Election Day 2010 Open Thread
Today is Election Day in California – the polls are open from 7AM to 8PM. If you haven’t voted or turned in your ballot, do so today!
This blog will be closely watching the result of the race for California governor, a race which will play a decisive role in shaping the future of the HSR project. If Meg Whitman wins, she will kill the project’s funding, probably through line-item vetoes, and the project will exist only on paper until a new governor takes office.
However, most polls show Jerry Brown maintaining a clear lead over Whitman in his quest for a third term as governor. Brown is one of the strongest HSR supporters in the state, having created the first HSR project in the early 1980s and having campaigned for it during this year’s race.
Should Brown get elected governor today, we can expect the HSR project to have a very strong future. He will not go along with requests to delay the project, and his clearly demonstrated preference for austerity and “living within our means” indicates he will almost certainly not support more expensive vertical alignments unless localities foot the bill for them. Efforts by HSR critics and opponents to turn the legislature against the project will run into a brick wall, since it’s foolish to assume that a Democratic legislature would undermine a major priority of a Democratic governor, at least in 2011 or 2012.
However, that doesn’t mean the project will continue in exactly the same way it is today. We should expect some kind of reform to the California High Speed Rail Authority under Jerry Brown, should he win – it could be as minimal as appointing new board members, or it could be something much more substantial. Either way, Brown will want to put his own stamp on the project and on the Authority, and he will probably play the decisive role in shaping any reforms.
The other HSR-related news we’ll be watching, alongside gubernatorial campaigns in Wisconsin and Ohio where the Republican candidates have come out against their states’ respective HSR projects, is the battle for control of Congress. If Barbara Boxer and Patty Murray (in Washington State) get re-elected to the Senate, then it is highly likely Democrats will retain control of that chamber. Much more uncertain is who will control the House. HSR has quite a friend in Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but a Speaker John Boehner would not likely be someone who would help get a new Transportation Bill done, or help provide long-term federal funding for HSR.
Should be an eventful and dramatic night. Talk about it in the comments!
UPDATE: Follow our longtime friends at The Overhead Wire for coverage of mass transit initiatives across the country.
UPDATE 2: Looks like the Republicans will indeed take the House of Representatives. God I hope we can get a Transportation Bill done in the lame duck session.
UPDATE 3: Meg Whitman finally concedes to Jerry Brown, who will be inaugurated for his third term as California governor in January. It’s excellent news for high speed rail, tempered by the looming challenge posed by Republican control of the House.
“This blog will be closely watching the result of the race for California governor, a race which will play a decisive role in shaping the future of the HSR project.”
F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5…
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 am
At this point I think the question is how big a margin of victory Brown will have, which is nice.
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:33 am
I know. I voted for him three times already. Going back for a fourth brb…
James Fujita Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Well, I’ve voted for him several times. Just not all in the same election ;)
Victor Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Same here, But unlike most, I’m old enough to have voted for Brown in ’78, ’82 and 2010 for Governor of California, He’s won 2 times, Now can We put Brown in there a 3rd time so He can deliver?
“The other HSR-related news we’ll be watching, alongside gubernatorial campaigns in Wisconsin and Ohio where the Republican candidates have come out against their states’ respective HSR projects,”
What about Florida? It’s the only other one that’s true HSR.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:08 pm
The Infrastructurist seems to think Florida’s GOP candidate is less hostile to HSR than has been feared.
Anyone notice how short the agenda is for the board meeting this Thursday? Not a whole lot listed.
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 am
And even then, a good part of it is being knocked out. Most of the discussion about the Supplemental AA Addendum is skipped. They’re only looking at Redwood City.
I feel sad today. I wonder if america will step up with a can do spirit, or fall prey to cynicism. The saving grace though is living in cali, where all things continue to be possible in spite of the dysfunction of the other 49. My prediction is that while the rest of the country remains mired in politics and fear, once today is settle, regardless of the results, california will dust itself off and get back to being its fabulous self in no time, once again leading a stubborn nation reluctantly back into the light.
Missiondweller Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:14 pm
“fabulous self”?
12.5% unemployment isn’t so fabulous if you work in the private sector.
Victor Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
It is If one is Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina, But then They’ve made their unfair share before. :D
jimsf Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 4:39 am
“will get back to” as in work towards or as in bounce back. YOu do realize that recoveries follow recessions?
