Now, more than ever, is the time to approve CA high speed rail: Yes on Prop 1A

October 30, 2008

When Proposition 1A was placed on the ballot earlier this year, gas prices were sky high and the economy was relatively healthy.  Unfortunately, as the vote on the measure approaches next week, Californians immediate pain from high gas prices has been replaced by an immediate fear of the deteriorating economy.  Some speculate that this political environment might make it more difficult to pass Prop 1A next week. 

If that turns out to be the case, California would be blowing the best opportunity to point the state in a radically new direction.  We’ve discussed the vast benefits of an inter-city high speed rail system before, which include taking cars off the roads, increasing mobility, improving the economy, but most importantly, it would shift our culture from cars, traffic, and pollution to trains, mobility, and a cleaner and healthier environment.

Building an inter-city high speed rail system would not only provide the obvious direct benefits, but it would also be a catalyst to inspire gridlocked metropolises like LA, Orange County and San Diego, to build real intra-city rail systems that would link with the high speed rail.  California’s transportation infrastructure would move towards the European model, where fast and efficient rail travel is ingrained into people’s lives.

We cannot allow temporarily lower gas prices and a weakened economy to be an excuse.  The problem of gridlock and pollution is not going anywhere unless we fix it.  Either way, gas prices will surely go back up and the economy will improve, but whether we have a real mass transit system at that point in the future is a decision that only we can make next week at the polls. 

Photo credit.

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