Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Track Addicts . . .

From the OD: Local officials: Give NY more funds for high speed rail
Andrew Cuomo, the governor-elect for New York, recently wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood asking that the funding from Ohio and Wisconsin be redirected to New York if it becomes available.

On Tuesday, state Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, D-Rome, joined the cause by e-mailing U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats of New York, asking for their support in obtaining the funding. . . .

Comments on New York asking for the money from Ohio and Wisconsin:
* DOT Communications Director Deborah Sturm Rausch: “Everything has a price tag, and the more money we have to support high-speed rail, the more we can do.”
* Utica Mayor David Roefaro: “Absolutely, we’ll take the money because that’s something we desperately need here in Upstate New York.”
  
The Mayor Roefaro quote sums it up best -- its the MONEY that is desperately needed -- by the politicians in New York State.

As this blog has pointed out several times, no one has EVER demonstrated that the proposed High Speed Rail could significantly reduce door-to-door travel times or reduce travel expenses over competing transportation modes such as the Thruway.  Upstate NY would be economically much better off simply removing the Thruway tolls and making the Thruway like free interstates everyplace else.

All High Speed Rail does is present an opportunity to spend taxpayer money to create a system that will require a constant infusion of taxpayer money to keep it running.

In the process, the MONEY will be used to CONTROL PEOPLE through their government-dependent paychecks.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

For our area, high speed rail will be the biggest white elephant in modern history. As the Hotel Utica, Boehlert Transporation Center, Hope V1, etc., etc., it cannot pass any rational cost/benefit anaysis test. Yet the same politicians who have bankrupted the area and state for decades push it. There is a reason why the "smart" states are turning down federal money. It's called aware of the immense hidden state and local costs. People as Destito and Roefaro have no clue. They just keep spending us into oblivion.

Dave said...

Utica? Well, unless there are hundreds on the platform ready to board the train west for a honeymoon in Niagara Falls, why would it stop in Utica?
Using Google I found two NYSDOT HSR projects: NY to Buffalo and NY to Montreal. Read the following: (Hope these work)

http://tinyurl.com/389f4v7

http://tinyurl.com/3xnaf8z

http://tinyurl.com/36v3mgs

The HSR advisory committee consists of the railroads, state agencies and "statewide organizations," which I take to mean those people who make a living by selling optimism, smoke and mirrors. I didn't see any mention of businesses participating in the studies, nor hollering for high speed rail.
In fact, the only justifications I can see in these preliminary study summaries are
"faster service" and ... intriguingly ... a survey of the man in the street, who was solidly in agreement that we needed "faster service." Whether they told the man the price is not mentioned.
On the other hand, not many people in the early 19th century thought much of "Clinton's Big Ditch."

Anonymous said...

Great view on what is wrong up here - GET RID OF THE TOLLS. Make the thruway west of Schenectady FREE! This is so easy to do and has such great benefits. But we keep electing the same fools to Albany and we get this pathetic response for more money to build something useless.

We had our chance but we sent Roann and Joe back so it will only get worse for us. This really is whole thing defines stupidity

Anonymous said...

If the HSR does come to fruition, one benefit will be that people that want to get the hell out of this area will have a faster mode of transportation to do so. We can thank the likes of Destito, Griffo, Boehlert, etc. etc., for the need of area citizens to seek greener pastures elsewhere due to the incompetence of the above. This area is an economic wasteland & no HSR is going to undo decades of political corruption & incompetence. I thought the chip plant was going to save this area. Now it's HSR. Pathetic.

Silence Dogood said...

If they get high speed rail in the next 10 years I can leave the area quicker

Dave said...

And you know, we're not hearing much about HSR's construction. They were thinking of running the MAGLEV (an HSR on Speed)right up the Thruway median strip. What will the shock wave do to your RV when you're overtaken by a steel behemoth coming up behind you at Mach 0.3?
Keep the lid down on the potty.