Not a boondoggle!

Boondoggle -- a trivial, useless or wasteful expenditure, usually of public funds.

In the current economic climate, critics have suggested that high-speed rail is a boondoggle. They couldn't be more wrong. The lack of funding may slow down the project, but it will eventually become a reality.
Projects of this magnitude must not be stopped by economic cycles. Our economy will rebound and one day high-speed rail will be an important part of California's transportation mix.

At first we were reassured by these wise, confident words from the McClatchy Co.'s Fresno outlet. We also dismissed the cynical comment that Fresno won't call this project a boondoggle right up to the time some other Valley city is chosen for the site of the heavy maintenance yard. Virtually every city along the proposed routes are bidding for that yard because it would appear to be the most tangible benefit in the whole project.

Why, in fact, "high-speed rail will be an important part of California's transportation mix." Who or what power would ordain it to come into existence? Who is it that even wants it? Isn't it the same small group of leaders that believed to fervently against reality that the speculative housing boom would never bust? Isn't it the same group of brainwashed leaders who always say the same thing at the same time and hope to hoodwink the citizens into believing unison means truth?

We aren't necessarily against the high speed rail system but we would like to hear some more intelligent arguments for it than the usual, which always assumes eternal growth and that all growth is good growth. Barring access to public meetings on the project is not guaranteed to reassure the ordinary citizen that high speed rail is anything other than a boondoggle.

Badlands Journal editorial board

6-6-10
Fresno Bee
EDITORIAL: Fresno should keep up pressure for rail yard
Experts say the facility is a 'billion-dollar-a- year game-changer' for Fresno County.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/06/04/v-print/1958042/editorial-fresno-should-keep-up.html [1]
Fresno County's proposal for the heavy maintenance yard for the high-speed rail passed another test last week, and remains in the running, along with several other San Joaquin Valley locations, for the job-creating facility. This is a project that Fresno County must have and local officials must persuade the California High Speed Rail Authority of the site's superiority.
This is the most important economic development project that the county could hope to bring here. This facility would employ 1,500 people, including the rolling stock maintenance staff, train operators, central control supervisors, systemwide engineers and other staff.
On Thursday, the Rail Authority board eliminated some locations, but kept several in the running, including two locations in Kern County, one in Kings County and the Fresno County site. There are also north Valley sites in the running for the facility.
The actions Thursday meant that the sites have survived the initial screening -- meeting basic criteria such as size and proximity to the system's likely route. The four sites that did not make the cut for the Fresno to Bakersfield section had fatal flaws.
Fresno County officials have offered a solid proposal, and we support their work. But this project is too important to take anything for granted. There's only one winner in this competition.
The local proposal is supported with $25 million in incentives that would include site acquisition and other infrastructure requirements. The proposed site is 700 acres near Highway 99 and American and Cedar avenues. It's next to the rail right-of-way, and has freeway access to help supply the facility and bring employees to work. Local officials say their site is the only one where the rail system's test track can reach full speed.
Economic development experts say the heavy maintenance facility is a "billion-dollar-a-year game-changer" for Fresno County.
The meeting Thursday was crucial for the Valley segment of the high-speed rail system. The list of potential routes through the Valley was reduced by the Rail Authority. The board backed more study on three routes through Fresno. Those routes would adjoin the Union Pacific Railroad and all include elevated tracks up to 60 feet high.
The board also supported plans to bypass Hanford on the east, despite objections by farmers whose land could be impacted. The authority's staff said adjustments may be made to reduce those conflicts.
We have long supported high-speed rail for California because it is an investment in the future of the state. As our population continues to grow, the existing transportation structure -- already badly strained -- will only get more congested.
High-speed rail is an important part of the answer, because not only would it relieve us of the need for even more highways and airport space, it would provide that relief at a fraction of the cost of those alternatives.
In the current economic climate, critics have suggested that high-speed rail is a boondoggle. They couldn't be more wrong. The lack of funding may slow down the project, but it will eventually become a reality.
Projects of this magnitude must not be stopped by economic cycles. Our economy will rebound and one day high-speed rail will be an important part of California's transportation mix.