Sacramento Transportation - Page 49

wburg · #**961** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 3:27 AM**

Double post

wburg · #**962** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 3:28 AM**

Roseville and Elk Grove still don't want light rail, for basically the same reasons. Even Folsom doesn't want them after 7 PM.

BillSimmons · #**963** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 8:43 PM**

And all of them are shortsighted. Light a Rail makes these communities better, not the other way around.

wburg · #**964** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 8:52 PM**

No argument there, I've been a rider since the first line opened in the 1980s. But the Metro Chamber and the local suburban development community is still very stuck in the "public transit is evil, the suburbs are wonderful" mindset, and they're largely the ones who elect our elected officials.

ltsmotorsport · #**965** Posted **Feb 27, 2014, 6:55 AM**

Glad we're getting back on topic.

Last night Sacramento also approved more funding for planning work on the streetcar starter line.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...unded-for.html

SacTownAndy · #**966** Posted **May 6, 2014, 8:37 PM**

West Sac Mayor Cabaldon: Feds tell streetcar partners to apply for money

May 6, 2014, 12:45pm PDT
Ben van der MeerStaff Writer-
Sacramento Business Journal

A streetcar system between downtown/midtown Sacramento and West Sacramento got what West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon called a major boost Tuesday when the federal government told partner agencies the project is worthy of federal funding.

In a letter issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Cabaldon said, federal officials said the preliminary steps taken by the two cities and partner transit agencies were the right ones for the federal government to become a partner in the plan.

“It allows us to move to the next stage,” Cabaldon said, which is essentially applying for federal money to get the project off the ground, a step the partners weren’t originally planning to take until this fall. The letter from DOT also means any money the partners put up in the near future toward a streetcar system will be counted as a necessary local share for full project funding, he added.

As envisioned, the streetcar system would operate on a regular route roughly between 15th and 16th streets in Sacramento and downtown West Sacramento, with planned stops at such locations as the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium and Sacramento Convention Center, Old Sacramento, Raley Field and the city halls for both cities. Because of the streetcar’s “hop on, hop off” appeal, planners think it would help reduce traffic and congestion in the city core....

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...streetcar.html

CAGeoNerd · #**967** Posted **May 10, 2014, 3:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wburg

No argument there, I've been a rider since the first line opened in the 1980s. But the Metro Chamber and the local suburban development community is still very stuck in the "public transit will bring the homeless/poor people/criminals to my neighborhood and increase my taxes, the suburbs are wonderful" mindset, and they're largely the ones who elect our elected officials.

Fixed your post

wburg · #**968** Posted **May 10, 2014, 5:49 AM**

Thanks, missed that bit!

travis bickle · #**969** Posted **May 11, 2014, 8:40 PM**

I know fools and their money are soon parted, but why does have to be certain fools* and my money?

Here's the latest lie brought to you by the frauds at California "High Speed" rail. Hardly deserves a mention though, it's only about a billion dollars worth.

Article also gives a nice recap of the big five lies (not "estimates" mind you) provided by that great group of snake-oil salesmen and women, the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

I'll be so happy when this farce dies the miserable death it so richly deserves.

*and you know who you are...

This is from CalWatchdog, by Chris Reed, published May 9, 2014.

http://calwatchdog.com/2014/05/09/63423/

enigma99a · #**970** Posted **May 12, 2014, 5:31 AM**

Why not use the money for connecting Sacramento/Bay and SD/LA via HSR? It would be a lot cheaper than a whole state solution.

NickB1967 · #**971** Posted **May 13, 2014, 2:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by enigma99a

Why not use the money for connecting Sacramento/Bay and SD/LA via HSR? It would be a lot cheaper than a whole state solution.

Because that isn't a long enough straitjacket with which to tie up property rights....

That is the only possible explanation for a project which does not move local commuters, nor long distance freight.

wburg · #**972** Posted **May 13, 2014, 3:09 PM**

High-speed rail isn't intended to move local commuters or long-distance freight. That's like criticizing passenger airlines for not carrying local commuters and long-distance freight... it's based on something they aren't designed to do.

NickB1967 · #**973** Posted **May 13, 2014, 3:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wburg

High-speed rail isn't intended to move local commuters or long-distance freight. That's like criticizing passenger airlines for not carrying local commuters and long-distance freight... it's based on something they aren't designed to do.

THEN IT IS NO DAMN GOOD AND A WASTE OF MONEY.

Our problem is not getting from Sacramento to LA in less than three hours (and the train won't even achieve *that*). We have airplanes for that.

Our problem is getting from where we live to where we work and back in less than *one* hour. And the choo choo takes away from realistic road--and transit--projects in that regard.

If the rail improvement made freight shipments more effective, I could see *some* justification for that, as railroads are a swell and efficient way to move volumes of freight. But the dead horse of passenger choo-choos, the worst of both worlds, lacking either the flexibility of auto or bus transport for short distances and the speed of airlines for longer distances, cannot be revived.

