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Another tedious plea to do nothing and continue subsidizing roads while gas prices climb, infrastructure crumbles and the economy putts along in the slow lane. The author is also a professor at Stanford University, where there is considerable local resistance to proposals to build an HSR station stop in Palo Alto. The Stanford NIMBYs are afraid that traffic and congestion will overwhelm their community, while also arguing that the rail line won't generate enough ridership to break even. (Come on guys, which is it?)
I think Obama and the White House could do a better job of promoting HSR just by reframing the issue. Instead of saying "we have a plan to connect 80% of Americans with HSR by the year 2040", they should first point out the benefits of HSR. It's a proven technology that can connect regions faster than driving or flying. Then say "it's a job creator, it's energy efficient and it's cheaper to build and maintain than highways". Finally, it should be pointed out that if Congress and local governments work together, we could have a network that connects over 80% of Americans to the benefits of HSR.
I will agree that there has been a tendency to oversell the benefits of HSR by its supporters, but that's almost always been the case with new technologies. There's a great Disney film from the late 1950s, when America was debating the benefits of building the Interstate Highway System, that clearly shows how the magic of freeways was being oversold. Our current highways don't look anything like the vision we were given in the film, but we built them anyway. Take a few minutes and watch "Magic Highway USA", it's pretty cute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pUMlPBMQAPosts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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The only "recent" government project that was completed sucessfully and on time was putting a man of the moon. Reason why; Set a set deadline, by the end of the decade (helped to have a martyred President) second; a competitor, The Soviet Union. We don't even set goals for our wars this is not a way to run a railroad.
Posts: 516 | From: New Haven, CT USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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