Train To Nowhere

I admit it. As a community activist, I dropped the ball on California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR.)

A decade ago, I decided to focus my efforts on the 710 Freeway tunnel, a project which thankfully was defunded in 2017, saving our communities the estimated 180,000 additional vehicles per day on the 210 Freeway and neighboring communities the danger of a 6.3-mile vehicle tunnel, 250 feet underground, with inadequate plans for escape during emergencies. Extensive history of the 710 at http://www.no710.com/. By comparison today, the 710 Freeway fight seems like child’s play when shadowed against CAHSR that will, no doubt, bring huge construction impacts to our foothill communities.

Since 2008 when California voters narrowly approved Proposition 1A with 52.6% of the vote and green-lighted the CAHSR mega-project, there have been tremendous pitfalls that prompted even ardent supporters to question whether it should be built. The original, ridiculously lowballed price estimate of $9.95 billion has since skyrocketed to a whopping $80.3 billion, with only a quarter of the funding identified from Prop 1A bonds, carbon cap-and-trade business taxes and federal funds. Originally promoted as an eventual replacement for air and vehicle travel, the CAHSR Authority promised to eliminate the need for those pesky CO2-emitting modes of transportation.

But let’s get real here. While Californians are being more environmentally responsible than ever before, they will hardly abandon cars and planes to use rail. Ridership predictions are likely over-inflated and taxpayers may end up subsidizing empty trains.

And while Governor Gavin Newsom stated in 2019 that the project cannot logistically and financially move forward, somehow it has. The Rail Authority in August closed the commenting period on the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Burbank to Los Angeles section and moved it to the final stages of review. The Palmdale to Burbank section has cleared the Alternatives Analysis stage and six proposed alignments have been identified for further study. The draft EIR is expected to be released for public comment as early as summer 2021 with the final EIR and Record of Decision following in 2022. The Rail Authority’s marketing slogan says it all: “It’s happening! California High-speed Rail.”

In looking closely at what is planned, our collective communities stand to lose far more than we have to gain with this massive project. During an online public meeting held in October for the Palmdale to Burbank section, specific details were revealed about the 41-mile “preferred alternative” SR14A. A flyover video showed a new Palmdale rail station constructed near Avenue Q where electric trains will leave the station at surface level then descend underground at the intersection of Pearblossom Highway and the 14 Freeway. Trains will continue to move through Acton, Agua Dulce and Santa Clarita utilizing a series of tunnels with ventilation towers, trenches and bridges. The largest segment of tunnel ending at Montague Street, south of Hansen Dam, would be approximately 13 miles that would make it the longest rail tunnel in the U.S. Alternately, the E1 and E2 alignments under study would have even longer tunnels, with the E2 route showing the highest impact to the rural neighborhoods of Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills and La Tuna Canyon.
Regardless of route, all trains would end up at the new underground station in Burbank at Hollywood Way, north of Bob Hope Airport. The Burbank to Los Angeles segment would add another 14 miles through Glendale to Union Station, crossing the 5, 134, 2 and 110 freeways. Scant information at https://hsr.ca.gov/.

The relatively small 710 Freeway tunnel was estimated to take 10 years to construct. Imagine how many parcels will be forfeited, how many truckloads of dirt, and how long it will take to construct several train stations, ventilation structures, large tunnels, grade-separations and 55 miles of track for CAHSR in our neighborhoods.

Let’s pick up this ball and run with it, together.