tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post2238850880670774305..comments2023-11-05T04:34:10.303-05:00Comments on The Naked City: Why high-speed rail debate's a disaster, how to fix itUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-63762679139261609842011-04-16T22:24:23.664-04:002011-04-16T22:24:23.664-04:00>> Euros is that they can cope with expensiv...>> Euros is that they can cope with expensive oil<br /><br />Yup. France gets 80% of its electricity from nuclear and a whole lot more Euro cars run on diesel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-5393131857385549592011-04-16T13:21:40.700-04:002011-04-16T13:21:40.700-04:00Gregory008 - while I agree that the US cannot affo...<i>Gregory008 - while I agree that the US cannot afford its military adventurism, I must ask if you have been paying attention to Europe for the past year. Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland - none of these countries "have their bugets (sic) in line".<br /><br />Read more: http://marynewsom.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-high-speed-rail-debates-been.html#ixzz1Jhw9s0ka</i><br /><br />Oh, agreed. These countries have committed all sorts of financial foolishness the last 10 years, mostly overbuilding tourist resorts along the south coasts. But the one thing we should notice about the Euros is that they can cope with expensive oil, and we can't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-4233870548113772142011-04-16T01:10:44.333-04:002011-04-16T01:10:44.333-04:00Gregory008 - while I agree that the US cannot affo...Gregory008 - while I agree that the US cannot afford its military adventurism, I must ask if you have been paying attention to Europe for the past year. Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland - none of these countries "have their bugets (sic) in line".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-84511623665099491992011-04-15T22:44:47.151-04:002011-04-15T22:44:47.151-04:00Perhaps if we backed out of policing the world and...Perhaps if we backed out of policing the world and forced Europe to anty up in the global disputes we too could focus more of our energies/money on paying down our deficit instead of our military policing or waring practices- In essence, doing what the EU parties have been doing to us in the past. We dump our money into our military to fix what others won't, while the rest sit on the bench making sure their bugets are in line...just my thoughts.Gregory008https://www.blogger.com/profile/05610380367572212616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-37901195719534780702011-04-15T20:50:58.542-04:002011-04-15T20:50:58.542-04:00"The reason gas is at $4/gallon on the way to..."The reason gas is at $4/gallon on the way to 5 is because Obama wants that."<br />I recall paying $4 several times prior to Obama taking office and our president was the son of an oil tycoon. I would assume he would know how to reduce the price of oil better than anyone. but no dice... this isn't about Obama it is about the fact that we consume 25% of the worlds oil production and make up less than 5% of the population and it is a limited resource with increasing demand and consumption worldwide and a growing world population.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-79147235831489718892011-04-15T20:46:16.390-04:002011-04-15T20:46:16.390-04:00"The proposed link between Charlotte and Rale..."The proposed link between Charlotte and Raleigh cuts 13 minutes off the current trip."<br />This is not accurate at all. The 15 minute efficiency is based on a trip with no sidetracks. <br />I have taken Amtrak to Raleigh and back many times. Currently, the line is one way. So every time a train has to pass another train going the other direction, one train has to take the side track and sit and wait. It typically takes half an hour to an hour and a half on any given day "getting sidetracked" because another train has to pass and there are very few sidetracks. So they just wait. If there were two tracks trains could travel in both directions without getting sidetracked and add half an hour to an hour and a half to any given trip. Then there is the 15 minutes in addition to the increased speed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-41932447953235870442011-04-15T20:39:47.448-04:002011-04-15T20:39:47.448-04:00The rail not only costs money now but will also co...The rail not only costs money now but will also cost money in the future. Why are building more things that will be a net cost rather than benefit. <br />Tel me the difference between cars and roads here. Seriously. Since when have roads made a profit or broken even. Roads and cars have no where near the life expectancy of rails and rail cars, the maintenance cost sand emissions are severely higher<br /><br /><br />"Pay for it some other way."<br />Same with roads...