tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post6327036883411026120..comments2023-10-30T09:03:07.163-07:00Comments on California High Speed Rail Blog: Does Russell Peterson Know What He's Doing?Robert Cruickshankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06906581839066570472noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-85171553800025439572009-11-01T21:52:24.442-08:002009-11-01T21:52:24.442-08:00Clem,
That "this" is the intersection of...Clem,<br />That "this" is the intersection of Monterey Hwy and Main Ave. in MH (haven't been to the El Toro Brewpub yet, maybe I'll try it tomorrow). HSR would never go through there. You need to scan over to the northeast a few blocks just past Depot St. to find the lightly used UPRR/Caltrain ROW. You can do HSR aerial, at-grade, or trench through this portion of MH. Will some grade separations be necessary through this stretch? Of course, but that's what the entire system is all about, right. Grade separations shouldn't be viewed as some sort of deal breaker in MH/Gilroy (or anywhere).<br /><br />But again, I'll take HSR down the UPRR ROW or east along the 101; just as long as we get it.<br /><br />SHAKA!Tony D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03392232221747908883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-10355785960552581012009-11-01T17:04:20.801-08:002009-11-01T17:04:20.801-08:00Tony Brah!
thisTony Brah!<br /><br /><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=morgan+hill,+ca&sll=35.960223,-112.5&sspn=26.420651,29.794922&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Morgan+Hill,+Santa+Clara,+California&ll=37.130333,-121.654294&spn=0.006381,0.007274&t=h&z=17" rel="nofollow">this</a>Clemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374282217135682245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-8976526697222108502009-11-01T16:58:31.521-08:002009-11-01T16:58:31.521-08:00Clem Brah!
"Grade separations galore along M...Clem Brah!<br /><br />"Grade separations galore along Monterey Highway"?<br /><br />You obviously don't know the section south of Lick/SJ that well. Capitol Expwy, Blossom Hill Rd., Bernal Road and Bailey Ave. through South SJ are already grade separated over UPRR/Monterey. Branham Ln. and Chynoweth Ave. may need grade separations, but through South SJ to Coyote Valley, that's basically it! From Coyote Valley to Gilroy, you're talking rural and lightly developed. Grade separations "galore?" Hardly.<br /><br />Alas, HSR WILL run either parallel of current UPRR ROW down a rebuilt Monterey Hwy. and/or east down the 101. As a SJ native and current resident of Gilroy, I'll take either.<br /><br />Joey 11:53,<br />You nailed it! Anyone else stating otherwise regarding the EIR is just flat out lying!Tony D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03392232221747908883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-13741151190581534352009-11-01T14:58:47.105-08:002009-11-01T14:58:47.105-08:00the business plan shows that they won't be run...<i>the business plan shows that they won't be running trains past 150mph until they are south of Gilroy.</i><br /><br /><i>you of all people should know that HSR never planned on running 200 mph through MH/Gilroy.</i><br /><br /><i>you had to know that CHSRA never had any intention of going 200mph in the Coyote Valley (Gilroy/MH).</i><br /><br />You're all mistaken.<br /><br />Please refer to slide 13 of <a href="http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/images/chsr/20090810133659_BoardPrezAug09vprint.pdf" rel="nofollow">this presentation</a>. What is shown in the green curve along the top is 217 mph (350 km/h) through Gilroy and Morgan Hill. To get yourselves oriented, the Gilroy HSR station is located at km point 595.16, and San Jose at 643.70<br /><br />It makes sense to go as fast as possible as soon as the train leaves dense metro areas. Dawdling along at 125 mph from San Jose to downtown Gilroy (via grade separations galore along Monterey Highway) is a waste of precious time, time that must be made up at extreme capital expense (wider curves, faster and more powerful trains) over the rest of the journey.<br /><br />If <i>value</i> to the taxpayer counts for anything, the train should accelerate to maximum speed as soon as it leaves San Jose, and the tracks should run through sparsely settled agricultural land in the Coyote Valley... i.e. in the vicinity of or east of 101. And no, Gilroy would not get a "transit oriented village" within walking distance of Thunder Alley, or any other such enviro-crackpot idea.<br /><br />Again, the UP ROW is a red herring... a cooked up controversy with which to keep the opposition busy while the real engineering gets done.Clemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374282217135682245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-91199459468105015562009-11-01T11:53:51.795-08:002009-11-01T11:53:51.795-08:00The UPRR/Monterey Highway alignment is preferable,...The UPRR/Monterey Highway alignment is preferable, but 101 remains a viable option. Note that the UPRR corridor doesn't NECESSARILY depend on UP sharing it's right-of-way, though their unwillingness to cooperate makes it a bit more difficult to construct (because a new ROW will have to be built). This corridor will certainly require some creative thinking, but it is not, by any means, impossible.<br /><br />@anon 10:59<br /><i>Until CHSRA finds another route, the EIR remains de-certified despite whatever spin you can try to kick up.