There are many important races and issues on the ballot today but make sure you vote, especially if you live in the CA-11, CA-3, CA-20, and CA-47 Congressional districts. Control of Congress (and thus dedicated funding for high speed rail and adequate funding for transit in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill) may depend on the outcome of these House races.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Democrats are also playing offense in CA-44, CA-45, and CA-48. Totally agree that control of the House in particular will decide much about HSR and mass transit funding.
Ben Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:15 pm
The 48th? Dana Rohrabacher in the 46th District has a more competitive district but the 48th has Newport Beach and much of south Orange County– safe GO(B)P territory. I know there’s a pretty competitive Assembly race that overlaps this district, so perhaps that will help with Get Out the Vote efforts and make this race competitive.
Ben Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I grew up in this District and Rob Lowe ran for Congress as a Dem in this district on the West Wing. I’d be thrilled if the 48th is competitive.
Ben Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I also hope Jim Oberstar is re-elected. He was only up by 1 point in a poll last week.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Some reasons why it is competitive:
• It went to Obama by 6 points in 2008
• Irvine, the largest city in the district, is governed by Dems with a strong grassroots base
• John Campbell has been AWOL from the district, leaving an opening for a more determined candidate
That’s not to say Beth Krom is actually going to win tonight. But she could make it much closer than people expect.
Victor Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 6:25 pm
I’m just hoping CA-25 has a change from Buck McKeon(R) to Conaway(D). I’m watching that race among others, Like Boxer(D) and of course Prop 25 for California and Jerry Brown(D) for Governor of California.
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I voted like 12 times for Loretta Sanchez. Because I’m half-Mexican I can let my illegal family members vote tons of times.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! You’ve got the Chicago cemetery residents beat!
But you’d better watch what you say! Who knows if the Repugnant Ones are reading this; they seem dense enough that they may not get the joke!
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Well Van Tran loaded up the voting booths with boat people so it’s all fair game.
I was an Oakland resident during Jerry Brown’s terms as Mayor. Worked with his staff on various transportation initiatives, my partner served on a city commission. Even been to the dude’s house.
Probably most here know that Jerry’s house was located in Jack London square, right along the railroad tracks. Probably almost as close to the tracks as Morris.
Jerry hated those tracks, and spent much effort trying to have them put underground. Didn’t matter how much it cost, or who paid. In fact, he also wanted the Nimitz buried too, until it was pointed out that there would be no way for cars to access downtown from such a deep tunnel. You can take what PAMPA ‘nimbys’ posts here — it is carbon copy of what Mayor Brown said about the UP tracks in Oakland.
So, this idea that Governor Brown will take a dim view of neighbor complaints over railroad tracks, or apply cost controls, is I think another one of Robert’s fantasies.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
But the difference is that it wasn’t what Brown wanted for some other part of the state. If he acted like a NIMBY in his own town, that’s no guarantee he’d do so for the Peninsula, especially when we have a VERY clear record of him being quite frugal and looking askance at unnecessarily expensive infrastructure from his time as governor in the ’70s and ’80s.
I really do not see anything to suggest he would behave any differently today. But hey, cling to that thin reed of hope if you must…
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Not to mention the fact that there are VERY good technical reasons to grade-separate the tracks through Jack London Square, and NONE to trench/tunnel down the Peninsula.
thatbruce Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Somewhat obvious question; is there even the vertical room to put the Jack London tracks below street level but above the Webster and Harrison St tubes? (since I’m assuming that putting them below the tubes would be even harder)
Drunk Engineer Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I see. So if a Morris Brown or other PAMPA person acts like a NIMBY, that is opportunity to bash them. But when Jerry Brown moves next to a rail line and engages in the same NIMBY behavior, well, he’s being quite frugal.
Alon Levy Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Maybe “frugal, unless it affects him” is a better description.
peninsula Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:02 pm
or hypocrit
Alon Levy Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Yep. We’re not dealing with a Russ Feingold here. He still has one important qualification that Whitman doesn’t.
jimsf Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Being familiar with that neighborhood and browns goals for oakland, his thinking on the freeway and railroad – in that particular part of oaklan, makes sense. Browns goal, and he did a pretty good job of achieving it, prior to the whole economy going bust, was to take a large swath of uptown downtown and waterfront real estate and revive it in the same way that cities all across america have been doing for the past 1 – 2 decades. We are all familiar with these deveoplments in our own cities, some are better then others but this was his goal. In the case of those tracks and that freeway, it wasn’t that it was close to his condo, ( he could have lived anywhere he wanted) its that they affect that neighborhood the way the freeways in sf ( prior to the big fall down in 89) affected nighborhoods and across the bay in sf, the transition after removal was nothing short of miraculous. ( I was here for the before and after) The nimitz elevated in the area separates the waterfront from downtown and uptown just the way the embarcardero fwy separated sf’s waterfront from the downtown. In the bay area, waterfront is everything. So in oaklands case, it makes sense to do what he said. It still does.
jimsf Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:24 pm
thisrough sketch shows the areas brown was focused on. His place was near the okj amtrak station. in the waterfront area, previously heavily indutrustrial brown pushed through thousands of units of housing creating an attractive affordable atternative to SF. That rails is 1. a safety issue and accidents hold up amtrak trains on a regular basis. They also run through heavy pedestrian areas adjacent to the jack london square.