<br /><br />If rail was in demand and was financially feasible then private companies would have rail all over the place. <br />Private industry would have roads all over too. but they don't. I can't even imagine private businesses trying to acquire the ROW at market rate without eminent domain or condemnation, or building setbacks, or trying to widen roads they already build. Seriously is this a joke?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-75970656616203207032011-04-15T20:32:39.435-04:002011-04-15T20:32:39.435-04:00"Too often we have been hoodwinked into "..."Too often we have been hoodwinked into "investments" like bobcats arena and light rail that cost much more than projected and put a drag on the region due to rapidly expanding costs." <br />Businesses have actually relocated to Charlotte because of light rail. Ridership exceeded projections. Real estate values & Upscale development prices increased significantly and surely have added jobs, significant new property tax, and sales tax revenue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-34391175156533297712011-04-15T20:28:26.396-04:002011-04-15T20:28:26.396-04:00"The country simply can't afford shiny ne..."The country simply can't afford shiny new toys until we have paid off the credit card. Why is this so hard to understand?"<br />The country can't continue to consume oil which is a nonrenewable resource, so inefficiently at 25% of the worlds consumption, as world consumption and demand increases and expect to payoff a credit card. It is a major reason we have a credit card bill to begin with. Not to mention gas is increasing in price. So how are we going to afford it long term? We aren't... What can't people understand about that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-58690956460424998362011-04-15T20:23:28.646-04:002011-04-15T20:23:28.646-04:00"Estimates of the cost to build a comprehensi..."Estimates of the cost to build a comprehensive high-speed network nationally are somewhere between $1 and $3 trillion dollars. In case you haven't noticed, we already are in the red $15 trillion "<br />What are the estimates if we keep building more roads (oil) and maintaining more roads (oil) and consuming more cars every 7 years on average as the population continues to grow, effects of environmental impacts snowball, and continue to focus all of our energy consumption on individual cars all going to the same destination (oil)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-47626498332121867722011-04-15T20:16:06.807-04:002011-04-15T20:16:06.807-04:00"I think that the answer is that, at least fo..."I think that the answer is that, at least for now, it should be shelved. Until there is a surplus in the federal and state budgets. And then only after that surplus is used to pay back every last penny we owe then maybe we can begin considering something like this. Tighten your belts people. The government can't afford to do everything." <br />The government can't afford not to reduce dependence on oil and either can our society or any other society. We aren't going to be paying back every penny if we kep depending on oil for the majority of our transportation energy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-88006368588180040492011-04-15T20:13:32.121-04:002011-04-15T20:13:32.121-04:00"Rail IS 19th century technology and people j..."Rail IS 19th century technology and people just flat out don't want to use it." <br />So are cars and asphalt roads. Go to Europe or any major city including Charlotte and you will see people use rail heavily where it is available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-3890089399478567472011-04-15T18:20:23.886-04:002011-04-15T18:20:23.886-04:00It's not even "high speed". It's...It's not even "high speed". It's not going to be like the French TGV (200mph trains) it will be maybe 90mph, so why bother? The only affective genuine high speed European type rail is for linking cities like NY-Boston-Phil.-Washington, or LA-SF. No matter how high gasoline goes, people are not going to give up their cars. They'll give up other things first, even when gas is $9.00 a gallon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-55917443484331521442011-04-15T17:38:54.284-04:002011-04-15T17:38:54.284-04:00You people that simply must get to or from Raleigh...You people that simply must get to or from Raleigh to Charlotte...could you figure out a way to do it on your own? It's called self sufficient. If you don't know what that means, I think you will within the next few years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-51598546977235542182011-04-15T17:05:53.379-04:002011-04-15T17:05:53.379-04:00If people in the United States, which is a very la...If people in the United States, which is a very large area, want to live in centralized, high rise apartment complexes then there is a possiblility light rail might work when going from city to