tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81886237749720354982024-02-08T12:35:36.561-08:00BART Around The BayFreemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-84739226444435465932019-12-04T22:31:00.000-08:002019-12-04T22:31:06.338-08:00<br />
<h1 style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 39px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
Caltrain Hits, Kills Person On Tracks At Main Street Crossing</h1>
<h2 class="h4 text-neutral" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;">
The fatal crash occurred at 3:59 p.m. when a person was struck by the train at the busy crossing in Redwood City.</h2>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is at least the 312th, yes 312th, fatality since 1995 when Caltrain and the nascent Sacramento-based California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) publicly agreed to use Caltrain tracks for future, unapproved-until 2008 fraudulent ballot measure for HSR was approved by voters. The 1864 Civil War era Caltrain trackway must be replaced asap by grade-separated BART to reduce killings, save delays, and reduce other street-level accidents. Although BART has its issues--being addressed now by its board, the sooner outdated, street level Caltrain, the Killtrain (wehether by suicide or accident) that flies through the most dense part of the Bay Area at 70 mph, 110 mph for future HSR, the sooner lives will be saved. Like the Las Vegas-Victorville (eventually L.A.) privately-funded HSR that will stop near the new Raiders stadium, HSR would be better off going from San Jose to Oakland's planned new stadium rather than up the peninsula. For about the same cost of modifying Caltrain and HSR to get to, and tunnel in SF, to the TBT, (without the additional $Bil's to go under the Bay to Oakland), BART's cost to close the last 30 mile gap from the future Santa CLara station to Millbraie will be far more beneficial to the Bay Area travelers and commuters, about $12 Billions total:grade separeations, electrification, new cars, eminent domain, PTC, (saving current Caltrain Administration $ and odd rail maintenance, etc. Once Senator Jerry Hill is FINALLY ut of office, the key blocker to BART's loop around the Bay since his days in San Mateo politics, the way should be clear and self-evident to finish the two-way huge capacity of BART Around The Bay. Its a no-brainer...and saves lives, anguish, sadness. Caltrain is a taxpayer-subsidized, government owned and operated suicide-killing machine inappriopriate for the Bay Area, but Democrats have to get past their deadly ends-justify-the means HSR (ends)-Caltrain trackway (means))methodology.</span>Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-53325318561539217722019-12-04T22:30:00.002-08:002019-12-04T22:30:12.088-08:00December 3, 2019, yet another death by the Caltrain "Killtrain" on its 1864 (5 years before Promontory Point transcontinental Railroad joined the nation together and the year before the Civil War ended and US President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated) . The Sunnyvale death may be another suicide.--when the SF Bay Area was sparsely populated with few people and fewer roads.<br />
<br />
Yet, Sunnyvale City councilman eagerly proclaimed his support for Caltrain just a month ago or so before the largely Democrat Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board meeting.. <br />
<br />
Not a Democrat has stated nor gives a damn apparently to replace the deadly masss killing machine, Caltrain, segment from the future planned station in Santa Clara to the current Millbrae BART station, about 30 miles to complete BART around the Bay as it is currently envision.<br />
<br />
Why? The so-called High Speed Rail boondoggle in which its 2008 Proposition 1A vote was based on fraudulent figures for ridership, cbuild osts, partnerships, unlikely "reasonable" low fares, and enormous taxpayer subsidies to build and worse, operate to SF .<br />
<br />
Because Democrats are well known to justify their actions by putting their "ends justify the means" mentality before human life and more efficient and effective mass transit system with its higher farebox recovery,i.e., BART.. <br />
<br />
Oddly, not even Democrat fundraisers, humanitarian award winners, nor d high-tech executives who lost employees on Caltrain's deadly outdated tracks and live in wealthy West of I-280 towns don't speak up to advocate and/or contribute funds to politicians who could support replacing the outdated Caltrain Killtrain with the safer and more effective BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit system).<br />
<br />
This latest tragic death is totals to at least the 331 deaths since 1995 when Caltrain announced formally that its standard tracks will be used by a future, yet to be proposed--or voted on High Speed Rail between San Jose and San Francisco.<br />
<br />
Could this situation not be considered a government-sponsored "mass killing"--over time, yet this Democrat politician-dominated region does nothing toto complete grade-separated, non-congesting, non-greenhouse causing electrified, safer BART around the Bay (BAB).<br />
<br />
Interestingly, a subtle concern expressed to me about finishing BAB, that is, on the wealthier Peninsula is expressed as the "cultural" differences of BART riders from on the other side of the Bay, especially the communities of generally lower income and more diverse racial minorities (as if they don't already come to Peninsula communities by automobile)..<br />
