Valley high-speed rail route blasted
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Submitted by scottjason on Fri, 2008-07-25 09:06. |
Michael Mahoney, a Bay Area lawyer, is telling the Central Valley what's best for it in a column he penned for The San Francisco Chronicle.
He argues that plans for the high-speed rail cutting across the state have been co-opted, and it's become a project that's bound to fail. It's a "too many cooks spoiled the soup" take.
"Unfortunately, the Central Valley politicians asked that the system serve the communities of Merced, Fresno, and Bakersfield, so Merced residents would have a high-speed train as well. An airliner from San Francisco to Los Angeles does not stop in Merced."
He goes on.
"First, instead of building the line on cheap rural land, the designers will run it through the heart of Modesto, Merced, Fresno, and Bakersfield - the urban areas, with the most expensive land in the San Joaquin Valley."
That's true for the the San Joaquin Valley, they're tiny compared with Bay Area and Southern California values.
He also thinks the high-speed rail will annoy many residents as it whizzes through the Valley at 225 mph. I'm not sure if it'd be much worse than the trains that already chug along Santa Fe Drive and 16th Street.
Mahoney wants to leave the Valley out of any plans for a high-speed rail in the same way that the state has typically neglected the area's highways.
Commuting
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Submitted by celthorseman on Tue, 2008-07-29 11:06.
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Yes; better way of commuting is needed. I would like to see Merced, Modesto, Stockton, Tracy, and other outlining areas connect with the bay area. There is the Ace train, but that does not meet up conveniently with Bart or light rail. I almost think that if they brought Bart over the Alitimont and into the valley it would be a better bet.
Syndicate
High speed railway
We need better commuting systems here in the valley. The high speed rail is one of those better commutes. Better that it go from city to city than through wildlife preserves and pristine wetlands. We don't need any more environmental damage no matter what the financial cost.