The freeway cuts the new waterfront off from a nicely redone revived old historic ( think gaslamp ) district on the west side of broadway, bars clubs restaurants etc small offices architects, real estate things like that. East of broadway is chinatown with more new housing and affordable housing and to the north of that along lake merrit is a beatiful mid century resdidential hood with new luxury buildings as well, lakefront. Adjacent to that at bway and t’graph you get into uptown, the theater district, where affordable and market rate housing mix in an effort to transform the greyhound station doldrums back into a thriving arts/alternatives scene ( think of your local town’s thrusday art walks in the edgy hood, etc ) For brown to suggest altering the fwy and tracks is nothing more than good planning.
timote Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I’ll take a NIMBY in favor of HSR over somebody opposed to it entirely. Any day.
Holw cow is all I can say about what some lady from Morgan Hill wrote about HSR. Talk about trying to scare people. What a joke THIS lady is!!
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Is ANYTHING she wrote technically correct?
Eric M Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I personally like “wind will create a debris field 1/2 mile on either side”!!! Where do these people come up with this stuff?! Unreal!
Richard Mlynarik Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:27 pm
About as technically accurate as Bob “systematic mendacity” Doty of the Peninsula Rail Program says.
James Fujita Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:55 pm
A train every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day = 480 trains. She’s hysterical, in both senses of the word.
thatbruce Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
6 minutes between trains in a given direction, aka 10tph. Either she’s taken some of the proposed tph figures for all trains both HSR and Commuter during rush hour in certain higher-density locations (ie, not Morgan Hill), or she’s figuring that CAHSR will be so successful that it will require that many trains in order to keep up with demand.
James Fujita Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:14 pm
I just want to know who will be riding that 3 a.m. HSR express with the hurricane wind effects.
thatbruce Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Storm Chasers don’t sleep.
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
So who is to blame here? The newspaper or the letter writer? I mean, should a newspaper not print it because it doesn’t even get basic facts straight (for example, 240 MPH isn’t even the top speed of the proposed railroad)?
Or does the newspaper have a duty to reflect the area it serves no matter how retarded they are?
jimsf Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Its the editors job to edit. At least it used to be. Thats why they call him, the editor.
Alan Figgatt Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Trains running at 240 mph, every 3 minutes, with the wind creating a debris field 1/2 mile wide on either side?? 240 mph?? What the wind will shred the trees, the fencing, and kick up rocks & debris alongside the tracks? Those mile wide debris fields in Europe, China, Japan must be impressive to look at.
Emma Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever read about HSR. She made it sound like an F-5 tornado.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Yeah, that’s absurd. I sent in a letter in response just now. We’ll see if it gets printed.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
We’ve got people like that in the east, too. One lawyer in New Jersey tried to block a light rail line from operating, said the wind from all those trolley cars would damage houses along the right-of-way; this was on a line that until then had been hosting infrequent freight trains, and had only been around a hundred years or so–a modern line by eastern standards! Steam passenger trains had roared down those tracks at almost 100 mph back then.
Then there was the doctor, also in New Jersey, who foamed and raved that a new trolley line would damage his early 1800′s vintage house with vibrations. Funny thing was, a rail enthusiast and historian came up with a map that showed not one, but two older trolley lines ran past the house into at least the 1930s! I wonder if he also came up with a photo of a trolley at that location from back in the day. I bet the doctor’s face got all red!
We even have clowns like that in West Virginia. During the building boom, they would build houses next to tracks over which ran (and still run) Amtrak’s Capitol Limited, some Maryland commuter trains, and lots and lots of freight trains, including plenty of 200-car coal trains, plus returning empty trains. These “McMansions” took up to two years to build, during which time they had to take note of all that rail traffic. Then they moved into the house, and the next day started complaining to the West Virginia Public Service Commission about the noise and vibrations.
