Friday, December 13, 2013

Democrats cry again Road Fund Deficiency-- another (Calif) Democrat effort to ripoff motorists for HSR funding

Can you believe this "new" Democrat Politician, this new Senator Jim Beall and comrades, Assemblyman Rich Gordon, Senator Jerry Hill et al effort to suck even more monies fraudulently out of us motorists to fund their urban density transit, especially High Speed Rail, and deadly, motorist road congesting, deadly, outdated Caltrain, while continuing to actually leave our roads in bad shape--for another dip in motorist-funded financial troughs later?  Democrats cannot, nor will not, "solve" our road deficiencies, lest they dry up their funding sources for their wasteful, unnecessary, ever-larger, special-interest (read: campaign-contributor cronies) merry-go round.
Motorist-voters need to get back to dedicating motorist-derived monies (Taxes, Fees, Fines, charges,j surcharges, penalties) back only to the road users who generated them and therefore should benefit from them. 
Currently, motorist-derived revenues are more than ample to go around now,but Democrat Politicians like Beall, Hill, Yeager, Cortese, Liccardo, Kalra (yech!), Tissier, SFer Democrats, divert huge monies to low-efficient transit dangerous Caltrain-HSR placeholder, road diets that reduce automobility to coerce motorists "out of their cars" by restricting lanes to CAUSE congestion, reduce miles we travel, or, charge more to use the roads we paid, and are paying for, via new toll lanes, toll roads (SR152, I-15, I-405, and 800 miles of SF Bay Area one-freewauys. 
Senator Beall is being two-faced. He wants the monies to reduce our automobility (Democrat politicians hate independent people's mobility--w/o govt control) VMT. See his current bill SB628 that passed the legislature, but is being held now "pending the governors plan to implement cap and trade funding" diversion of motorist fees and gas taxes to C&T via Beall's Infratructure Financing Authority to launder the funds for, you guessed it: High Speed Rail's $7 Billion current funding deficit (to grow later) leverage from other, Private (read Public Private PartnershipToll Road-generated motorists funding).  Indeed, in April 2013, these and other Democrat Politicians who run the SF area Metropolitan Transportation Commission serving in their dual role as Bay Area Toll Authority that controls all Bay Area Highways and Bridges, voted that Bay AreaToll Revenues will go into this newly Democrat State Legislature created Infrastructure Financing Authority. 
Beall's support to eliminate State Routes 130, SR 82--to reduce automobile lanes (and formulated gas tax monies to SJ) for bus only lanes and road diets is another testimony to this now-arrogant, vindictive, in-office-too-long powerful politician "caring" chameleon (seniors and foster kid cover). This man is the once, but no longer, road advocate. Now, I suppose to stay in office, he has sold out to high-density developers and construction union supporters and motorist-human subordinating Sierra Club, who back HSR at all cost--to their benefit by sucking more money from motorist-voters by opposiing new/better roads in actuality. Beall has opposed SR152 for decades (despite family there) being converted to a divided, safe highway, toll-free. SR152 is designated to be a toll road, since at least 2006, to support HSR, literally by $billions of surplus toll monies. Same with SR85, no widening for the congestion/accident relief--except as a toll lane to screw motorist$ more--congestion priced--no limit--thanks to legislation this Dem, like all others in the Bay Area. Worse yet, no support for direct SR130 to I-5 Patterson to relieve I580/I680 congestion for Amazan, Kohl and other warehouses, Tracy et al and commuters. And, Beall also opposed BART to SJ to keep Caltrain as the 30-yr HSR placeholder, as announced essentially by Jerry Brown and Rod Diridon Sr on air interviews last year, 2012. We voted for SB83 $10 Vehicle fee and where is much of the money going? To Road Diets as part of Obama's Sustainable Livable Communities method to coerce motorists from their cars (Ray Lahood, March 2010 National Press Club speech), SmartGrowth (not), and One Bay Area.purposes, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Jose, road diets etc.
No malice intended, but Beall cannot be trusted now. Free speech, The "road" monies he wants NOW are directly or via displacement, a desperate attempt to generate more motorist funds for HSR (as a result of the recent HSR court decision) by an unflinching, Now anti-highway (was for SR85 and half-aborted SR87 to SR237), HSR-backer, Democrat Politician who is union-backed (see Vote Smart) and thus a body-snatched "Stepford Wife" robot, like all the one-party Democrat monopolists who rule the Bay Area. They deny us real road and mass transportation on our highways and BART that should run continuously around the whole SFBay, circular, bidirectional, replacing the outdated, deadly, traffic-congesting Caltrain.
Politicians should pass laws that once again revert road and motorist generated monies to go only to roads...roads that serve not only automobiles, but also trucks, motorcycles, paratransit, transit buses, utility vehicles of private and public entities, emergency vehicles, etc. 
LOL! Not possible by these anti-motorist, special-interest Democrat Stepford-Wife politician robots, of course. 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Start Planning now for the 15 -20 year effort for BART Around The Bay, to save lives and provde efficient arterial Bay Area Rail Transit