<br />
<br />
.Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-8219827109107533522018-12-11T02:40:00.002-08:002018-12-11T02:40:53.496-08:00<br />
<br />
<br />
<h1 style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 39px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
Caltrain Hits, Kills Person On Tracks At Main Street Crossing</h1>
<h2 class="h4 text-neutral" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;">
The fatal crash occurred at 3:59 p.m. [Wednesday, December 5, 2018] when a person was struck by the train at the busy crossing in Redwood City.</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is at least the 312th, yes 312th, fatality since 1995 when Caltrain and the nascent Sacramento-based California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) publicly agreed to use Caltrain tracks for future, unapproved-until 2008 fraudulent ballot measure for HSR was approved by voters. The 1864 Civil War era Caltrain trackway must be replaced asap by grade-separated BART to reduce killings, save delays, and reduce other street-level accidents. Although BART has its issues--being addressed now by its board, the sooner outdated, street level Caltrain, the Killtrain (wehether by suicide or accident) that flies through the most dense part of the Bay Area at 70 mph, 110 mph for future HSR, the sooner lives will be saved. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Like the Las Vegas-Victorville (eventually L.A.) privately-funded HSR that will stop near the new Raiders stadium, HSR would be better off going from San Jose to Oakland's planned new stadium rather than up the peninsula. For about the same cost of modifying Caltrain and HSR to get to, and tunnel in SF, to the TBT, (without the additional $Bil's to go under the Bay to Oakland), BART's cost to close the last 30 mile gap from the future Santa CLara station to Millbraie will be far more beneficial to the Bay Area travelers and commuters, about $12 Billions total:grade separeations, electrification, new cars, eminent domain, PTC, (saving current Caltrain Administration $ and odd rail maintenance, etc. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">When Senator Jerry Hill is FINALLY ut of office, the key blocker to BART's loop around the Bay since his days in San Mateo politics, the way should be clear and self-evident to finish the two-way huge capacity of BART Around The Bay. Its a no-brainer...and saves lives, anguish, sadness. Caltrain is a taxpayer-subsidized, government owned and operated suicide-killing machine inappriopriate for the Bay Area, but Democrats have to get past their deadly ends-justify-the means HSR (ends)-Caltrain trackway (means))methodology. And "Undaunted" Congressperson Jackie Speier wants to limit or ban guns, yet her name is emblazoned on a Caltrain killing machine Engine number 925. Seems hypocritidal. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">About half the deaths to date of Democrat-schmoozing Jim Jones' Jonestown deadly cult...but getting there,, about one a month.</span></div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-14958795523264551502018-08-31T15:31:00.003-07:002018-08-31T15:31:45.863-07:00Impact of S.F. Bay Area's Regional Measure 3 -Bridge Tolls IncreaseThe impact of the passage of the Bay Area's MTC-sponsored Regional Measure 3 state bridge tolls in June 2016 is not to increase the Bay's bridges or their capacity. "RM3"will fund, though not completely, projects for specific transit and highway capital "improvements" sold to voters to supposedly "ease" traffic congestion.<br />
<br />
Among the transit items are to further fund the BART tunnel into San Jose's downtown Transit Hub station, then to Santa Clara near the Santa Clara University Caltrain station.<br />
<br />
That will leave about 30 miles to finally close the BART Around The Bay loop that will create the 2-direction, doubling of BART capacity and redundant capability for BART users to reach their destination station.<br />
<br />
This will only happen if/when the deadly suicide and accident-prone Caltrain trackway is replaced by BART for this final 30 miles.<br />
<br />
Caltrain trackway death count has reached about 306 dead (latest Burlingame, Palo Alto-California Avenue, Sunnyvale-Mary Avenue) since the Peninsula and South Bay Democrat political machine decided to reveal in 1995 to reserve the Caltrain trackway only for a future High Speed Rail (as Quentin Kopp, plaintiff, entitles it: "Low Speed Rail" because the HSR will not reach anywhere near high speed from Gilroy to San Francisco). <br />
<br />
Later in 2018 the HSR EIR will be released. The cunning Democrat machine has ensured that supportive city mayors in most Peninsula cities in the right-of-way were elected in 2016, Mayor Liz Kniss in Palo Alto, Lenny Seigel in Mountain View, Kirsten Keith in Menlo Park, Sam Liccardo in San Jose, etc.<br />
<br />