I’ve been told the West Virginia Public Service Commission people, who are quite used to working around railroads (the state PSC also includes a track and car inspection program at this level) had a hard time keeping a straight face when they told these bozos that those trains had only been there since 1842. Why did they build their house there? In fact, I’ve been told the PSC members often couldn’t keep a straight face as they laughed the cases out the door!
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
Opps. I meant holy cow. lol
Being a resident of WA state, I voted for Murray. Dino Rossi acts like another partisan professional Republican. He wants me to elect him based on the fact that I hate the health care plan D.C. came out with. tell me a better plan next time and I will vote for you. However, if Congress even dares consider a regressive VAT tax, I will remember who not to vote for. My single issue focus was mainly on transportation, especially with threats to privatize marine transportation and seeing a failed experiment north of me.
Anyways, best of luck to Jerry Brown for another term at governor. Hopefully he will steer the Authority in the right direction.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Good! Let’s hope Murray wins, and that Democrats retain control of the state legislature as well. Would be nice if I-1053 failed and I-1098 passed, but I’m doubtful…
political_incorrectness Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 4:33 pm
1053 might be declared unconstitutional due to the fact it would modify the Constitution by making the vote for tax increases 2/3rds. Initiatives cannot ammend the Constitution and therefore, it could be thrown out by the opponents. The problem I have with 1098 is that the state legislature could modify it in two years and shift the income tax to the middle class. We shall see in a couple of hours.
There is a guy preaching on my train right now. He’s talking about god and bellies and little children.
jimsf Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Im just home and tuning in – whatd I miss!!! Please let this be a good night!
I’m waiting for the Secretary of State web site to start updating on the results and the fucker goes down. I’m changing my vote!
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Gee, I wonder why the website is down…
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 pm
F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5, F5…
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Hehe, I managed to get one glimpse of the SoS Governor race. Then I got booted again.
Watch them count live http://www.ocvote.com/tally.htm
hahah
LA Times is already calling it for Brown and Boxer. They also say Prop 19 is voted down based on exit polls, which is probably true.
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
CNN now projecting that Dems retain control of Senate. Thank the Gods.
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:09 pm
But we already knew that.
Everything is going down like the news outlets said it would. It’s sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I mean, it seems that way, certainly.
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Oh wait, like the 2000 election in Florida, you mean?
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:21 pm
What does that even mean?
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:26 pm
I retract my statement. It was stupid.
Alon Levy Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
In Florida, one of the reasons Bush won is that the media called it for Gore while the Panhandle was still voting, depressing Democratic turnout. Then after the entire state had voted, Fox called it for Bush prematurely and the other channels followed, making Gore look like an underdog and a sore loser.
Spokker Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:13 pm
I’m not talking about the calls on election night but the narrative leading up to the election.
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:14 pm
That’s what I realized after I had replied.
YesonHSR Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 pm
very low turnout of the younger voters I have read…very bad
Peter Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:50 pm
But how many of them voted by mail? Does that include them?
Well the big boys Los Angeles and San Francisco have yet to even start reporting and Boxer and Brown are already ahead.. looks like the anti-rail guy in Wisconsin won and the one in Ohio is close to winning also so we’ll see what happens with this funding that they received. I am sure glad that Mica is a high-speed rail fan since he will be the new committee chairman writing the 2011 transportation bill.
Daniel Krause Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Would be great if we could grab some Wisconsin and Ohio HSR money for CA. I am sure the new guv of Wisconsin, who ran on killing HSR, will figure out a way to cancel all the contracts the state just entered into. If ARC is dead, this will be too. Bring it home Boxer!
YesonHSR Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:33 pm
about 1.4 billion if this jerk in Wis can somehow cancel the contract along with that other stoog in Ohio.
It wiil be an intersting media sideshow over this.
Daniel Krause Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Looks like Rick Scott in Florida is going to also win. He probably won’t cancel the Florida project, but you never know with these guys. There is another 2B there if he does.
YesonHSR Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:55 pm
That would not be good news if he cancels the Florida project.. with Mica now the committee chair for infrastructure and transportation in the house we need his Florida high speed rail project to keep high-speed rail in the bills.. if high-speed rail is not happening elsewhere in the country it is going to be very hard to keep getting money from the federal government
Daniel Krause Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I agree, but if they cancel it, CA should still go after it.
BruceMcF Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Well, you’ll have $375m from Ohio to go after … The capital works board is now going to be 5 R’s and 2 D’s, and when Ohio loses the money, Kasich will blame Obama for Ohio losing money that Kasich turned down.
