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Discussion related to commuter rail and transit operators in California past and present including Los Angeles Metrolink and Metro Subway and Light Rail, San Diego Coaster, Sprinter and MTS Trolley, Altamont Commuter Express (Stockton), Caltrain and MUNI (San Francisco), Sacramento RTD Light Rail, and others...

Moderator: lensovet

 #1509301  by Tadman
 
eolesen wrote:Yep. Californians still like their LEED certified sprawling campuses instead of centralized business districts. Guess which is more environmentally friendly?
Reminds me of diBlasio’s recent attacks on skyscrapers because he says they aren’t environmentally friendly. That’s sheer genius. Let’s spread them out into low rises and cover an entire state of New Jersey and tell me how environmentally friendly they are. And then forget public transit, public transit is not exactly useful for strip malls and office parks.
 #1509312  by CarterB
 
Tadman wrote:
lensovet wrote:btw, don't think for one second that this is anything other than a politically-motivated move. the deadline was 2022, not may 2019.
This ignores the context that Governor Newsom killed California HSR, not President Trump. President Trump only revoked federal funding for the Modesto section that was going to continue because Governor Newsom didn't want to lose federal funding for previously committed construction. The full route LA-SFO was killed by Governor Newsom. He's the one that decided prior Governor Brown's project was out of hand.

I find that entire state utterly out of line. I just spent a week in LA. All those "environmentalists" that never leave their car and thought I had a screw loose for riding the gold line from LAUPT to Pasadena. It's real easy to talk the talk, not so much to walk the walk. Tell me how they thought it was a good idea to build CAHSR when they don't really have a train to LAX. What kind of sense does that make?
Trump should pull ALL federal funding for this corruption laced, grossly over budget boondoggle. Make Calif pony up back to the feds any misused, misguided usage/s of Fed funds. Calif is a money pit with no redeeming qualities under current government.
 #1509323  by Tadman
 
ExCon90 wrote:So DiBlasio wants to spread the skyscrapers out into low rises? Didn't we try that about 70 years ago? And how did that work out?
He’s giving them an Obama style “we’ll put you out of business” ultimatum if they don’t adopt some pretty drastic measures to be more environmentally sound. I can’t speak to the effectiveness of those measures in the real world, but I can tell you that it’s far less environmentally sound to have strip malls and small office buildings that don’t last as long, and it’s not very conducive to public transport, either, to have office campuses like they do in the exurbs. The office Tower is generally a long lasting building conducive to Subway and commuter trains.
 #1509341  by CarterB
 
David Benton wrote:What has skyscrapers in New York got to do with CAHSR ?
All related to Democrat policies and idiocy.
 #1509392  by David Benton
 
California sues over $1B in canceled high-speed rail money
https://www.kron4.com/news/california/c ... JMPV13t5Vs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I am not sure if President Trump is joking in the following videos of his speech to the Realtors association, otherwise it is a disturbing deviation from the truth.
 #1509412  by eolesen
 
It's a Hail Mary to save face. I don't think they're going to prevail -- the Obama Administration may have looked the other way, but the Courts have to rule against the letter of the agreement, and there are clear examples of both cost and schedule overruns to argue that it's politics.

CAHSR simply didn't deliver what they committed to the Legislature or the FRA, and costs have almost doubled from the $40B that voters approved ten years ago.

The assemblyman in the video has it right -- they're supposed to be good stewards of the money given to them. They weren't, and that has consequences. Federal funds shouldn't be used to support CA's fiscal malfeasance and irresponsibility.
 #1509465  by ExCon90
 
David Benton wrote:What has skyscrapers in New York got to do with CAHSR ?
In the post-WWII years cities in the US began to be regarded as outmoded, and commercial activity spread out into the countryside. Prior to that the terms "greenfield site" and "last mile" were not yet in the language. For example, in the 1960's practically all activities in the New York metropolitan area concerned with imports and exports (steamship lines, railroads, truckers, custom-house brokers, and international freight forwarders) were located south of Chambers St. in Manhattan, and most of those were south of Wall St. One skyscraper, 17 Battery Place, was almost entirely filled with such companies; anybody in the business could meet with almost anyone else in the business by walking a few blocks, or meeting them for lunch nearby. By the 80's, they were In office parks scattered all over New Jersey (and one on Staten Island) and it became a real undertaking to arrange a meeting. This dispersal played a part in the reduced attractiveness of rail travel, since people then had to arrange for "last mile" or "first mile" transportation, or both, and often ended up just driving where they needed to go. From many of those office parks you couldn't go to lunch without a car. If some sort of re-concentration takes place, high-speed rail travel will become more possible for more people, and that should be the case in California as well as New York.
 #1509467  by David Benton
 
Yes, I'm well aware of that,but the new York law is not proposing to do away with skyscraper's in favor of urban sprawl. It simply said any new skyscrapers should be energy and resource efficient, that would include land and transportation. He said that skyscrapers as they have been built in the past would be banned, not all skyscrapers.
 #1509477  by CarterB
 
lpetrich wrote:On high-speed rail, Newsom cuts deal to protect federal grant while lawsuit proceeds - Los Angeles Times So the money won't be committed to anything else.
And I have a "Golden State" bridge to sell to you cheap!!! C'mon, Newsome will lie and cheat his way to anything politically expedient. He'll build shelters for the homeless and call it essential transportation infrastructure, or build hiking paths and call them "Hi Speed TRails" !!!
 #1509562  by Tadman
 
David Benton wrote:Yes, I'm well aware of that,but the new York law is not proposing to do away with skyscraper's in favor of urban sprawl.
But what happens when skyscrapers in the most expensive market in the country become twice as expensive? The historic record shows people move out. Now you have no tax base in the big city to fund and employ the “have nots” and the “haves” are out in jersey office parks. The city goes broke (happened in 1972 for this very reason) and Jersey grows. This is proven history, not Republican dogma.

Now you have more SUV’s driving around burning gas and building strip malls and office parks in former green fields. How’s that for environmentalism?

Bill DiBalsio and his ilk use low-level socialist dogma that would flunk a polysci exam at a party school. It’s wrong, it’s been proven wrong, and it’s counter to real concerns of both parties. All it does is get people elected. Jerry Brown is in the same boat. How much environmental cost came from the failed CAHSR?
 #1509586  by David Benton
 
Of course, there is no basis for your statement that a energy efficient skyscraper would cost twice as much. A bit like President Trumps curvy cashr , built in 3 parts that can't be linked up. Disappointing his disregard for the truth style is been copied on here and other forum's.
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