won't be issued until there is matching funds.
* The sort of private investors of are able to invest millions in this aren't going to come out and pledge their support until the bond passes. In general, that sort of investor don't say publically what they are thinking of doing until they write the cheque.

Just to address a few points,

Morris, I fully understand that HSR is not a commuter train, but that doesn't change the fact that HSR would take 92 million cars off the road. That makes for a literally faster trip for all parties, be they train riders or automobile commuters.

Frankly, I can't understand how HSR is being called anything other than an issue of the public interest. This system will save the state 40 billion dollars. HSR will create 600,000 jobs in both the construction and operation of the system. HSR is good environmentally, and strengthens our crippled transportation infrastructure.

High-speed rail is a proven technology, something that is used all around the world with great success. Far from encouraging urban sprawl, HSR makes it more convenient for people to live in an urban area and commute. Think of all the people in the Bay Area that commute to the San Jose area, or people in Ontario who commute to Los Angeles. These are people that will benefit from HSR.

Jay, to address your question with private investment. No portion of this line can be built without private funds. Thats part of the P3 deal. Again, there will be NO portion of this system built only with taxpayer funds.

Voting Yes on Prop 1A is a smart decision for our state. I wouldn't be working with CALPIRG on this issue if I felt differently.

Tom is side-stepping some facts in his blog entry:

-HSR HAS a business plan. But it was completed in the year 2000. The Legislative Transportation Committee in a hearing to decide if this would be on the ballot pointed this out this year. Where is an updated business plan? they asked. HSR Authority Answer: "We ran out of money to do one".

(If the HSR authority is so squared away, why did Prop 1 take so long to process that it had to be shoved in later as Prop 1A? Notice how the differences between 1 and 1A are not highlighted by the state nor an explanation as to why it was late).

The HSR authority had plenty of money to update the old business plan over the past 2 YEARS, or 8 YEARS if you stretch back to 2000. Guess they don't have a clue how to manage thier own budget priorities made up of taxpayer money...

This years budget debacle has ZERO bering on the failure to update the 2000 HSR business plan. They could have done it in 2007 OR 2008 BEFORE placing it on the ballot next November had they managed their assets properly. Perhaps one less boondoggle trip to Europe would have paid for it...

Also, the business plan and the proponents of HSR (like the HSR article writers on this site) today don't go near discussing the reduction or outright elimination of existing AMTRAK service as I already brought up here. Again, just what is the net gain in jobs/services again?

We will be voting on a plan that isn't fully developed and will rival the "Big Dig" in cost overruns, being behind schedule and have taxpayers paying the interest on those bonds all the time.

- The HSR Authority ASKED the UP Railroad if they would "share" their right of way. The UP said, "No". The definition of a railroad right of way isn't just where the tracks are, but a lateral segment of land on EITHER SIDE of what is already there. The railroads use this for maintenance, possible additional track being laid AND to keep other things from encroaching on their ability to move trains on their tracks (cows, buildings, cars, etc.). Remember, they already go 70 plus MPH in places so need lateral separation from anything else.

Therefore, there is no room "beside" the existing UP tracks whre the STATE asked to go and were told NO.

-Kevin: What are the odds of private investors ponying up in this economy? Specifically, why should they TRUST California with our lousy ability to crank out a budget, being a deficit budget at that and once again very close to loosing our state credit rating? Similar to those "predatory lenders" pushing an ARM that the state will default on later perhaps? Nobody wins then.

Also Kevin, I understand the viability of communter improvements. (ONT-LA, etc.)

BUT, why is this being touted alongside HSR? HSR is a STATE effort. Just WHY does it include improvements with only LOCAL applications?

Why isn't the City/County of LA partnering with San Bernardino to improve their transit? Why does Prop 1A delineate funds to improve CABLE CARS, obviously a San Francisco only application?

The big cities/counties have deep tax pockets/bond potential compaired to the entire state paying for their local improvement. LOCAL BONDS could have been proposed to marry up with HSR station locations. No, everyone is going to the STATE gravy trough to take a bite instead. Why should taxpayers in Merced, etc., pay for CABLE CAR improvements in San Francisco?

Not anti-HSR, Pro DOING IT RIGHT. And this isn't it!

NO on Proposition 1A. Do it RIGHT next time.

Post a comment

Commenters: You must preview your comment before posting. And please only hit "Post" once; it may take a while, but your comment is being processed. Thanks.