Baby Steps
Wow. So, some things happened recently. Stuff like the State of the Union address and the doling out of $8 million dollars to start high-speed rail (HSR) in North America, and the (amazing) Presidential Question Time, that set the tone of political discourse for the coming year, imo- just to name a few.
And about the State of our Union- it sucks! What can be seen, however, is the groundwork being laid to take advantage of shifting priorities? From a planning and civil engineering perspective, this primordial change in bringing attention to our outdated infrastructure and neglected cities is encouraging. Calling out the issue of infrastructure and HSR during the State of the Union address, the President dedicated resources and paid lip-service to highlight the positive impact rebuilding our roads, cities, and transit networks will have on our quality of life and national economy. The $8 million “seed” money as Joey B. called it, is another part of the plan to show the nation that the money used wasn’t borne out of vanity, but out of the necessity to compete internationally and to catalyze further state and private interest in building modern rail.
California’s receiving a large portion of funding ($2.25 billion) isn’t all that surprising. Florida, on the other hand, might be to a lot of folks. I, myself, was initially critical of its funding reception. On the surface, the state appears to have none of the bones necessary for viable high-speed travel: no vertical density, lack of walkability, no major cosmopolitan city (save for Miami, which it is not included on the route at this time), and no commercial hubs of national importance. However, on a second review and highlighted by several reports, the Florida HSR plan is exemplary in its competitiveness in regard to criteria the government set forth in determining the corridors:
“…requests for the grants…were evaluated…[using] quantitative metrics including economic, social, and sustainability benefits. Projects also had to be far enough along in their development, take advantage of innovative technology, and promote a range of public and private partnerships.” -Robert Puentes, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program
It’s also stated that Disney has donated $25 million worth of land for a station along the corridor. I can only imagine how visually exhausting a Disney-themed HSR station would be- probably a over scaled re-creation of the Steamboat Willie cabin…
It must be said that it is crucial for America to get this initial investment in high-speed rail right. A groundswell of further investment and support generally follows successful first efforts, and with the knowledge and research behind this attempt, it needs to prove beneficial and sustainable for US citizens.
The Northeast, a corridor with which I hold a special love and contempt, was noticeably absent from the party. Unfortunately, the Northeast Corridor was not nearly as shovel-ready, has to deal with significant political hurdles, and would require more money to achieve even similar travel time-savings. Not that these obstacles shouldn’t be addressed (if you’ve ever endured the Acela from Philadelphia to Boston, surely you know that that trip shouldn’t take 5.5hrs…), but with a small pot, the measuring sticks for the grant requests are valid and should produce worthy results. And with a spending freeze coming up, perhaps the pot will not be filled for some time to come…
