Public Transportation and Smart Growth

non-HSR systems, from trolleys and streetcars to fast BART-style local-commuter hybrids, are basically net losses money-wise: of course it's not absolutely big, is FAR less expensive than roads, and is even further less costly than not having transit--pollution, uncontrollable sprawl,

ironically the GOP always complains about the transcons--and then every Senator and Rep in like 24 Rockies and Midwest states starts howling because of how hugely important Amtrak is to their states: they're even clamoring for the Pioneer back

density's not the issue either: you could pave the country with HSR lines from Maine and Florida out to Omaha (except places like KY, TN, and the Upper Peninsula), plus CA, TX, and the Pacific Northwest

Southwest airlines pushed for Texas HSR after destroying it an all-private plan in the 90s, since now flights under 500 miles are unprofitable: counties are having tantrums over a TXHSR plan that's built with 100% private money and that doesn't go through their county at all; so we have the old corporate dominance combined with a new ideological style and GOP structure that rewards people for spraying crazy all over the table

http://grist.org/list/2011-05-05-watch-amtraks-coverage-shrink-over-time/

also in LA's case for local rail we're stuck with Beverly High School spending its earthquake retrofit money on claiming the real danger is the Purple Line, whitebread Cheviot Hills hiring some race-baiting megalomaniac, and Yaroslavsky's pandering: they're NIMFYs, not NIMBYs, since they're against projects that don't even come near them

also, Newsom's now for CAHSR, because the polls moved past the 50% mark