</i><br /><br />Really? The route itself is fine, all CHSRA has to do is avoid the UPRR ROW (by constructing a new one adjacent to UP or by using the 101 corridor which they have not eliminated at this point). Also it's not like they have to redo the whole EIR, they just have to amend the sections deemed inadequate and resubmit it. And it has been explicitly stated that regardless, program level work may continue.Joeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16406340564037825796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-66900786144511654622009-11-01T11:16:47.422-08:002009-11-01T11:16:47.422-08:00Well, they may be able to if they picked the 101/E...Well, they may be able to if they picked the 101/Express alignment they talked about in the San Jose-Merced meetings.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00326948451529910432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-28239817857697608512009-11-01T11:04:26.885-08:002009-11-01T11:04:26.885-08:00Seriously, Clem, you had to know that CHSRA never ...Seriously, Clem, you had to know that CHSRA never had any intention of going 200mph in the Coyote Valley (Gilroy/MH).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-30807009740633513062009-11-01T10:59:41.371-08:002009-11-01T10:59:41.371-08:00Clem, the UP ROW isn't a red herring if that w...Clem, the UP ROW isn't a red herring if that was the route CHSRA was assuming for the program EIR. Or is the entire program EIR full of red herrings subject to sudden change??? Until CHSRA finds another route, the EIR remains de-certified despite whatever spin you can try to kick up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-76313000268943063442009-11-01T10:52:40.304-08:002009-11-01T10:52:40.304-08:00Clem @ 946,
What the hell are you talking about?!
...Clem @ 946,<br />What the hell are you talking about?!<br />The UPRR through MH/Gilroy isn't undesirable; it makes as much sense as running HSR down the Caltrain corridor or various Metrolink routes of SoCal.<br />And you of all people should know that HSR never planned on running 200 mph through MH/Gilroy.<br />Still venting are we of the authority's choice of Pacheco Pass?<br />Oh well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-61194267598448702752009-11-01T10:25:55.801-08:002009-11-01T10:25:55.801-08:00@Clem
Just a technical point, the business plan s...@Clem<br /><br />Just a technical point, the <a rel="nofollow">business plan</a> shows that they won't be running trains past 150mph until they are south of Gilroy.<br /><br />In fact, the only place in the entire system where they plan to run above 200mph is in the Central Valley, between Stockton, Bakersfield, and the Pacheco Pass.Joeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16406340564037825796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-53493800781434727162009-11-01T09:46:51.299-08:002009-11-01T09:46:51.299-08:00What has opponents salivating is the prospect of f...What has opponents salivating is the prospect of filing more CEQA lawsuits outside the narrow scope of the judge's findings against the CHSRA, under the pretext that the "entire" EIR has been decertified. It's not at all clear that the rest of the EIR will be opened to legal challenge.<br /><br />The UP ROW issue is a red herring, in my opinion, because that right of way is not in a desirable location. Running 200 mph trains through downtown Morgan Hill and Gilroy is an idea that will eventually be discredited. For now, the transit oriented gobbledygook is drowning out common sense. Common sense is slowly emerging in the new alignment alternatives along 101 and east of Gilroy.Clemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374282217135682245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-49504557547688434492009-10-31T23:45:20.510-07:002009-10-31T23:45:20.510-07:00anon @ 5:30,
anon "Can't read" here....anon @ 5:30,<br />anon "Can't read" here. OK, OK, you're right on all counts: the EIR was decertified, the NIMBY lawsuit has thrown a serious obstacle in front of the HSR project, and there is no route from the Bay Area to Central Valley. There, are you happy now?!!<br /><br />Hopefully I'll become literate by the time HSR is up and running on the Peninsula...HAHH! <br /><br />FWIW, an EIR being amended and re-submitted (which is what's happening on this planet) is completely different from a complete decertification. Oh well, it's your world.<br /><br />(idiocy at its finest!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-32004160054784835032009-10-31T22:45:16.643-07:002009-10-31T22:45:16.643-07:00HSR critics in California question the constructio...HSR critics in California question the construction cost and operating ability to pay its way, where a modern HSR is being added to a disconnected and limited existing rail patchwork greatly in need of upgrade and modernization.<br /><br />Yet the same questioning is going on regarding<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/oct/30/high-speed-rail-benefits" rel="nofollow">HSR_in_the_UK</a> where a true HSR line is to be the crowning piece on an otherwise extensively interconnected rail transportation system of systems. Both HSR being added at opposite ends of the rail transport spectrum, yet it seems both have merit and should be built. Once the UK HSR is connected to existing lines it will be an immediate full system. Meanwhile the California system will hopefully serve as an inspiration for governments to fill in the missing pieces.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296808260419563238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-7817246071483536782009-10-31T22:19:25.966-07:002009-10-31T22:19:25.966-07:00@Adirondacker12800