BruceMcF Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:21 pm
OTOH, it may be that Wisconsin signed up for the HSR line, dirty sneaky bastards giving work to Wisconsin workers despite the Republican’s wishes that they go without!.
Alon Levy Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:37 am
You’re right that the project is useful only as makework. I don’t think that’s what you meant to say, though.
BruceMcF Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:38 am
Obviously, anyone who is neither a one-eyed “220mph or bust” Express HSR supporter or a one-eyed “all train projects are make-work” supporter would add a “only”. Its a useful project and at a time when the opportunity cost of these kinds of investments is very low.
AlanF Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:07 pm
The Ohio 3C corridor funds and, if Walker somehow manages to halt the Madison to Milwaukee part of the project, those funds should go to upgrading and completing other corridors of the Midwest regional rail plan in the states that will take the money. Spend the funds to get the St. Louis – Chicago, Detroit- chicago travel times and train frequencies to what is called for in the Midwest plan, improve the other corridors in IL, MI, Iowa, MO, and complete more of the CREATE projects in Chicago that fixes bottlenecks that slow down the intercity routes.
Then let the voters and politicians in OH, WI, IN see the increases in ridership in the other states inear them and wait for the wheel to turn in 4 or 8 years in the holdout states. The other states that should be considered for the Ohio money are NY and PA. The 3C funds are a close match to what PA was looking for to fix up the Keystone East corridor.
YesonHSR Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:27 pm
I suppose all the funds will go back to the DOT and either LaHood will make the decision or they’ll be a new round of applications from all the previous recipients that somehow have the brain still!!
BruceMcF Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 am
There were plenty of applications, so they can simply take the sorting of the applications that just missed out for that round and contact those states to find out which one are still interested. That’s likely the procedure that gets the funds handed out the fastest.
Indeed, Strickland could probably jump start the process by putting the question to proceed to the current board. It will fail, 4 in favor, 3 opposed (5-2 supermajority required) and the USDoT can be notified promptly that the funds are not going to be used.
Where’s synonymouse to give us his “suggestions” on how Meg is going to change the HSR program?
YesonHSR Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:34 pm
she lost by quite a bit in her “home” county!
Joey Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Don’t worry, he’ll be back for an imaginary recall.
Joey Reply:
November 2nd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
synonymouse, that is.
How can Prop 25 and Prop 26 both be winning (currently 53.9% and 55.4% respectively)? This seems completely incoherent. Looks like whichever one gets the most votes will override the other.
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 am
The budget and tax increases are apparently not the same. The message from this election is very clear: the electorate do not want any tax increases. 26 passed; park tax failed badly. But Brown will have a very hard time countering the teachers union and welfare advocates plan for tax increases.
So party hearty until you start working up your 540.
rafael Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:07 am
Not really. Voters want to see balanced budgets passed on time, but they don’t want new taxes or fees to achieve that balance. The upshot is that Dems will have to make some hard choices on public investment and services.
I fully expect that Gov. Brown will force CHSRA to focus on reducing the total cost of the starter line. Here are some suggestions to help make that happen.
1. Ask FRA to dedicate a “regulator on site” in Sacramento, charged with drafting and enforcing rules on PTC interoperability, CHSRA’s “rule of special applicability” and other issues related to rail services in California.
2. Dedicate a CPUC headcount to define noise & vibration limits and spell out conditions for relaxing GO-26D (regarding platform heights). This person should work alongside the FRA regulator to identify and resolve any conflicts between proposed or existing state and federal regulations related to rail services.
3. Insist that CHSRA develop viable shared track alignment alternatives for San Fernando Valley-Anaheim ARTIC and SF TTC-Point Lick (south San Jose) that meet the legal requirements spelled out in AB3034(2008), provided regulatory relief is forthcoming and the freight operator(s) can be brought on board. Some out-of-the-box thinking may be required, e.g. spending a little on upgrading or replacing Metrolink OC line and Amtrak PS equipment with FRA-compliant DMUs or DEMUs instead of a boatload on dedicated tracks for HSR and redundant PTC implementations. Note in particular that there is no legal requirement to achieve an SF-LA travel time of 2h40m at all times of day every day of the week.