More advocacy for BART Around The Bay  as posted on the Menlo Park Atherton Patch December 05 2013.
We all in the Bay Area really need to start soon planning-to-build  15 year process to replace Caltrain with BART around the whole bay, one-seat, no, or few, transfers, elevated, trench or tunnel as each city decides with BART (like Fremont did under Lake Elizabeth). BART is already electrified with frequent, safer service to Millbrae and is planned to Santa Clara University station. That leaves only 21 miles to go to finally close the B.A.R.T. goal--while significantly increasing BART capacity in time for its new cars.  Yes, expensive, but how much are all these lives worth?

Since I started the Caltrain trackway death count, by the BANG/SJMN reports, as of 1/1/2013 201 dead, about 12-16 per year. Totally predictable now, especially with the really deadly Express Trains (appropriately named Mini-Bullet Caltrains).  That means another 180-300 predictable dead in the next 15-20 years, about half likely (too easy) suicides that torment Caltrain employees, emergency workers, witnesses, families, friends, and, cause hours of delays and lousy train reliability.  BART is already built, electrified, grade-separated (by law) and frequent for the 15 miles from Millbrae to SF--and connects seamlessly to East Bay and soon South Bay cities, educational institutions, shopping centers, airports, etc, so why electrify and grade-separate that same 15 miles, when the monies ought to be used to plan and built extending BART to reduce the remaining 21 miles that have few grade-separations and are not electrified--and congest over 100,000 cars per day, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Each Caltrain track death should remind us of this opportunity to tie the Bay Area together with one two track, efficient, dual directional, high-capacity arterial rail system that reduces these horrible deaths, delays and survivor trauma while improving transit capacity and usage integration into and with our Peninsula cities' future growth plans that neither roads nor Caltrain can absorb.

The recent Cal (UCB)Bears and Stanford Cardinals game points out how much more effective and efficient BART would be if it extended around the Bay.  Travelers from around the Bay (even to Orinda, Lafayette, Pittsburg, Dublin) to the Big Game would have only to board at the station nearest their route in the Bay Area (and further out, Central Valley, Sacramento, points East and North, and in the future, South and elsewhere on the Peninsula) have an easy BART ride without the congestion on the roads, or, by the current Caltrain street intersections' congestion.
After the game, freeway accidents occurred on both I-80 Berkeley as well as US 101 Palo Alto causing even more congestion.  BART's reach around the Bay would alleviate that.

To get over Caltrain, we need to overcome/enlighten Gov Jerry Brown (JB), Sierra Club, and the rail 'foamer" (most all Democrat) politicians that Caltrain's standard track width is not sufficient to continue or morph the track into HSR track, as JB recently acknowledged was Caltrain's 30-year long goal since his previous term.  So many deaths, for so long, only for political purposes, and not to innovate to more modern, proven, safer, ecofriendly rail transit of BART which is so available to extend, if we only focus on it.  Also, the Dumbarton Caltrain Rail is no longer needed over the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, since BART Around The Bay (my blog, too) touches all the same cities. That $1Billion can be used for closing the 21 mile BART gap, too, rather than create another at-grade deadly, congesting Caltrain branch.  Spread the word to others about this 'no-brainer' safer solution. Thanks.