More to come...Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-63231538354850255552018-02-09T15:05:00.001-08:002018-02-09T15:05:25.559-08:00My Comment in the ABC News (Fresno, L.A.) reporting (circa Feb. 1, 2018) of Calif. State Senators' Patterson and Beall's successful request to the legislature to audit (again) the CHSRA boondoggle follows:<br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Actually, the mentioned $65-$68B cost is only the CHSRA (disinformation amount to confuse drive-by superficial news coverage) number used for HSR from Bakersfield to San Jose. </span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">As noted, the original 2008 Prop. 1A $40B amount was a complete voter's sucker fraud, as usual for most rail projects.</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The previous $98B estimate was to LA (Lancaster) before the exponential cost of going *through* the Tehachapi's, now is up to an unknown huge amount. The published $68B amount</span><span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> does *not* include SF Bay Area's deadly and capability limited SJ-to-SF Caltrain HSR "upgrade", nor the $2B-3B *estimated* tunneling to SF's new Transbay downtown skyscraper terminal. </span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The monies for this horrible fraudulent HSR boondoggle could be better used for Ca's safety net needs for children, seniors, disabled, mentally ill, and education K-12, UC and CSU tuition reduction, etc etc. </span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">For transportation, finishing electrified, grade separated BART around the SF Bay is better spent, moves more people, with more frequency, safer, quieter, and zero cross-traffic congestion at no more than the $12B current HSR cost. Future cost diversions to SoCal's Coaster and Metro systems could save lives and speed train and eliminated cross traffic congestion delays and pollution with more separated grade crossings. </span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Improving and expanding CA's *real* mass (moves tens of millions daily) road transportation system and safety (where possible) is also a better use of tax/bond dollars than the limited number of HSR construction and operations workers, HSR riders, and very limited HSR destinations. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Buyout of existing Toll Roads and toll lanes to stop exorbitant per mile fees for SOVs and other users that can exceed by well 20 times the average less-than $.05/mile CA state motor vehicle fees and taxes that the average car, truck motorist pays on non-toll roads is a better use of HSR funds.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Using diverted planned HSR funds to improve commerce, holiday, work/trade vehicles, buses, vans, passenger cars, heavy utility and trade corridors for cargo trucks, emergency vehicles, and all other of millions of unionized and non-union road users of all driving ages that would fund these.</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Others suggest that wasting of well over $100B (some estimates of HSR from San Diego to Sacramento would actually exceed $300B) deprives many of vital and urgent "safety net" needy of critical, basic General Fund dollars. The annual over $700 millions of dollars just for the current $12B in HSR bonds would longer pay only for their interest, not to mention the initial capital cost, operating cost, and 23% expected millions in tax cost from local train station high density TOD project development taxes.</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">All this waste, just because Jerry Brown says "I like trains" since he rode on one in his youth over 70 years ago and apparently never had enough of his toy train set growing up.</span><span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> Incredible!</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Road references are copied to my California-oriented "Freemotorist" blog.</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Subscriber, member of American Highway Users Alliance and National Motorist Association Foundation, Silicon Valley Electric Vehicle Association, The Newspaper, Mass Transit magazines, and board member of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, and other groups.</span>Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-50712634799091087492017-08-10T17:33:00.003-07:002017-08-10T17:33:51.442-07:00Caltrain electrification is a shame and shill for California's High Speed Rail wasteful boondoggle. What's worse is that Caltrain/HSR continues to block completion of BART Around The Bay which will serve far more people as a true "Mass Transit" system than a long-since outdated, congesting, pollution-causing, dangerous street-level 55-70mph "unstoppable" million-pound trainset. <br />
<br />
Local Democrat politicians and "leaders", such as Silicon Valley Leadership Group's public policy CEO, Democrat Carl Guardino and others perpetrated an untruthful story to Truimp's Washington D.C. Department of Transportation Director, Elaine Chao, that somehow Caltrain Electrification is a separate project from High-Speed Rail. <br />
<br />
In fact, since 1995 they have been unified projects, as confirmed by CHSRA's Chairman Dan Richard and S.F. Mayor Ed Lee. Indeed, when I joined the pro-Caltrain predecessor advocacy group on October 6, 1982, yes 1982, at a kickoff meeting at the behest of then County Supervisors Susanne Wilson and Rail Zealot-at -any-cost-to-taxpayers Rod Diridon, another advocate engaged me in a conversation about the then SP, later Caltrain, Peninsula Corridor being for high-speed rail such as exists in Japan (Tokyo - Osaka route). Apparently, Diridon had become smitten with HSR upon a visit there. <br />
<br />
It is a real shame that all Democrat-led San Jose and Peninsula cities (aka Silicon Valley) and voters allow themselves, to their detriment, to act as dumbbell "suburbs" to narcissistic San Francisco politicos who don't care about their lower Peninsulas residents and communities' well-being, safety, and quality-of-life.<br />
