As High Speed Rail makes its way through Southern California, new reactions are emerging from communities that previously had vague information regarding what it would mean to daily life. Some are accepting the railway, while others are simply ignoring it for now. But there has been no single, unified voice from local governments in California.
In Tehachapi, a city with a long history of supporting railways, the city is enthusiastic about the possibility that the High Speed Rail could cut through the city’s limits. But in the unincorporated communities of Acton, 97 percent of residents are against the project.
In the Bay Area, local leaders effectively lobbied to prevent an elevated track through Silicon Valley, which in turn limits the speed of the HSR project in the corridor from San Jose to San Francisco. The train will only be able to run at 110 miles per hour.
A similar speed limit is supported by Supervisor Michael Antonovich for Los Angeles County, which could endanger the projects required goal of travelling from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The Central Valley was mostly quiet about the project until EIR reports were issued that showed the potential impacts on agriculture, which inspired farmers to begin funding legal action against the project.
Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.