Larry. Are you starting off the year “on the road again.” Yes I am. I accept the fact that the voters have spoken and approved measure M. My focus will now shift to pointing out transportation alternatives so that we don’t flush another chunk of taxpayer money down the toilet on some new “light rail” brainstorming.
Supervisor Moorlach, in his New Year Resolutions for 2007 as reported in the Daily Pilot, states a goal of “improving our transportation system, with an emphasis of “LANES OVER TRAINS.” Thank you John.
Let me suggest your reading of Tom Keane’s article in the Dec 31st Boston Globe. In his report he mentions an analysis by Harvard-educated urban planner Eric Beaton. Beaton’s study was published in September by the Rappaport Institute for greater Boston. Although we are on the opposite side of the country the data is still applicable to Orange County.
Let me share one paragraph of the Globe article.
“There’s more. Commuter rail is skewed toward serving the affluent. Unlike buses or subways, rail largely connects well-off suburbanites to downtown jobs in high-paid fields such as finance and law. Moreover, new rail stations have a trivial effect on automobile use, meaning they do little to help the environment. (In fact, according to MBTA’s own data, commuter rail which relies on diesel-powered trains–often increases the emissions of nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to the formation of smog.) And travel by rail is not as inexpensive as its advocates would have you believe. If you own a car already, the cost of driving may actually be cheaper.”
The bottom line. Keep your eyes on the OCTA as they conjure up ways to get us out of our cars. While the gold at Fort Knox is diminishing the “gold” derived from Orange County taxpayers is now under their control for the next 30 plus years.
Some people do not learn from the past.
30 years ago, there was a choice, mass transit or stick with the personal auto. The auto won. Traffic is horrific.
Now Moorlach wants to repete the same mistake?
Dear Mr. Cook
Did you live in OC 30 years ago?
We lack high density job centers today to justify mass transit. Thirty years ago we had orange groves and strawberry fields in Orange County. I know becuase I have lived here since that time.
The Boston Globe story might read the same as OC.
“One would think, for instance, that new commuter-rail stations might encourage development nearby. It turns out they don’t. Areas around train stations are modestly more developed than anywhere else. One would also think that new stations might encourge more use of public transit. That is also untrue. The number of people using transit to get to work is largely unchanged by the addion of new stations.
Those results may seem counterintuitive but, upon reflection, make enourmous sense. Take a look at MBTA’s lovely color coded maps of its rail system. All lines run into Boston. That would be smart planning if Boston were where all of the employers were. However, though they may have been largely true a century ago, today just a quarter of the jobs in the metropolitan region are downtown. Instead, you’ll find them along the beltways–Route 128 and Interstate 495–and at office parks in between.” Source. Boston Globe article.
Yes I’ve lived here 30 years ago. I watched the 55 freeway being built as a child.
The freeways are a form of mass transit. As they were built, density followed.
Rail travel here is a smart move for the future.
The employment centers of Los Angeles and Orange County should be building private railways to the housing areas of the inland empire.
What if the private automobile was banned?
Cook.
Should the cost of fuel hit $8 to $10. per gallon than we can address banning of private automobiles by our own actions.
As to rail traffic. Are you referring to the private sector providing these systems? Do you have any idea as to the cost of creating such a transportation alternative?