CA HSR

Mid-February and the antiquated train momentum rolls through the Valley with a high dollar marketing sales pitch full of deception. In an article in the Fresno Bee (February 11, 2011) the City of Fresno enthusiastically embraces the incoherent plan.

In Washington the mood isn't as joyous. February 12th the Fresno Bee reports a darker look at the possibility of the antique train being implemented. Even still, CA's rep. Costa insisted that the billion dollar boondoggle is an "economic and quality of life game-changer". His statement fails to recognize that the subsidized project is inefficient economically. Money for the project is someone else' tax which lowers American's quality of life by over-taxation.

The only feasible solution is a privately funded project that recovers it's capital costs with ridership farebox by using new technology designed to conveniently take people directly where they need to go. A privately funded project does not present a burden to the general public.

California High Speed Rail news

A congratulations is in order for Tom Richards, newly appointed to the CA HSRA Board.

Unanswered Questions of the CA HSR

The price of California's high speed rail isn't touted as civilization's salvation by everyone; in this recent blog, author Richard Rider suggests there are financial pieces missing from a viable business plan.

Another paper is summerized here with the Executive Summary done by the Community Coalition on High Speed Rail.

Urban Sprawl

In 2006 the CA State legislature passed the air quality bill: AB32. This piece of legislation sets a target for California to have the same measure of heavy air particulates as in 1990 by 2020.

With the increase of roads and automobile centric development, charts show a continual increase to the decline of air quality. Obtaining a dramatic decrease requires a change of land use and a reduction of automobile use. California’s current land use design patterns are automobile centric and problematic for lowering pollution. Sprawl development continues the proliferation of automobile use which exacerbates the pollution increase.

As City’s Planners began to grapple with what urban growth has turned into as they began looking into the effects of AB32, the State Senate passed SB375 which mandates every MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) to devise a Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) into every regional and city growth plan.

As the West grew in the 1800s, the growth was based on trains and transit systems. With automobiles being unsustainable and our entire society being based on an unsustainable foundation, it has come to the time when we get to change.

Following illusion

Following the proposed CA high speed rail, it is an interesting sight to see the rapid increase of spending over the past couple years now that the project has gained political interest. The latest news shows two States refusing ties of accepting federal rail dollars due to inadequate planning. As an act of vengeful retaliation, those dollars are headed to add another $600mil to the gluttony queen of irrational irresponsible spending: California. Rather than interpreting the act of refusing to accept the rail dollars as a sign of needed re-examination of federal rail funds, the money was immediately tagged for the worlds biggest project of irrationality: the CA HSR and its infamous "train to nowhere". It should be gaining an industry reputation as California's gravy train for jobs that create nothing.

GOD's Word says as the blind lead the blind, they will walk together into the ditch. California's transportation solution is to use modern transit technology.

Ha ha ha ha HSR

The CA HSR provides comedy relief to an otherwise serious issue. In the news today is an article which will be used as the next target for mockery of their confused behavior.

It appears as though they've selected the ROW (Rights-of-Ways) with the BNSF as the proposed corridor through the Valley. The likelihood of having Warren Buffet cooperate with the State of CA is the best chance that the HSRA has of obtaining a possible corridor ROW.

The hysterical part of the news story is the proposal of building that old technology heavy rail train from Madera to Corcoran. Its course should be extended another 15 miles north so that it could at least connect the Chowchilla women prison to the Corcoran men prison. At least that would make more sense for destination reasoning. At least the route will make it convenient for Fresno residents to get to the Corcoran prison, perhaps Charles Manson will now have a chance to pick-up more visitors.

According to the reported figures, the heavy rail train will come under their earlier figures of $70million per mile with the cost of $64million per mile. That figure, however, assumes that none of the line will be at the $120million per mile cost of its 60 foot elevated proposed cost figures.

A New Technology Transit system would be a wise choice as an alternative technology choice. It would be able to provide a far superior mode of mobility that travels much faster and at a fraction of the cost the CA HSRA political force wants to give to their foriegn manufacturing associates.

Time for action

Yet another report; this one from US PIRG Educational Fund. While it does support the underlying aspect of the unsustainable automobile, it is nothing more than another study to say things are better in other parts of the world and does nothing to change the cause of our land use crisis.

This report suggests that we need to build a "high speed" rail network by 2050. One needs to keep this term in perspective. In the 1800s America built steam locomotives which pulled trains exceeding speeds of 90mph. Today's political push is to call a train traveling at a speed of 79mph: a "high speed" train. This bureaucratic line of rational is nauseating.

There is technology being developed that has computer simulated speeds of 4,500mph at a fraction of the cost of those 150 year old technology antiques.