city, however, there are too many people living in rural areas that will not lives as the Russians did in the 1950's and 1960's. When will people realize that where there is a small country with a few small towns, then light highspeed rail can work to some extent. Currently, and for the next 50 years, should the US survive the current events, then light rail just might make a little bit of sense but not before. Those that want to burn our food for fuel and not drill for the abundent amount of oil that is available to the people of the US are not thinking rationally. Sometime during the next fifty years while we burn fossil fuels someone will come up with a good alternative to oil and/or carbon fuels, however, we need everything at this point. Should those that don't believe this, I suggest they park their cars, give everything they earn to the government or whomever in order to construct light rail that will not and cannot be used without costing billions upon billions of dollars just to move a few hundred thousand people. I suggest: God be with us!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-68131483279993979972011-04-15T17:05:06.182-04:002011-04-15T17:05:06.182-04:00I disagree with the folks that say no one will rid...I disagree with the folks that say no one will ride it. That's an ignorant statement. However, I do agree with those who say: We have no money! If we keep spending like this, we may not have a United States of America anymore to fund it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-22272712506145800772011-04-15T16:28:57.763-04:002011-04-15T16:28:57.763-04:00When our government proves it can actually run som...When our government proves it can actually run something as efficiently as the private sector, then maybe it won't be a disaster. Funny how Amtrak and the USPS do not make a profit, and yet our tax dollars continue to support it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-64812334219199705372011-04-15T16:10:18.928-04:002011-04-15T16:10:18.928-04:00Low speed rail is efficient and very cost effectiv...Low speed rail is efficient and very cost effective. High Speed Rail requires very low track tolerances or the train will derail at 120 MPH killing everyone on board.<br /><br />Consequently, HSR must have the rails adjusted and maintained on a nightly basis. That is why it's so expensive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-69703440690331328792011-04-15T15:46:21.396-04:002011-04-15T15:46:21.396-04:00And Mary be sure the readers know that seventy per...And Mary be sure the readers know that seventy percent of the stuff is carried by trucks in this country on roads.<br /><br />And in the city 100 percent get there by truck. <br /><br />And on those roads people seem to dislike so much and love those trains so much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-70035953955898980212011-04-15T15:43:39.824-04:002011-04-15T15:43:39.824-04:00Build it all. It really don't matter. The do...Build it all. It really don't matter. The dollar will lose it's reserve currency status within a decade. When that happens our standard of living will become like Cuba. What this country needs is to end the federal reserve and go back to a gold standard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-12624386666593782122011-04-15T15:43:39.060-04:002011-04-15T15:43:39.060-04:00Someone said these are in use today.
1800 - the B...Someone said these are in use today.<br /><br />1800 - the Battery<br />1810 - Tin Cans<br />1814 - Photography/First Picture<br />1830 - Sewing Machine<br />1836 - the Revolver<br />1856 - Pasteurisation<br />1858 - Internal Combustion Engine<br />1866 - Dynamite<br />1876 - Telephone<br />1877 - Moving Pictures<br />1878 - Electric Lightbulb<br />1885 - First Practical Automobile & Gas-Engine Motorcycle<br />1886 - Coca Cola<br />1887 - Contact Lenses<br />1888 - AC Motor and Transformer<br />1891 - Escalator<br />1892 - Diesel-fueled internal combustion engine<br /><br />What is funny is that all of them have improved and the cost of each of them have gone down and down yet Rail has risen and risen.<br /><br />It must be an inverse relationship item.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-55276986212356845822011-04-15T15:40:36.470-04:002011-04-15T15:40:36.470-04:00Why is it Mary never tells us the real cost of rai...Why is it Mary never tells us the real cost of rail in Charlotte.<br /><br />We are subsidising it to about seven dollars according to a Professor out at UNC Charlotte plus the fare each way. <br /><br />But then again the facts are not what is important to any of those who want to show how great a value it is for us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-19800372445619985012011-04-15T15:29:59.463-04:002011-04-15T15:29:59.463-04:00Anonymous@1:49pm - Just answering one part of your...Anonymous@1:49pm - Just answering one part of your long comment about how to travel in Raleigh if you don't go by car. Well, people that fly and ride the bus also have same unique issue; there is the local transportation, taxi service, rent a car, and friends that pick you up. This isn't really a big deal if you think about the people that does this everyday, especially via RDU.