<br />
The release of Facebook's $1M Dumbarton Corridor study plus urban planning's SPUR suggestion to extend Caltrain/HSR from SF to Oakland with a new tunnel under the Bay validates my long-time asserting that the cost to extend BART around the Bay the final 30 miles to Millbrae, which will tap every city that any resurrected Dumbarton rail project will "serve", will be the same or less than the ultimate Caltrain/HSR configuration--and serve and carry far more people ("masses"), employ more directly and indirectly, electrified, frequently, safer, and with the bonus of higher farebox recovery.<br />
<br />
So, where do we go from here? I suggest that our Central Valley HSR opponents, legislators, Congressmen, and federal DOT Director and staff demand that any future release of tax monies to Caltrain/HSR require an alternative analysis to study a few configurations of BART 30 miles from San Jose to Millbrae, replacing Caltrain/HSR tracks with BART's, plus one for the occasional freight train, to close the long-planned "loop" and thus create a two-way BART system to not only serve regular one-way commutes, but also provide reliable redundancy station access from the other direction in case of track, equipment, medical or protest shutdown obstructions.<br />
<br />
Let our HSR opposing Congresspersons know about this!<br />
<br />
<br />Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-60092154082446742072015-12-09T16:22:00.002-08:002015-12-09T16:22:54.129-08:00SF Warriors Arena would be better served by BART Around the Bay than by keeping deadly, outdated Caltrain.<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is time to start planning to extend BART down the Peninsula to future Santa Clara station to complete the BART Around The Bay dual (two-way) loop to be able to collect and distribute riders to the new arena, University, downtowns, shopping (Hillsdale, Newpark, Stanford, Southland, SF Market-Union, etc) travel facility and other Bay Area venues with the most efficient, safer, frequent, Zero-congestion heavy rail system that has proven its worth, 70% farebox recovery--highest of any transit system in the Bay Area. To save big $, BART should replace outdated, Deadly Caltrain (18 killed by Caltrain this year, twice BART deaths (suicides) and no car-train accidents. By replacing the Caltrain Killtrain, and keeping a separate freight single track, Caltrain excess land is freed up for sale in SF (Mission Bay) and elsewhere to help pay for BART extension down the Peninsula.BART's average ridership exceeds 435,000/day vs deadly Caltrain's (Democrats placeholder for future HSR) meager 60,000/day and that requires transfer delays at each end, unlike BART's homogeneous, integrated,unified system. Last year's Warrior celebration had BART carrying over 550,000 riders--without even the Peninsula extension. 775 new BART cars are coming starting in 2017, too.</span>Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-38206501879589720792015-09-09T13:58:00.001-07:002015-09-09T13:58:22.082-07:00More blogging on BAB, ACE, and the SF Peninsula Corridor highest use - BARTMore blogging about if CAHSR cannot be stopped, then HSR should use the SJRRA/ACE corridor to reach the Bay Area, SJ and SF via the East Bay Capitol Corridor/Amtrak trackway, leaving the Peninsula Corridor to replace the 1864 Civil War era deadly street level Caltrain trackway to far more efficient, safe, non-congesting, high-capacity, dual directional, effective BART to connect the final 30 miles from Millbrae to Santa Clara with a united consensus to really move people via backbone, integrated, one-seat, single (but bidirectional redundancy to reach all points around the Bay in case of a track incident). Amtrak does not use the Peninsula Corridor. HSR need not as well to SF. <br />
<br />
Since BART is already in core Downtown SF and coming to core SJ, and 15 miles down the Peninsula, it only makes tax, transit, and TDM sense to finish BART's loop around the Bay, even before consideration of a second transbay tube, new SF subways (SF Supervisor Weiner's Sept 2015 proposals) --for about the same cost as "upgrading" Caltrain for HSR and special HSR SF tunnels, and Dumbarton Rail resurrection within the pristine Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge in the southern SF Bay. If HSR's unconstitutional 2008 Ballot Prop 1A, can be revoted for regional rail needs, then finishing the BART bidirectional loop around the Bay integrating the major Bay Area cities, shopping malls, universities, entertainment venues, and airports with a one-seat, safer, more frequent, high-capacity, more reliable Bay area non-stop access redundancy near the backbone BART railway and TOD projects. Posted to CHSRA - Caltrain blog.Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-49407952998529987302015-09-05T14:11:00.002-07:002015-09-05T14:11:50.823-07:00If HSR cannot be stopped, then best to run HSR on ACE-SJRRA tracks. Here's why...If HSR cannot be stopped and bond funding re-allocated to regional projects instead of destroying farm and ranchlands, and wasting funds competing with at least tax and fee-paying 5 LA-SF intercity private coach companies--and similarly airlines, then the best route for HSR into the Bay Area, and San Jose, is via the ACE and SJ trackway both due to heavier population centers enroute, Livermore, Pleasanton, etc (not Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Lodi, Galt, etc,). This would be consistent with Amtrak which does not go from SJ to the SF dead-end track. Amtrak relies on local transit and rail BART and deadly, outdated, street-level Caltrain. 