They weren't just talking ...@Adirondacker12800<br /><br />They weren't just talking about Sacramento or Stockton Walnut Creek since the gold rush, they were<br /><a href="http://www.shaughey.com/images/PPIE/Scenic%20Limited%20train%20brochure.pdf" rel="nofollow">doing_it</a><br />and before all the lines and bridges were completed, there were <br /><a href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Solano/index.html" rel="nofollow">intermodal</a> connections.<br />It will take a few years to replace the rail transportation system in the western states. It will also take the cooperation of politicians over decades. The same politicians who get distracted on a weekly basis.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296808260419563238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-25161120622534486902009-10-31T18:26:17.061-07:002009-10-31T18:26:17.061-07:00@dave video
Thats just unreal. I love how ...@dave video <br /><br />Thats just unreal. I love how they have proper uniforms and gloves and all. so civilized yet uncivilized at the same time. Still, notice the passenger are well behaved unlike americans who revel in bad behavior. <br /><br />@adriondack<br />The trains would be far more pleasant without the passengers just as the city would be far more pleasant without the people.<br /><br />unfortunately, people and passengers though are a necessary evil. <br /><br />as for people living and working and where, one great benefit of hsr will be that it will even out the job/housing/population mix throughout the state so that everyone want be traveling from a to b, but from b to a b to b and a to a as well.<br />Why is it that people have a habit of clumping up together. Notice they drive that way, all together in a clump instead of spreading out.<br /><br />and wow its nice here today with the bridge closed,. you should see it. its a dream. we've got to make this permanent. or at least start putting people in nevada instead.<br /><br />If we don't, then they are gonna ruin hsr too. We will build it, then they will ruin it. we need to build it, then close the gate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-67653499599529564822009-10-31T18:15:20.158-07:002009-10-31T18:15:20.158-07:00BTW that was posted two days ago (Go to https://se...BTW that was posted two days ago (Go to <a rel="nofollow">https://services.saccourt.com/publicdms2/DefaultDMS.aspx</a> and search 34-2008-8000022. It's the first result).Joeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16406340564037825796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-13352856197597215272009-10-31T18:10:04.466-07:002009-10-31T18:10:04.466-07:00My understanding of this is that the project level...My understanding of this is that the project level EIR must be amended and re-submitted, but program level work may continue.<br /><br />"<i>The Court concludes that under the circumstances of this case, staying project-level activities is not appropriate pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21168.9(a)(2) and pertinent case law.</i>"Joeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16406340564037825796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-32128760969658688662009-10-31T17:50:31.154-07:002009-10-31T17:50:31.154-07:00@ Anon 5:30
Yes, the route has been decertified. ...@ Anon 5:30<br /><br />Yes, the route has been decertified. Theoretically, the plaintiffs could appeal the ruling and try and get continuing planning stopped, but I don't think they're going to be able to win on their argument in favor of that.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00326948451529910432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-20787981462209681622009-10-31T17:33:00.134-07:002009-10-31T17:33:00.134-07:00@ Jim, Peter
I think it would be way cheaper to j...@ Jim, Peter<br /><br />I think it would be way cheaper to just hire some more BART employees to do <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug" rel="nofollow">this</a> all day and problem solved, lol. No need for a second transbay tube.<br /><br />But seriously, it will be unavoidable to build a second tube.davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-53456551989237556192009-10-31T17:30:20.466-07:002009-10-31T17:30:20.466-07:00@jim - BART passengers are the model of good behav...@jim - BART passengers are the model of good behavior when compared the thundering herds on Muni Metro. :)flowmotionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-77136450427129844662009-10-31T17:30:13.880-07:002009-10-31T17:30:13.880-07:00Anon: 7:23 AM