<br /><br />Anonymous@1:52pm - The nation can't afford three wars either, yet we doing that too. If you think trains will put us over the edge, then you have no concept of the federal budget.<br /><br />Anonymous@2:07pm - You give no definition of what the 'Critical Mass' is; you ignore the popularity of the current rail service today and are guessing that service in the Northeast is failing simply because of population shifts. Back-up your statement with some facts, thanks.<br /><br />Anonymous@2:13pm - Not going to argue with you on that.<br /><br />Anonymous@2:32pm - History lesson: in 1970, President Nixon signed into law the "Rail Passenger Service Act" which created Amtrak; this was to allow private passenger rail to move into hybrid public-private entity... the goal was to keep passenger rail service available. That being said, I'm not going to defend it as a Environmentally alternative... they all use diesel engines and they are very popular with hauling coal to power plants. But I still support passenger rail because it is a choice, and a lot of places don't have many choices for travel. Rail will never be self-sufficient, but neither is our state ferry system and state maintained highways (unless you put tolls on them, and even then may still fall short {i.e. I-185 in Greenville, SC}).<br /><br />Anonymous@2:35pm - I laughed at how corny your comment was... you don't have any concept of the federal budget whatsoever. Come back to the grown-up table after you do some research.WashuOtakuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16373968014645656779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-30091979813560643092011-04-15T15:12:23.839-04:002011-04-15T15:12:23.839-04:00Anon 4/15/2011 01:49:00 PM,
With respect to you...Anon 4/15/2011 01:49:00 PM, <br /> <br />With respect to your well written post:<br /><br />1) Of-course there isn't substantial traffic traffic between all (or at least most) points along the corridors. There wasn't significant traffic along 485 before it was built. Did you ever drive Park Road into Jonestown Road before it was fully connected? Have you noticed the metric ton of frontage that is there now (and coincidentally how 485 cannot possibly halfway serve it's usage)?<br /><br />2) Have you priced the cost to ride to Greensboro or Durham or Cary or Raleigh? My mother makes that trip to/fro all the time to see us - it's like 14 bucks. She drives a 30mpg Celica and can't beat that in price and it's only about 15 minute difference. How you get to and fro is different per city and where there aren't great options in GSO for instance, you are in Downtown Durham where you can easily get transportation a few blocks away. But that's only looking at what is serving a 2-3 time a day ridership, not what would come out of the ground if there was high use/high demand.<br /><br />3) I think you are taking a limited view of our traffic problem a) and b) you are underestimating the time frame that other (more congested) parts of the US "began" to address their problems. When MARTA started up, was there as much need then as today? No. How much it de-burdens ATL today is not something I know but I know that if they waited until now to begin it . . . well they simply couldn't have. We need to address problems before the arrive, not after. We cannot wait until we have a traffic problem like NYC before we decide to handle it - NYC has been building MT for 80 or so years - and as someone that has worked in the city, thank G-d they did.<br /><br />To your statement of how can we afford it - it's simple, we can always afford infrastructure improvements that both enable business/growth and create jobs in their effort and aftermath. It's good investment - there's not a way to argue around that. We subsidize gasoline, diesel, air travel, public transit - We as tax payers are subsidizing all of that today. Why would we not want/nay demand that our subsidies are better spent on technologies and interconnectivity of the future instead?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-21640509177302168802011-04-15T15:07:28.598-04:002011-04-15T15:07:28.598-04:00"The rail not only costs money now but will a..."The rail not only costs money now but will also cost money in the future."<br /><br />Funny, but that is a lot more true of our roads than it is of our rails. Roads cost more to build, and more to repair, than rails. <br /><br /><br />" Why are building more things that will be a net cost rather than benefit. Pay for it some other way."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com