Yup, yup, yup . . . easy peasy. Just remember how well the NEC Futures Plan to build a high-speed bypass through Liberal Connecticut went.
Even if Connecticut were mostly conservative, it still wouldn't have happened. The proposal was to bulldoze dozens of homes in high population areas. Not to mention the cost, especially considering the property values in Fairfield County.Yup, yup, yup . . . easy peasy. Just remember how well the NEC Futures Plan to build a high-speed bypass through Liberal Connecticut went.
Exactly. And how else are you going to build these new rail routes? It's probably easier to create a flying train . . . oh wait!Even if Connecticut were mostly conservative, it still wouldn't have happened. The proposal was to bulldoze dozens of homes in high population areas. Not to mention the cost, especially considering the property values in Fairfield County.
As opposed to their current POTUS. Both have a very strong base of support, and I'd expect the GND to receive consideration 10 years down the road especially as her generation (which actually favors this stuff, because they actually care about the future they'll be living in) becomes a larger portion of the electorate.I like the idea of high speed trains and a Green New Deal in general, but AOC is a gaff machine. A high speed train would take 16 hours to cross the country from Penn Station to the Transbay Terminal.
If we're abolishing airlines, there'd be a lot of people that would take a 16-hour cross-country train because it'd become the fastest option.Not if we abolish airlines and cows A cross country train taking that long would likely make it into a overnight train. And probably not carry a lot of people.
Fortunately, nobody is proposing that.Not if we abolish airlines and cows A cross country train taking that long would likely make it into a overnight train. And probably not carry a lot of people.
Well, the opinions are based not on the resolution itself, but rather on FAQs generated by the exact same representative who wrote the resolution.Sure, but that still doesn't mean we should be basing our own opinions on this from extremely right wing sources. Conclude yourself what its merits are and are not from what is actually being proposed. Can you give me any reason why we should be basing our opinions on this deal off of someone else's obviously biased opinion?
The question though is, what percentage of all overall air trips are from Philadelphia to San Francisco, versus journeys that could reasonably be made by HSR.What does it matter how long that takes? People that need to get there in a reasonable time frame will still fly.
Point still stands that the page Rover posted was a column on the website of a very conservative advocacy group, and the page GBN linked to was an op-ed by a very right wing author and journalist. Those are not reliable sources and therefore are not a good place for us to build our opinions off of.Well, the opinions are based not on the resolution itself, but rather on FAQs generated by the exact same representative who wrote the resolution.
To be fair (and balanced), AOC's office claims the FAQ was a draft and should not have been released. It's in these FAQs that the reference to being unable eliminate farting cows and airplanes in 10 years is mentioned.
He's not wrong, though some of that can be overcome. I do think HSR will eventually come, most likely in the slightly flawed Texas Central project. But TC has also run across a lot of roadblocks (lobbies and legal action), so I could also see them giving up on it too.Let me throw this into the pot, without comments...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/13/why-united-states-will-never-have-high-speed-rail/?utm_term=.756c48d88c38
I haven't read Jis's article because of a paywall, but I don't believe Texas Central is necessarily scalable. there may be a handful of other corridors where that model might just about work. But t is an illusion to believe a contguous national network will ever come to be without government money (*). So the question is, when, and under what set of circumstances will that happen?He's not wrong, though some of that can be overcome. I do think HSR will eventually come, most likely in the slightly flawed Texas Central project. But TC has also run across a lot of roadblocks (lobbies and legal action), so I could also see them giving up on it too.Let me throw this into the pot, without comments...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/13/why-united-states-will-never-have-high-speed-rail/?utm_term=.756c48d88c38
Nor are documents other than the resolution that have been withdrawn and publicly Disavowed by the author. Doubly so when there a bunch of copies of it that have been altered floating around.Point still stands that the page Rover posted was a column on the website of a very conservative advocacy group, and the page GBN linked to was an op-ed by a very right wing author and journalist. Those are not reliable sources and therefore are not a good place for us to build our opinions off of.