4. Advise TJPA, Caltrain and CHSRA that prop 1A(2008) bond appropriations for the SF-SJ segment will be put on hold unless
a) the three agencies extend the definition of the DTX tunnel project to include the future of the 4th & King yard plus the two new grade separations between Mission Creek and the north portal of tunnel #1 and,
b) the layout of the TTC rail station, DTX tunnel and 4th & Townsend station enables a total of at least 16 trains per hour each way during peak periods, with appropriate dwell times for both Caltrain and HSR plus pedestrian flow capacity and,
c) level entry platform height is harmonized such that any train can use any platform track at the TTC and,
d) the DTX tunnel is scaled back to two conventional TBM-bored tracks or a single TBM-bored loop track and,
e) Caltrain fully leverages HSR investments in PTC, corridor traffic management plus electrification and,
f) the aggregate cost to the state for the entire segment is kept under a TBD ceiling by integrating timetables, sharing platforms and making do with as little quad tracking as necessary. Particular attention needs to be paid to the Dumbarton wye in Redwood City in the context of a peak period timetable at ultimate capacity – even if that will not actually be reached for decades, if ever. This will impose constraints on Caltrain stop patterns and HSR stop patterns and performance as well as UPRR daytime operations.
Some of the above would require revisiting some already-completed EIRs plus regulatory relief from both FRA and CPUC plus a deal with UPRR.
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:32 am
Your memorandum of cooperation and interoperability makes a lot of sense but do you think you can get it past the egos and hubris of the various individuals and entities involved?
Wouldn’t it be simpler to re-route the hsr via Altamont and 101 and leave Caltrain to do its own thing?
Joey Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:15 pm
No, because intermodal connectivity along the peninsula is something we want. Not that 101 would be that much easier anyway, particularly between SF and Redwood City.
Richard Mlynarik Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
You won’t get it with the limitlessly insane “plans” that Caltrain’s cretin-in-charge is proposing.
No shared stations (other than in the most pedantic sense), no shared infrastructure, no shared anything.
All you’ll get is a Flight Level Zero airline flying through your backyard, generating noise, screwing up actual useful regional service, FOREVER, and serving nobody.
Intermodal connectivity? That’s for foreign pussies. Not for brave Americans. Not for Caltrain’s very own Bob Doty. Not for PBQD or HNTB. And certainly not for anybody who lives anywhere along the SF Peninsula.
Anon256 Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:50 am
The text of prop 25 states ‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law or of this Constitution, the budget bill and other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill may be passed in each house by … a majority of the membership concurring… For purposes of this section, “other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill” shall consist only of bills identified as related to the budget in the budget bill passed by the Legislature.’ This makes it sound as though any tax or fee increase need only be identified as “related to the budget” to be passed with a majority vote.
The “Intent” section of prop 25 states that it is not intended to remove the 2/3 requirement for new taxes, but it is unclear whether the text actually added to the state constitution does this nonetheless. The “Intent” section is silent on the more broadly defined “fees” targeted by prop 26.
Prop 26, for its part, contains language that “In the event that this measure shall receive a greater number of affirmative votes [than another measure relating to the legislative or local votes required to enact taxes or fees], the provisions of this measure shall prevail in their entirety, and the provisions of the other measure or measures relating to the legislative or local votes required to enact taxes or fees shall be null and void.” However prop 25 currently has significantly more votes than prop 26, so this section will presumably not be operative.
On August 5, 2010, a Superior Court judge ruled that Prop 25 did not maintain the 2/3rds requirement to raise taxes, but the Superior Court’s decision was reversed by the California 3rd District Court of Appeals on August 9, 2010, allowing the ballot language to remain intact. There will no doubt be further litigation on the scope of prop 25 and its conflicts with prop 26, but the fact that both passed convinces me that the voters of California are completely insane.
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
Not at all. They have been played by the welfare interests who have overseen a very large increase in state social spending in the last 10 years. These guys not only fight belt tightening; they want to increase spending in the face of a revenue drop. You know what that entails.
If Brown increases taxes the chances of a recall are quite high. Before you start flaming ask yourself if the virtually overnight recall of Gary Davis was just a bad dream. The public is more riled than then. Brown will have to put off the people who bankrolled his election. Figure on his approval rating tanking faster than Obama’s.
Anon256 Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:20 pm
California absolutely must increase taxes to survive. There has been a desperate need to do so for years, and prop 25 might finally make it possible. I only wish the rest of prop 13 could have been repealed.
Russell Peterson, the strongly anti-HSR candidate for Menlo Park City Council, is currently sixth of out six candidates, with only half as many votes as the second-to-last place candidate. One might almost start to think that opposing HSR at all costs is not, in fact, the top priority of most Menlo Park residents…
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:15 am
Funny, there was a poll from April 2010, and an election result from November 2008, that indicated this to be the case. I keep telling people that the Menlo Park NIMBYs are a very small but vocal group of people. Maybe this will help people realize just how true it is.