227 people have been killed in accidents or easy-access suicides since the CHSRA and Democrat political establishment thought to use Caltrain's Peninsula Corridor tracks from SJ to SF deadend in 1995. At least 16 have died on Caltrain-HSR tracks in this most dense Bay Area Peninsula Corridor this year alone--with more to come as regularly as the months arrive on our calendar. With HSR using ACE-SJRRA tracks instead to the Bay Area, then, over the next 15 -20 years BART can finally complete the long-envisioned, extraordinarily bi-directional, high (double current) capacity, safe Bay Area backbone rail loop at "minimal" cost ~$13 Billion, but totally grade-separated making suicides more difficult and vehicular accidents impossible--thus reducing rider delays and increasing efficiency and likely farebox recovery up from BART's current 70% farebox rate. <br />
<br />
There are so many advantages to running HSR on ACE/SJRRA tracks to Oakland (Jerry Brown's hometown) and San Jose/Silicon Valley, rather than uniquely through new environment-destroying Pacheco Pass tunnels and UNP-owned tracks into SJ then deadending in SF. Coming via ACE & SJRRA tracks to Richmond/Oakland could be an economic boon to these cities (example: Oakland's proposed Coliseum City complex and venues)while providing a straight trackway to Sacramento, again, though the proven heavily-traveled I-80 (Capitol Corridor trackway)corridor.<br />
<br />
This dual concept (HSR via ACE+SJRRA, complete, one-seat, integrated, bidirectional, electrified, ...) Bart Around The Bay Loop would do more to reduce ICE automobile congestion-induced GHG/Carbon emissions while boosting economic vitality along all corridors while reducing congestion thus restoring highway capacity for vehicular long or very short distance mobility. <br />
<br />
This is really a no-brainer to maximize rail and motorist, general fund, highway tax and fees, cap-and-trade dollar use. <br />
From a legacy standpoint for the Governor's Brown, son Jerry would be completing one of his father's, Pat, most profound public service projects --BART Around The Bay in which Pat Brown was governor in 1962 at the initial BART groundbreaking ceremony--with LBJ!Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-82777273724276625662015-08-20T16:20:00.001-07:002015-08-20T16:20:11.063-07:00Simitian's 8/6/15 outrageous and desperate "80%" sales tax to BART versus deadly Caltrain/ aka HSR comments <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
Reference recent article in local media (~August 6, 2015) citing Supervisor, former State Senator, and former Palo Alto City Council (PA) and and prior land-use attorney about spending county sales tax monies for BART for San Jose--ignoring that PA and county-wide voters overwhelmingly support BART, and, I submit, BART Around The Bay. To get around the SF Bay, BART must first come to SJ, Santa Clara, then up the Peninsula, and/or down the Peninsula to finish the final 30 miles to close the bay area loop to make BART the most effective transit system in the West! But, the state Democrat political machine, of which Simitian is a key member, is hell-bent to continue dangerous, deadly Caltrain as the outdated, human sacrificing,<span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"> HSR surrogate (same track size, unlike BART's) where over 220 people have died on its tracks since he, Senator Hill, and other Dem's were first elected to office in the early 1990's Lives don't seem to matter over their Democrat political HSR allegiance. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">Thus, Simitian's "80%" comments are aimed at those uninformed or easily suckered that he is grossly taking advantage of in the worst way of any politician. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
This alleged 80% 'social justice' transportation inequity is the worst of Simitian's despicable demagoguery on the human sacrificial deadly Caltrain-High Speed Rail tracks. It is another outcropping of the strongly state Democrat-machine backed HSR vs BART and other transit ops battle and his desperate attempt to rejoin the pro-HSR power block of crony-Capitalist profiteers and crony-Socialist Big Government Soviet style urban density advocates. Simitian ignores to mention a number of items: </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
Palo Alto voters in both 2000 joined the 70%county-wide voters in approving that initial BART tax. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