That's a gross mischaracterization of his remarks. He literally said the opposite: "For those who want to walk away from this whole endeavor, I offer you this: Abandoning high speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises and lawsuits to show for it."
Next, let’s level about high speed rail. I have nothing but respect for Governor Brown’s and Governor Schwarzenegger’s ambitious vision. I share it. And there’s no doubt that our state’s economy and quality of life depend on improving transportation.
But let’s be real. The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.
Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. I wish there were.
However, we do have the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield.
I know that some critics will say this is a “train to nowhere.” But that’s wrong and offensive. The people of the Central Valley endure the worst air pollution in America as well as some of the longest commutes. And they have suffered too many years of neglect from policymakers here in Sacramento. They deserve better.
High Speed Rail is much more than a train project. It’s about economic transformation and unlocking the enormous potential of the Valley.
We can align our economic and workforce development strategies, anchored by High Speed Rail, and pair them with tools like opportunity zones, to form the backbone of a reinvigorated Central Valley economy.
Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield, and communities in between are more dynamic than many realize.
The Valley may be known around the world for agriculture, but there is another story ready to be told. A story of a region hungry for investment, a workforce eager for more training and good jobs, Californians who deserve a fair share of our state’s prosperity.
Look, we will continue our regional projects north and south. We’ll finish Phase 1 environmental work. We’ll connect the revitalized Central Valley to other parts of the state, and continue to push for more federal funding and private dollars. But let’s just get something done.
For those who want to walk away from this whole endeavor, I offer you this:
Abandoning high speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises and lawsuits to show for it.
And by the way, I am not interested in sending $3.5 billion in federal funding that was allocated to this project back to Donald Trump.
Nor am I interested in repeating the same old mistakes.
Today I am ordering new transparency measures.
We’re going to hold contractors and consultants accountable to explain how taxpayer dollars are spent – including change orders, cost overruns, even travel expenses. It’s going online, for everybody to see.
You’re also going to see some governance changes, starting with my pick for the next chair of the High Speed Rail Authority, Lenny Mendonca, my Economic Development Director. Because, at the end of the day, transportation and economic development must go hand in hand.
Well, basically he's saying, let's finish the bit that's already under construction and that we can't meaningfully pull out of, giving us some sort of accelerated San Joaquin service, and postpone the other bits to some undefined point in the far distant future with no commitment.That's a gross mischaracterization of his remarks. He literally said the opposite: "For those who want to walk away from this whole endeavor, I offer you this: Abandoning high speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises and lawsuits to show for it."
...The new Governor is thus proposing to finish the initial planned route from Merced to Bakersfield, now with the stated goal of revitalizing rural areas that have been parched due to water rationing. Lo, high-speed rail is “about economic transformation and unlocking the enormous potential of the Valley,” which is “hungry for investment” and “good jobs.” Mr. Newsom in his speech also pared back a project championed by Mr. Brown to deliver more water to farmers.
Since I had not seen any specific completion date for anything beyond the first phase in the Valley, I think people may be over-reading and over-analyzing this one. This is similar to the amount of commitment that even the French had for the Tours - Bordeaux segment of LGV when the LGV Atlantique was built. There was a high level vision plan and nothing beyond that. People who wish to think that is abandoning, have a case, as do people who think it is merely stating the obvious reality of staging construction. So one of those case where both could potentially be right or wrong. :unsure:Well, basically he's saying, let's finish the bit that's already under construction and that we can't meaningfully pull out of, giving us some sort of accelerated San Joaquin service, and postpone the other bits to some undefined point in the far distant future with no commitment.
That sounds very much like abandoning to me.
Potisch, because I was unable to locate such in my weekly stack of Times and Journals. The first thing I could locate was Ms. Strassel's column, which I have to believe you must acknowledge appeared within recognized media.
Be it noted, however, that I carefully reported the material was a column.
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