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California's Hopes For High Speed Rail

Posted by: Christian Peralta Madera

26 November 2006 - 5:00am

Plans for a statewide system have been in the works for almost a decade, but doubts remain about whether taxpayers will ever want to foot the bill.

"Even people who hate high-speed rail believe it would transform California, much like steam-powered railroads did in the 1860s and freeways did a century later."

However, a ballot measure to provide $10 billion dollars to jump start construction on the estimated $37 billion system has been delayed twice, due to the state's already high borrowing habits and other perceived priorities.

"Worries about taking on more debt or stifling more popular bond measures would doubtless strengthen the hand of high-speed rail opponents, who have an arsenal of other reasons why voters should reject the enterprise. Opponents point to what they call pie-in-the-sky predictions about how popular, how cheap and how beneficial a California bullet train would turn out to be."

Full Story: MORE DEBT? NOT SO FAST: High-speed rail on slow track to reality
Source: The Contra Costa Times, November 19, 2006
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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