Reality Check Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 am
Peterson reportedly received an endorsement from a group with TEA “Party” affiliation (and which he denied soliciting) … that probably hurt him since I don’t think the TEA party is very popular in Menlo Park.
mike Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:20 am
The Tea Party also supported Menlo Park Measure L, but that still passed by a very wide margin. It’s hardly a kiss of death.
Brown: 3,741,666. Whitman: 2,863,286. Voted tallied: 90.4%
Jim “Build HSR in the Valley” Costa is currently in a very tight race with Andy Vidak, but he is slightly ahead.
Texas Oil Prop. 23 is failing :) “Save transit funds from state raids” Prop. 22 is passing.
I’m just glad Reid won. I was really hoping that underdog in florida would pul it off too but such luck.
Alon Levy Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 am
I’m annoyed Reid won. I’d trade him for Feingold in a heartbeat.
jimsf Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:16 am
I like reid, He doesn’t have the most dynamic personality but he I think he’s smart and hardworking. That isn’t always the best thing in washington I guess, but he has the backing of labor and the common sense people of nevada who know what he has or hasn’t done for them at home. They made the choice.
Alon Levy Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I’d like him a lot more if he didn’t first vote for banning D&X abortions, and then criticize the Supreme Court for upholding the ban. Or if he had half of Pelosi’s ability to get legislation passed.
Victor Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:12 am
Me too, Florida has almost all the money they need to construct their HSR starter line, I’m glad Reid won too. Harris is winning over Cooley for CSAG, Boxer has beaten Fiorina Who has yet to Concede in the race for US Senator to California, Just Concede will Ya Fiorina? Admit It, You’ve lost.
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:34 am
The casino moguls need Reed to carry the water for their nationwide expansion.
Robert, What does the House majority to Republicans mean to High Speed Rail. Or, other transportation efforts here in California, such as LA’s 30-10 Initiative. Do you have an opinion or understanding of such?
Ben Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
What does it mean? It means a disaster for the next two years. Jim Oberstar, the Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure lost. No Republican in the House voted for the Recovery Act, which as readers know, has been much of the Federal contribution to high speed rail in CA. The Republican’s Pledge to America’s Corporations also calls for reducing discretionary spending to 2008 levels and presumably, funding for high speed rail and transit will be part of that.
If there is any ‘good’ news from yesterday, at least Barbara Boxer was re-elected and the blue team managed to hold on to the Senate with likely 53 seats (perhaps 54 if either Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins can be convinced to switch parties). There has been no bigger supporter of the 30/10 Plan than Barbara Boxer and it makes a huge difference having her as Chairwoman of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee instead of climate change-denier, James Inhofe.
Daniel Krause Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 am
With the loss of house, it is likely $50B for HSR is substantively dead. With the loss of Oberstar, it is also symbolically dead. Hope we can keep a few dribbles coming in each year during the annual appropriation process. We may be looking more closely at the Asian offers of cash for HSR.
morris brown Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:55 am
Oberstar’s lose:
http://www.wctrib.com/event/apArticle/id/D9J8LB9G0/
will deal a major blow to federal funding for projects like this. With the major change in the house you are going to see a major effort to cut back on spending and one might wonder if even the house will appropriate funds for the promised and awarded ARRA funds to California that have been previously been given.
Spokker Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:22 pm
I wonder if our new Tea Party overlords will fund highways and roads.
Spokker Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I mean, if they are really serious about reducing the deficit, then it might actually do some good, but I have a feeling that they are big spenders, they just don’t know it yet.
I mean, what are they going to do when they start cutting back on social security benefits (remember, can’t raise taxes) and the old folks who voted them in start getting pissed? Are they going to take a bite out of military spending? I hope so.
But I doubt that will happen.
YesonHSR Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:06 am
Thats what we cannot have is dribles and hoping for money every year..we wont get the project open by 2020…We need this bill now
YesonHSR Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:02 am
Now Oberstar loosing is TERRIBLE news!! It was he and Rep.Mica that wrote that transportation bill.
It really pisses me off that Obama and Boxer refused to move on this bill simply because we’re worried about losing in the midterms well.. they got their asses kicked last night big time.. spent all their capital on getting healthcare passed anot a very good one to begin with, when the economy was reeling.. remember what happened to George Bush number one… ITS THE ECONOMY STUPID.. they ignore that. And now we have no transportation bill and Oberstar is gone..he was winning last night when I last looked I can’t believe he lost.. our only hope is that Mica places some kind of high-speed rail money in the next bill though it probably will not be 50 billion and may have strict attachments for speed limits for true high speed rail only…
Victor Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:17 am
You don’t mean Speed Limits on HSR do You?
thatbruce Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:04 am
Minimum speeds perhaps?