In 2008, both MV and PA voters approved this "operations and maintenance 1/8c BART tax by 66.7%+. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">PA voters, the most educated and highest percentage of post-graduate degree residents of all SCC cities, and Mountain Viewers know that in order for BART to eventually get to their cities, to complete the final 30 miles from Millbrae to SCU to have a one-seat, no-transfers, bidrectional, high-capacity, far safer, zero traffic congesting, quieter, parallel bike/ped trail (redundancy for station incident bypass) loop (reference my BARTAroundTheBay blog) single Bay Area heavy rail reach to the major universities (SCU, SJSU, Stanford, Berkeley, etc), airports, walkable downtown centers, many shopping malls, and other major venues, using tunneling, trenching, at-grade (where no crossings) or aerial configurations--as each city deems appropriate--for about the same cost as the Caltrain ROW (since 1995 HSR placeholder current deadly tracks (227 dead, 16 this year, ~12+ annually)+ Dumbarton surface rail (re-using its 1910 pylons within the Don Edward Wildlife Refuge!)+$2 Billion SF tunneling to TBTerminal, and $1.7 Billion electrification monies). Simitian's despicable "80%" citation and MV and WV cities ignore broad likely and actual voter support for BART, higher than Caltrain in both North County and South County in past surveys as well as the latest SVLG survey. The Democrat/Labor Union, crony, and Democrat-led (BAC, SVLG) groups' support for HSR at all costs has, and continues to, ignore citizens desires to implement Silicon Valley's hallmark Creative Destruction to replace deadly Caltrain/HSR standard track's width with BART's unique tracks, while moving HSR, if it cannot be stopped, to come over the (ACE) Altamont Commuter tracks to SJ and Oakland (with BART connections to SF, as Amtrak SF-destined riders do today) as the ACE Board is apparently pushing as a lower cost, lower environmentally destructive, option to current Pacheco Pass tunneling. With the all-Democrat Palo Alto out-of-touch, HSR-owned city council (Kniss, Wolbach, Berman, Burt, etc) and Democrat-HSR "Stepford Wife"-like majorities in Menlo Park, Mountain View and other Peninsula cities (not Atherton), Caltrain/HSR deaths will continue on this 1864 trackway. SCC Supervisor Simitian, Sen. Hill, Speier, Tissier, Kniss, Eshoo and other early 1990s first-election politicians all have responsibility to terminate their support for HSR up the Peninsula in order to save 12-20 deaths/year on the Caltrain tracks until they can be replaced over the next 15-20 years with BART (with a safe, separate single freight track). Congresswoman Speier, who built her politicial career on the basis of deaths around her over the years (Caltrain locomotive #925 emblazoned with her name) stated at the Golden Gate Bridge barrier dedication (16 died over the past 2 decades on bridge head-on collisions vs over 227 on Caltrain tracks--despite fewer Caltrain users/day). </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">At the GG Bridge barrier dedication, Spei</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">er announced "It is is obligation of elected public officials to protect the public health and public safety", a fact Simitian, Kniss (a former union(?) nurse), Sen. Beall, and especially Senator Jerry Hill, ardent, long-time, BART foe have dutifully ignored in their allegiance to the HSR Democrat "Hall:" machine and its cronies.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4;">Finally, Simitian's </span></span>demagoguery<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4;"> could've been used when the Hetch-Hetchy aqueduct was being built toward Palo Alto from the Sierra with some of Palo Alto's upfront money. The same could have been said about I-280's construction as it was being built, partly with Palo Alto's gas taxes, and other infrastructure projects--until they arrived into Palo Alto. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4;">Clearly, Simitian and other Peninsula Democrats "80%" abuse is designed only to acquire more funds for the HSR money-sucking whirlwind cyclone using the deadly Caltrain tracks, and, to block efficient, effective BART around the Bay. </span></span></div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-52492936938998663112015-08-04T17:23:00.000-07:002015-08-04T17:23:00.738-07:00Motorist Pulled from car on Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks in Sunnyvale by heroic San Mateo Transit cops seconds before train hits, Monday 8-3-2015.<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
Motorist Pulled from car on Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks in Sunnyvale by heroic San Mateo Transit cops seconds before train hits, Monday 8-3-2015.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">It is absolutely crazy that Silicon Valley cities tolerate this deadly street level,1864 (pre-Civil War Appomattox peace signing, President Lincoln) trackage, except for knowing that the Sacramento power of the Democrat political machine that controls almost all city councils and legislative majorities because of Caltrain's same width trackage ass placeholder and sacrificial altar for High Speed Rail (or as former CAHSRA Chair now calls it "Low Speed Rail). Until voters demand extending electrified, street separated (required by law), zero traffic congesting, B.A.R.T. the final 30 miles from Millbrae/SFO to Santa Clara future B.A.R.T. station & to connect communities, universities, shopping centers, etc. from their politicians, especially Democrats, this carnage risk on the outdated Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks will continue. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3f4549; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3f4549; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">Political change with the ouster of State Senator Jerry Hill, a long-time opponent of B.A.R.T due to his longstanding HSR support on this embarrassing, deadly, trackway. Incude Palo Alto City Council members notably (union?) nurse Liz Kniss and others.