There have been at least two recent media reports describing substantive changes to the upcoming 2012 Business Plan. We look forward to seeing how public input was incorporated to the plan. Given the media reports on apparent substantive changes, CARRD is recommending that the Authority consider issuing a second draft plan to give both the […]
Archive | CHSRA
State Auditor issues report and NY Times: Room for Debate Op/Eds
By Nadia Naik on January 27, 2012 in Business Plan, CHSRA, Environmental Review, FAQ, Funding, Legislative Analysis, Statewide
By now, you have likely heard that the State Auditor has issued its latest report on the California High Speed Rail Authority. The full report is available at: http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2011-504.pdf We recommend reading the long version (always!) as it provides much greater insight into the problems resulting from too many consultants and not enough staff that CARRD […]
Senator Joe Simitian: Train robber?
We are confused by this press release, issued by California State Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani’s office this afternoon. Senator Simitian showed leadership in his recent announcement by seeking to balance the transportation goals of Prop 1A with community concerns and the fiscal reality of what we estimate is a project that will cost at least $65 […]
Gilroy High Speed Rail Station Comparative Visioning Document
By Nadia Naik on March 7, 2011 in CHSRA, Context Sensitive Solutions, Environmental Review, FAQ, Funding, Partners, San Francisco – San Jose, San Jose – Merced, Statewide, Uncategorized
**See Updates below** CARRD has written a letter to various agencies (Santa Clara VTA Board Members, LAFCO Board Members, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors) and the City of Gilroy leaders regarding the Gilroy station alternatives. Our letter on this issue and supporting documents area available here. At the VTA board meeting held on March […]
California High Speed Rail Project : How far does $1.232 billion get you?
On December 9th, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded the California High Speed Rail Authority another $616 million to extend the train tracks planned for the Central Valley. The terms of this money require California to match the funds with $616 million of its own dollars, bringing the total available to $1.232 billion. The Authority will […]
California High Speed Rail Peer Review Committee Releases Critical Report
Peer Review Report November 2010 The High-Speed Rail Authority’s independent Peer Review Group released this extensive report detailing issues that confront the HSRA. Highlights of the report are covered by Dan Walters, New study sharply criticizes high-speed rail project, and John Cox, Peer report calls for ‘thorough reassessment’ of high-speed rail project, who outlines the […]
Preview of upcoming California High Speed Rail Authority board meeting
The California High Speed Rail Authority Board is expected this week to select which corridor will be the first to be constructed. The staff recommendation is for a 65 mile route between a place called Borden located just north of Fresno and Corcoran, a small town on the way to Bakersfield. Things to note about […]
Board members received gifts in violation of their own policies
We presented this document Conflict of Interest Gifts CHSRA to the California High Speed Rail Authority board this morning (November 4, 2010). The CHSRA forbids any gifts to contractors – current and potential. Unfortunately, certain members of the board never “got the memo”, as evidenced by the fact that they received gifts and reported them […]
The Attorney General responds to our letter about incompatible offices
CARRD got this letter from the Attorney General’s office. In a nutshell, they are not going to do anything until they finish writing an Opinion. State Senator Alan Lowenthal requested an opinion at the end of August and one has not been issued yet. We have read ten years worth of similar opinions and are […]
California High Speed Rail messaging survey
The California High Speed Rail Authority surveyed California residents in May 2010 to learn more about support for the project and which messages were most successful in increasing support. CARRD requested the details of the survey from the Authority and recently received two documents. The first has all of the questions in the survey with […]