Today was the big groundbreaking ceremony for Californias High Speed Rail project. A historic day for California, in Fresno. Some call it a boondoggle and the train to nowhere and others argue thats a short-term view. At $68 Billion it has a big price tag. Many suggest that the financing piece of this project is shaky at best. However, some say this train will better-connect the state much like the freeways/highways did 60 years ago. Granted the California Department of Transportation is still working on billions of dollars of projects to create more freeway capacity. This HSR project has been the focus of many lawsuits, political agendas, and is in the process of demolishing many homes and businesses. Lets hope the design for the HSR project doesnt blight or create barriers in the communities that it goes through like many freeways in California have done. Lets hope people can sleep in their homes and the noise is not too loud like living next to freeways. The HSR project will open up new job opportunities in the central valley that is desperate for jobs and leads the nation in unemployment and poverty. Right now Amtrak provides connectivity throughout the state but in many areas it requires switching modes between train and bus. This HSR project when connected to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento could eventually make traveling easier and contribute to cleaning up the air. One question that some have is why was it an invite only ground breaking. This is the largest public works project in California and yet the public were not invited. One picture below is a grandmother who brought her two grandsons to see the governor speak and see the historic event. They were turned away....
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 06:11:20 +0000
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