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3f4549; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"> need Silicon Valley's famous "Creative Destruction" to replace Caltrain/HSR with modern BART (775 new BART cars on order to arrive starting in 2017). Unfortunately, 200+ more will die during that 15-20 year plan-fund-build process--when the city councils move to bring BART down to Santa Clara to complete its bidirectional, high capacity, safe, frequent service via San Jose or San Francisco between the East, South, and Peninsula cities. If HSR cannot be stopped, then it should come to the Bay Area (SF, SJ, Oakland, East Bay) via ACE over the less costly Altamont, freeing up the very dense Peninsula for for far safer, more frequent, electrified, non-congestion, less carbon GHG pollutants--BART--"only" 7 have died this year on its tracks, though it runs many more trains on more stations with higher service frequency, and greater ridership (430,000 weekdays vs. 58,000 on Caltrain-Killtrain's reserved Democrat HSR "sacrificial altar of death" trackway. Since Caltrain's tracks were designated for HSR in the mid-1990's (per Dan Richard, CAHSRA Chairman, January 2015 KCBS interview) were designated for HSR 227 people, teens, hi-tech workers, tourist visitors, young and old, have died on these easy-to-access, outdated street-level trackage, 16 this year alone, 65 since I started periodically to attend Palo Alto (all Democrat), Menlo Park (Democrat majority) and other local (all Democrat controlled) city councils in 2011 appealing to them to seek BART down the rest of last 30 miles of the Peninsula Corridor that Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR altar tracks now occupy.. Unfortunately, some may say that local and Sacramento Democrat politicians' years-long acceptance and support of Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR accidents is not unlike Democrats outright callous, acceptance and encouragement of Planned Parenthood's fetus/baby abortions and body organ and limb sales due to their political aims</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3f4549; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #3f4549; font-family: Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">Such is life in this Bay Area/Sacramento one-party political monopoly--until the people (voters) make the change.</span></span></div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-24456884004669411102015-03-18T17:30:00.002-07:002015-03-18T17:35:28.931-07:00Fresno landowners fight the altar of CA HSR, and, up another Caltrain-HSR shill death to 220 dead in SF Bay Area-Mountain View<span style="color: #191919; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poatings on Fresno Bee site, 03-18-15 about Farmers resisting selling their land to CHSRA</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #191919; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People are dyinng now in the SF Bay Area due to the 1995 decision (13 years before </span></span><br />
Prop 1A in 2008, and 17 years before the formalized 2012 "blended Solution MOU) Dan Richard confirmed this decision on air (KCBS 740 AM radio "Indepth" Interview, January 11, 2015) by the nascent, secretive, CHSRA to share the Caltrain commuter surface train tracks (same size) which are at-grade. minor gate improvements do not improve an 1864 Civil War era street level track in the midlst of increasingly dense urbanity, no longer rural area. 220 people have died by accident or all-to-easy suicide on Caltrain's HSR tracks from SJ to SF since 1995, mostly by the 70mph Caltrain Express (Baby Bullet train. HSR is planning to go up to 110mph for a faster horizontal guillotine effort to kill anyone on its tracks. The ROW is frozen at street level awaiting HSR. Horribly, 9 this year so far have died. including yesterday's suicide in Mountain View. HSR has no $ or plans for most grade separations. All the while, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) could use the 30 miles of the Caltrain-HSR ROW to build its required-by-law grade-separated tracks. Where are the Personal Injury attorneys when we need them? More at my blog..BARTaroundthebay or freemotorist. One can only wonder how many tracks HSR has reserved (frozen with minimal improvements) and for how long in Central Valley and LA Metrolink lines where others may also be getting killed. HSR must be stopped. As Newsom and Kopp and others have said, there are better local projects, whether rail, water (CV), or I-5. Richard's statement about highways is bogus as Terry Stephan points out...because highways carry goods and services commerce, not just subsidized passenger bodies! I-5 requires very few interchange improvements to fill its 8-lane design width since most road crossings in the CV are overcrossings..and a wider highway now is a safer highway with more lane room for human driving errors, unlike today's congested 1972-built 4-lanes,<br />
<br />
