My Comment in the ABC News (Fresno, L.A.) reporting (circa Feb. 1, 2018) of Calif. State Senators' Patterson and Beall's successful request to the legislature to audit (again) the CHSRA boondoggle:
Actually, the mentioned $65-$68B cost is only the CHSRA (disinformation amount to confuse drive-by superficial news coverage) number used for HSR from Bakersfield to San Jose. The previous $98B used was to LA (Lancaster) before the exponential cost of going *through* the Tehachapi's, now up an unknown amount. Also, does not include SF Bay Area's Caltrain HSR "upgrade" nor the $2-3B *estimated* tunneling to SF downtown. The monies for this horrible boondoggle could be better used for Ca's safety net needs for children, seniors, disabled, mentally ill, and education K-12, UC and CSU tuition reduction, etc etc.
For transportation, finishing electrified, grade separated BART around the SF Bay is better spent, moves more people, with more frequency, safer, quieter, and zero cross-traffic congestion.
Improving and expanding CA's *real* mass (moves tens of millions daily) road transportation system and safety (where possible) is also a better use than the limited number of riders and workers and destinations.
Below are samples of such important road projects across California:
:
SR152 (Pacheco Pass 13 mi to 4-Lane),
SR41 (Various from SR145 to US101,
SR46 (Various from SR99 to SR1)
SR43 (Fresno to SR99 deadly!),
SR85 (Widen 1 lane each way, as designed)
SR140 (East of Merced to I-5),
SR145 (I-5, or SR((to SR41)
SR180 Fresno area),
SR198 (finish 4-lane from Lemoore to I-5),
SR58 (I-5 to SR99:
SR58 (SR99 to Kramer's Corner widen, where needed (Tehachapi's),
SR58 (4-lane@US395 Kramer's Junction to I-15 Barstow)
US395 (SR58 Ridgecrest to Kramer's Corner, to I-15)
SR65 (Porterville to SR99),
SR91 (Orange County SR57 to I-215)
SR65/SR104/SR148 (Sactamento Beltway),
SR14 (Palmdale SR138 to Castaic SR14/I-5/I-210 Junctions),
SR15 (US395 to Las Vegas, not a taxpayer subsidized HSR)
SR130 (SJ to I-5 to relieve horrid I-680 &I-580 Corridor)
SR138 (near US395 Victorville to SR18 to I-5 Gorman to 4-lane)
SR74 (I-15-I-5) SR76, SR78, (SR73 no tolls)
I-205, SR120, SR166/33 emergency ingress/egress (widen where necessary)and, importantly
I-5 (widen from Wheeler Ridge (Grapevine) to Sacramento in existing right of way)
etc, etc, etc,
Buyout existing Toll Roads and toll lanes to stop exorbitant per mile fees for SOVs and other users that can exceed by well 20 times the average less-than $.05/mile CA state motor vehicle fees and taxes that the average car, truck motorist pays on non-toll roads.
Just as California's basic highway and freeway system was built by requisite, exclusive use of gas tax funds, by the California Constitution, until the dreaded 1972 Prop.5 opened 20% for any wasteful, subsidized, mass transit esp. light rail's 90% financial subsidy-sinkhole redux, then a vote to re-lock gas tax monies for roads--including for road mass transit). Limited near-profitable, or profitable grade-separated, electrified heavy rail (BART, for example) would be financially efficient when funded by the General Fund, and, if continuing Cap-and-Trade (ugh, i.e. oil, gasoline derivatives).
The above will take time and gas tax (and other?) monies, but is necessary to meet past (Jerry Brown's anti-freeway disability to 2017) average 3% CA road use growth and future inevitable growth, the monies would be better spent to serve citizens than
for commerce, holiday, work/trade vehicles, buses, vans, passenger cars, heavy utility and cargo trucks, emergency vehicles, and all other of millions of unionized and non-union road users of all driving ages that would fund these; rather than the waste of well over $100B (some estimates of HSR from San Diego to Sacramento exceed $300B) that deprives so many safety net needy of critical, basic General Fund dollars that would pay the millions of dollars of just interest on HSR bonds, irrespective of the initial capital cost and operating cost, just because Jerry Brown says "I like trains" since he rode on one in his youth over 70 years ago.
BART references are copied to my "BART around the Bay" blog.
Subscriber, member of American Highway Users Alliance and National Motorist Association Foundation, Silicon Valley Electric Vehicle Association, The Newspaper, Mass Transit magazines, etc.
