Today we submitted comments for the Assembly Budget Subcommittee meeting focusing on High Speed Rail Oversight. Our main points of concern: In this case, construction bids and construction estimates are not (and have never been) apples-to-apples comparison. There is no public document that incorporates, tracks and forecasts all relevant costs for the ICS project, relative […]
Archive | Funding
California state legislature oversight hearings for high speed rail project
There are four committees in the California state legislature with explicit oversight responsibilities for the California High Speed Rail Authority. In the Assembly (California’s equivalent of the House of Representatives): 1 Budget Subcommittee 3 on Resources and Transportation – currently chaired by Richard Bloom (D-50) California has a fiscal year that ends on June 30th. The governor’s […]
CARRD calls on Legislators to beef up reporting requirements
By Nadia Naik on November 9, 2015 in Board Meeting, Business Plan, CHSRA, Funding, Statewide, Uncategorized
You may have heard Authority Chairman Dan Richard and CEO Jeff Morales in the media lately talking about transparency. We sent legislators new information about how the Authority is so concerned about the public perception of the project that it is willing to compromise the state’s ability to oversee the many consultants working to design the rail line. […]
Substantive changes in Business Plan warrant recirculation for comment
By Nadia Naik on February 1, 2012 in Board Meeting, Business Plan, CHSRA, Environmental Review, Fresno, Funding, Legislative Analysis, Uncategorized
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
How many jobs will the California High Speed Rail project create?
Questions are being asked about what we can expect from the $4.15 billion of construction just approved by the California High Speed Rail Authority. Last year, we published a short report looking at the job creation claims, which applies to the current situation. The bottom line is that very few, if any, net new jobs […]
New document: Revenue Guarantees for Private Investors
In the words of the California High Speed Rail Authority’s Deputy Director for Communications, the recently issued 2009 Business Plan “has provided unending fodder for skeptics and critics. Public questions about the assumptions and forecasts in the Plan must be addressed in a strategic and thoughtful manner.” One particular criticism was the idea that private […]