High-speed rail won the pole position on the November ballot
– it was named Proposition 1 when the secretary of state
assigned numbers to the 11 initiatives voters will consider. That’s
no guarantee of victory, but the momentum is clearly building.
The proposal to build an 800-mile system of 200-mph trains
linking Southern and Northern California, by way of the Valley, has
made a great deal of sense throughout its two-decade gestation.
Proposition 1, the $9.95 billion bond measure, is the necessary
first step.
High-speed rail won the pole position on the November ballot – it was named Proposition 1 when the secretary of state assigned numbers to the 11 initiatives voters will consider. That’s no guarantee of victory, but the momentum is clearly building.
The proposal to build an 800-mile system of 200-mph trains linking Southern and Northern California, by way of the Valley, has made a great deal of sense throughout its two-decade gestation. Proposition 1, the $9.95 billion bond measure, is the necessary first step.
High-speed rail will be an engine of economic development that we badly need in this state, creating tens of thousands of jobs in both its construction and its operation.
It will have a dramatic impact on our environment, removing thousands of cars from California’s highways. Less congestion will make the remaining vehicles more efficient for those that remain on the road. Conservative estimates suggest millions of barrels of oil could be saved annually, and as much as 22 billion pounds of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere.
The rail system would also reduce the need for many short- and medium-haul airline flights, which pollute the atmosphere at an astonishing rate.
Now, with gasoline at $4.50 a gallon and rising, high-speed rail is no longer just a good idea. It’s imperative. …
Congress is getting on board. Next year’s transportation bill could include as much as $60 billion for high-speed rail projects. Because California is well ahead of the rest of the nation, it’s reasonable to expect a good share of that money would be added to the funds from the bond measure – if it passes in November. …
Opponents of high-speed rail act as if the alternative to high-speed rail and its cost is to do nothing. That’s absurd, as absurd as the notion that we just need to build more freeways and expand airports, and keep burning all that cheap fuel. Not only would that make air quality problems worse in the state, it would be much more expensive than building high-speed rail – and it wouldn’t work. …
This editorial first appeared in the Merced Sun-Star on Thursday.