LandofFrost · #**974** Posted **May 13, 2014, 4:06 PM**

I completely agree with you. We need to just self-fund a high speed rail from Sac to SF. Though, if that ever happened, downtown home prices would quadruple.

Maybe we can convince Elon Musk to build a prototype high speed tube from Sac to SF, wouldn't that be something. The 5 minute commute.

wburg · #**975** Posted **May 14, 2014, 3:09 AM**

I'm sorry you are so obsessed with your putt-put car and zoom-zoom planes, NickB. It seems to interfere with your ability to understand the purpose of high speed rail, and how it differs from regional public transit methods like light rail, commuter rail, or streetcars.

enigma99a · #**976** Posted **May 14, 2014, 7:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandofFrost

I completely agree with you. We need to just self-fund a high speed rail from Sac to SF. Though, if that ever happened, downtown home prices would quadruple.

Maybe we can convince Elon Musk to build a prototype high speed tube from Sac to SF, wouldn't that be something. The 5 minute commute.

After spending a lot of time in Asian countries and Europe, we really do have some sad infrastructure. SF + Sac is a 11 million person metro and should be linked better. I-80 is always slow due as it is the only connector between the two metros and there are no major plans on the table to improve it in the near future.

Cap Corridor is nice but is $60 round-trip and slower than driving... Sac to Richmond is 1hr 25 min. If it were, say Japan, the link would only take probably 45 minutes and would cost around $15 round-trip.

But that won't happen here. I think some grade separation would be nice in problem areas and perhaps some track straightening (such as after Martinez)

With that said, BART has issues too. They could implement trains with only a couple stops (express lines) and get to SF quicker.

First though, we need to look at how it has been done in other countries and learn from them. No need to reinvent the wheel. In Japan, there are usually local trains, limited express and express trains. (On the same line) So if you wanted to go to SF, but your station was too small and had no express stop, you could take a local a couple stations away, and move to the express line. Also... CapCorridor could stop at a station that is an express stop, and you could hop on and be in SF in no time. Local trains would pull off the main track and let the express trains pass.

If I can drive from Downtown Sac to Downtown SF in 1 hr 10 minutes, and a train could match the same speed, it would be a no brainer. Skip all of the horrible parking issues and move to a Zipcar if I needed to get somewhere else. But instead, trains are twice the time, twice the trouble and twice the cost. That's why in the USA, cars are king.

NickB1967 · #**977** Posted **May 14, 2014, 2:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wburg

I'm sorry you are so obsessed with your putt-put car and zoom-zoom planes, NickB. It seems to interfere with your ability to understand the purpose of high speed rail, and how it differs from regional public transit methods like light rail, commuter rail, or streetcars.

I'm sorry you have no idea how the real world works, Burg. Then again, an individual's commuter time, a business freight mobility, or an executive's need for quick business travel, is anathema to your bohemian slacking, isn't it?

Of course, your desire to tie up property rights for 700 miles and socially engineer us into your soviet commune I sadly understand all too well.

creamcityleo79 · #**978** Posted **May 14, 2014, 3:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wburg

I'm sorry you are so obsessed with your putt-put car and zoom-zoom planes, NickB. It seems to interfere with your ability to understand the purpose of high speed rail, and how it differs from regional public transit methods like light rail, commuter rail, or streetcars.

Agreed COMPLETELY!!!! What's with these transit NIMBYs!?

Why so eager to stand in the way of progress for "property rights". Should we just continue building roads to handle traffic between Northern and Southern California!? California has the opportunity to be the future of rail transit in America and people like Nick stand in the way of that progress...it's really embarrassing!!

enigma99a · #**979** Posted **May 14, 2014, 7:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickB1967

Of course, your desire to tie up property rights for 700 miles and socially engineer us into your soviet commune I sadly understand all too well.

HSR = Hammer and Sickle Rail? O_o

With all the billions we waste in California, the one thing we can never have enough of is infrastructure. So if we are going to go into debt, I'd rather it be something that will last for the decades to come.

wburg · #**980** Posted **May 15, 2014, 1:44 AM**

Grab your tinfoil hats, NickB1967 is going to expose the sinister secret communist conspiracy to force everyone to commute on high-speed rail to their socialist high-density soviet style apartment blocks!

Aside from suburb fans like NickB, there isn't much in the way of plans to link the Bay Area and Sacramento via HSR until the initial line is finished or at least underway. There are plans to increase and expand Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains, but that would require a new service facility here in Sacramento. More "regular-speed" trains would help ease some road congestion and provide transportation options, especially to points east like Roseville, Rocklin and Colfax. The city of Elk Grove wants to add a local stop for San Joaquin trains--currently the SJ runs through Elk Grove but doesn't stop, but the San Joaquin buses (which run from Sac to Stockton on bus, then transfer to a train to Bakersfield) stop at an obscure corner of Elk Grove near I-5. A train stop would allow commuters to take the San Joaquin to downtown Sacramento instead of driving.