High Speed Rail
Streetsblog LA
California High Speed Rail to Present L.A.-area Options
The California High Speed Rail Authority will hold a series of public meetings starting next week to discuss proposed alignments for two segments of the project: from Palmdale to Burbank and from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles.
July 30, 2014
The Los Angeles Times and its Disgraceful Reporting on High Speed Rail
On the morning of March 24, I was in the café car on the Eurostar high-speed train, on my way from Paris to London. I glanced out the window as we zoomed at nearly 200 mph past a stopped train, a concrete platform and some parked cars.
June 18, 2014
Steinberg: CA Cap-and-Trade Must Fund Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing
Negotiations over the California state budget are producing dueling proposals on how best to spend revenue from the state's cap-and-trade program.
May 19, 2014
CA High-Speed Rail Authority Certifies EIR for Fresno-to-Bakersfield Segment
The California High Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) Board voted unanimously today to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the project segment between Fresno and Bakersfield in the Central Valley. This section of CAHSR can now move to the "final design" stage that precedes construction.
May 7, 2014
California Legislation Watch: Weekly Update
For social media coverage focused on statewide issues, follow Melanie Curry @currymel on Twitter or like our Facebook page.
April 18, 2014
CA Sen. Steinberg Proposes New Spending Plan for Cap-and-Trade Revenue
Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) announced a proposed plan to create a permanent spending strategy for cap-and-trade revenue [PDF] that prioritizes investments in affordable transit-oriented housing, transit expansion, and CA high-speed rail. Unlike the Governor's plan for this year's budget, Senate Bill 1156 also proposes investments in "complete streets" and transit operations.
April 14, 2014
Updated Report Shows CAHSR’s GHG Reductions Less Costly Than Thought
UCLA's Lewis Center revised some of the estimates in its recent report comparing the costs of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using California high-speed rail to those of bike, pedestrian, and local transit projects. The report's authors found that high-speed rail is not as expensive as an emission reduction as they first thought.
April 9, 2014
California Legislation Watch: Weekly Update
For social media coverage of California's statewide transportation issues, follow Melanie @currymel on Twitter or like the Streetsblog California Facebook page.
April 4, 2014
Senate Committee Grills CA High-Speed Rail Authority on Its Funding Plan
Doubts about the High Speed Rail Authority's ability to fund its estimated $68 billion program dominated last week's Senate Transportation and Housing Committee hearing (see the background report in this PDF). Committee Chair Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) said he was “somewhat skeptical” about the Authority's 2014 Draft Business Plan and questioned CAHSRA CEO Jeff Morales on the authority's reliance on uncertain funding sources.
April 1, 2014
Report: In Cutting Emissions, CAHSR Expensive Compared to Local Upgrades
Streetfilms featured Los Angeles' Orange Line BRT and bike path in 2009. A new UCLA report says infrastructure projects like the Orange Line are a better way to invest cap-and-trade funds than CA High-Speed Rail.
March 25, 2014