YesonHSR Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:23 pm
yes minimun was what I was talking about..ie 150MPH seems to be his idea of it..
BruceMcF Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:54 am
The only slender hope of avoiding basically a zeroing out for the next two years would seem to be getting an authorization passed in the lame duck. That seems like it involves sitting down with Voinovich and a pen and a blank piece of paper and saying, “start writing what you want in a six year transport authorization”.
Since the appropriation has to pass both chambers, horse trading will happen to get appropriations for the various things authorized. Getting something appropriated that is not already authorized, however, doesn’t seem likely ~ too many potential supporters will be busy instead trading for what has been authorized.
Given that there are substantial funds already appropriated, the focus should be on using them and getting services running, to allow people to run in 2012 and 2014 on “those SOBs don’t let us have any good stuff like that state over there has”. As far as transport, the next two years will be trying to save as many deck chairs as possible from the sinking ship. Amtrak will be under attack again, New Starts will be under attack … the traditional urban v suburban fight with the big business interests pretending to represent the suburbs holding the purse strings.
mike Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:23 am
No problem, the Chinese will always finance the balance for us if the Feds can’t. ;-)
tony d. Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Agree with Mike. We’ll probably have to look abroad to get HSR funding; particularly China or Japan.
Screw to GOP feds and Tea Parties!
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:27 am
Maybe the Chinese will insist on bringing in their own engineers and force out PB-Palmdale.
As they say, all kidding aside, sovereign funds at some point bring up a constitutional issue. Only the federal government can do a treaty. A foreign corporation is one thing but a foreign government is quite another. Especially one we are not getting along with very well.
Peter Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:32 pm
These wouldn’t be “sovereign funds”, though. These would be funds from banks in foreign countries.
Robert Cruickshank Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:02 pm
See my latest post. It makes things tougher, but by no means impossible. The biggest threat isn’t teabagger ideology, but Republican political calculation that it’s better to let the country collapse if it leads to Obama losing in 2012.
political_incorrectness Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I think people have the mindset of if there is policy gridlock, throw them out of the way of a traffic jam. I am personally sick that we cannot accomplish anything in this country due to partisan party lines. I think there might be a 3rd party uprising soon. The new governor of Rhode Island is truly independent although not a stranger of politics.
synonymouse Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I do believe we will see a third party emerging out of the ruins of the Republican party when the nationalists of Main Street finally see they are being used by the internationalists of Wall Street. It will be something along the lines of the Front National in France.
Infrastructure projects simply don’t produce the large number of jobs they did circa the New Deal. Times and methods have changed. But street paving remains comparatively simple and local and is always popular with the public. And from the jobs angle the CA hsr is not such an easy sell as the engineering consultant is foreign-owned and the rolling stock suppliers are foreign-owned. It is easier for the Europeans as they have a home-grown rail industry.
International economics could complicate matters in unpredictable ways. Bernanke is blowing $600 billion on asset acquisition, which is pissing off the Chinese who obviously see it as a reaction to their yuan rigging and the developing countries threaten to slap controls on dollars coming in. A very interesting standoff. A devalued dollar would make these overseas hsr suppliers have to swallow some big losses, even with some assembly here in the States.
So… Now we have an all-blue state but no federal government to help us for the next 2 years. That means, more foreign capital and private investments.
James Fujita Reply:
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
We have no HSR industry to speak of here in the United States. Even the commuter rail factories we have are mostly foreign-owned. So what, other than xenophobia, is wrong with a little more foreign investment in the U.S.?
Ed Rendell was saying that there are actually two areas where the republicans will cooperate – education and infrastructure. Lets face it, red states need stuff just the same as blue ones. Even tea party ( and henceforth I refuse to use “tea party” but the more appropriate ” right wing of the party”) members will have to bring home jobs, and solve transportation issues, especially once the economy does turn around, and people start commuting en mass again, and shipping picks up etc… A lot of other stuff is likely to get wheeled and dealed away in favor of consensus of these two things.
“Even tea party ( and henceforth I refuse to use “tea party” but the more appropriate ” right wing of the party”)”
Why not just use the term ‘corporate-shills’?
jimsf Reply:
November 4th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
ok