Now assuming you can read, which i...Anon: 7:23 AM<br /><br />Now assuming you can read, which is maybe a assumption that should not be made, here is the language from the write of Mandate.....<br /><br />1. On the First Cause of Action, Petitioners and Plaintiffs TOWN OF ATHERTON,<br />PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE, CITY OF MENLO PARK,<br />TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, CALIFORNIA<br />RAIL FOUNDATION, and BAYRAIL ALLIANCE shall have judgment against Respondent and<br />Defendant CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY. A Peremptory Writ of Mandate<br />10 shall issue under seal of the Court, ordering Respondent and Defendant CALIFORNIA HIGH-<br />11 SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY<br /><br /><b><br /> to rescind and set aside its determinations to certify the Final<br />12 Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Study ("EIR/EIS") for the Bay Area to<br />13 Central Valley High-Speed Rail Project, and to approve said Project.<br /><br /></b><br /> Respondent and Defendant<br />14 CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY shall file a written return to said writ<br />15 demonstrating its compliance on or before the seventieth day following service of the writ upon<br />16 the Respondent.<br />17 2. On<br /><br />Now I have in bold so you can read, if you can, see where the EIR/EIR has been de-certified... <br /><br />the Authority has not challenged this --- they have accepted this -- what more is to be said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-6658641282527038252009-10-31T17:20:32.730-07:002009-10-31T17:20:32.730-07:00@ Rafeal -
Companies need incentives to set up s...@ Rafeal - <br /><br /><i>Companies need incentives to set up shop in the North and East Bay, at least for back office operations. Land use needs to follow existing transportation capacity, not vice versa.</i><br /><br />This has already largely happened, and it has encouraged a ton of automotbile-oriented sprawl. (Companies with significant "back-office" operations, like Chevron or PacBell/AT&T moved out of SF years ago.)<br /><br /><i>The problem here isn't lack of transportation capacity, it's that everyone and their grandmother is forced to commute into downtown SF to begin with.</i><br /><br />As a practical matter, no parts of the East or North bay have good transit capacity, except for downtown Oakland & Berkeley. <br /><br />If the goal is "transit-oriented development", downtown SF is the foremost place one will see significant and meaningful results. Look at the Transbay area development plan as just the beginning of the real-world improvements of improving transit capacity into San Francisco.<br /><br />Sometimes one needs to step back and look at the forest from the trees.flowmotionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-51807329953089204542009-10-31T16:44:48.677-07:002009-10-31T16:44:48.677-07:00The plan is for a four track tube ( bart and conve...<em>The plan is for a four track tube ( bart and conventional rail) to be built around 20 years from now or so. So they have to manage until then.</em> <br /><br />NYC has one them there doohickeys. Runs between Queens and Manhattan. They started to talk about it in the 40s ( or even earlier if you count the second phase of the IND subway which was never built ). They started to dig holes for it in the 1969 then ran out of money. Actually completed it in 1989. First subway train ran through it in soon afterward but didn't connect to the rest of the subway in Queens until 2001. The conventional trains should start running through it in 2015. The Second Avenue subway was part of the plan. That should open just under a century after they started to talk about it and 50 years after they first turned dirt or in NYC's case, jackhammered asphalt. NJTransit opened the Kearney Connection 1996. They use it for Midtown Direct service. It was astoundingly successful. ... as in "goodness me we have to build that tunnel we have been talking about for decades much sooner than we planned on" Standing room only as far out as Summit and Metropark isn't unusual. The new tunnels should open in 2017. If BART has the same kind of schedule they should have been digging holes in 1983.<br /><br />These conventional trains you speak of...Would it be the kind where passengers from Walnut Creek would have to make every stop in Berkeley and Oakland like they do on BART or the kind where they don't? Or maybe even passengers from, I know they have been talking about this since the Gold Rush... Sacramento!? Even <em>Stockton</em> Where are they going to get off the train? <br /><br />...How about the second BART line deep under the combined HSR/commuter station between Main and Beale? BART could have it's southern entrances along the concourse for the other trains and it's northern entrances on Market Street..... go out Geary maybe,.... <br /><br /><em>Its the passengers who can't behave....</em><br /><br />Pesky passengers. Just think of how fast the train could make it from Millbrae to Fremont if it didn't have to stop for <em>passengers</em>. But seeing how the whole reason for BART is to move passengers it would be kind of silly to run empty trains back and forth wouldn't it?Adirondacker12800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-56533556207059115432009-10-31T13:29:32.866-07:002009-10-31T13:29:32.866-07:00no where to put it unless / until they decide to g...no where to put it unless / until they decide to go out geary. but like I said they already have a plan. for another tube.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-82694208954519237992009-10-31T13:22:05.897-07:002009-10-31T13:22:05.897-07:00I wonder if it'd be easier to build another tu...I wonder if it'd be easier to build another tunnel in DT SF to utilize the Transbay Tube more. Capacity should be able to allow trains to run every 2 minutes but because of many passengers getting off in downtown, there needs to be another tunnel in downtown San Francisco to allow every 2 minutes in the Tube.political_incorrectnessnoreply@blogger.com