Reply to Glen Parsons and Terry Stephans Comment on the article about Farmers resistance to sell land to CHSRA:<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #191919; line-height: 14px;">Central Valley needs water, reservoirs (and recreation), distribution systems, and 4-lane+ highways, I-5 and SR99 to 6 or 8 lanes, not 2-lanes; SR43, 140, 145, 65, 58 to I-5, 46, etc; SF Bay Area needs BART around the Bay, 34 miles or so to go to carry ~800,000 up from about 420,000/day now; and LA area needs more non-toll highway upgrades, esp. SR1238, SR14, I-210, 74, 79, 118, 126, 23, etc, safer rail, and transit. No one needs or wants HSR--except 40-yr taxpayer gigolo Diridon and Richard and Morales "rail foamers" who never outgrew their childhood enthusiams for choo-choo trains-at the expense of UC, CSU student tuition (discount Gov Brown's typical two-step--stealing from students by General Fund HSR interest on bonds ($550 Million/yr at each $10Billion in bonds), Cal works, Court system justice underfunding, In-home care,</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #191919; display: inline; line-height: 14px;"> Medi-cal reimbusrement, K-12 education, homeless, mentally ill care. Brown is a terrible Democrat, elitist hypocrite with HSR exercising his childish train fetish (2012 interview with CBS' Face the Nation, Bob Sceifer, later with Scott Pelley "I've been working to bring HSR to California for 30, 40 years". At January 27, 2015 HSR groundbreaking: "I like trains")--no matter who gets hurt or what the cost, including all the deaths on the frozen-in-place HSR shill in the SF Bay Area since 1995...when 220 people have died by Caltrain collision accidents or all-too-easy Gov. Brown-provided suicide, horizontal guillotine effect- euthanasia on the tracks. 9 have died this year on the Caltrain-HSR tracks, including yesterday's latest in Mountain View. Terrible.</span></span>Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-37388009674295716172015-03-09T12:50:00.000-07:002015-03-09T12:50:08.258-07:00Another Caltrain -HSR sacrificial Altar of Death killing 219 since 1995, 60 since 2011, 8 YTD 2015How many more must die before Caltrain is replaced by safer SF Bay Area BART?<br />
<br />
Posted on Palo Alto Patch: Monday, 03-09-02015 after a 15 year old boy from Paly High (is deemed to have) kills self by the Caltrain Killtrain.<br />
<br />
What we can do is fight to pressure the respective Democrat-controlled city/town councils along the Peninsula Rail Corridor to bring far safer, grade-separated--by law! to replace this 1864 (US Civil War, once Rural) trackway with electrified, quieter, more frequent, high-farebox recovery BART down the Peninsula. I've been doing this for the past 4 years, ever since a grandfather of 5 that I used to see in the supermarket was killed by a Caltrain, similar to the latest one near blossom Hill. Since I've been begging the city councils (right after many deaths occur) to open talks to extend BART and close the BART Around The Bay loop for safety in 2011--60 have died. Also, demand at tonight's (most Mondays) 6:pm Palo Alto Council meeting that Palo Alto join the Atherton lawsuit against Caltrain-HSR Electrification as they cited multiple similar safety issues that are built-in to the Caltrain-HSR surface trackway. Remember, Caltrain tracks are the designated HSR trackway since 1995--13 years before the deceptive, unconstitutional ballot 2008 vote for Prop 1A HSR. (KCBS "Indepth" interview with CHSRA Chair Dan Richard, January 11, 2015: Gov. Jerry Brown, "...working for 30 years to bring HSR to California." Face the Nation interview with Bob Schiefer, 2012 (Caltrain was started in with Gov Brown funding in 1982) ).<br />
Worse yet, the election of Sacramento Democrat machine puppets Liz Kniss and Sen. Hill's coy Cory Wolback have created a pro-HSR majority on the all-Democrat PA CC, so only public pressure from locals, esp. Democrat citizens, *might* get them to buck Sacramento's powerful Democrat machine--Peninsula Lives Matter!!!. These kids and the 219 who have died on Caltrain's tracks since the 1995 decision by Sacto's CHSRA to use these tracks (same size as HSR, unlike BART's different track width). If HSR is to be then, it ought to go up the East Bay, not the more densely, and increasingly dense, dead-end (no pun) Peninsula Corrdior. BART's elevated, tunnel, or trench requirement will save lives. The sooner we start to get BART, now that all counties have voted for it, and PA and MV voters in 2008 both voted (Measure A) by over 2/3 to tax themselves for BART additional 1/8 cent, then the sooner these deaths, even suicides, will be reduced due to harder to access tracks--but the citizens and councils and all levels of govt (Dem) must form a consensus to work with VTA and SamTrans to collaborate with BART and get funding. BART will have the newer cars then--and allow bicycles more as well <br />
The sooner we start this effort, the sooner the 15-20 year plan-fund-build work will replace Caltrain-HSR street-level tracks with BART grade separated tracks. As I have repeatedly advised PA, MP, MV councils, that still means these higher speed, horizontal-guillotine violent dismemberment or crushing deaths, especially by the higher speed (Baby) Bullet trains will amount to about 200 more dead on the tracks. How many more must die before we work to stop this sad, horrorific situation in our midst? We should have started in 2000 when SM and SC county voters overwhelmingly voted to support BART, 15 years ago.Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-72157860691730572902014-11-05T18:10:00.002-08:002014-11-05T18:10:41.063-08:00Two more die on Gov. Brown's Caltrain HSR-placeholder Altar of Death route in recent 3 weeksOn October 15, 2014 a 19-year old, 1-year post-high school graduate committed suicide, according to Caltrain's administration, near the Charleston Road crossing, by placing himself in front of an oncoming urban Caltrain street-level commuter rail placeholder (for High Speed Rail)...yet another of Governor Jerry Brown's and California Democrat Party political sacrifice...on his vanity(vanity per Kashkari) project HSR, and its altar of (easy access) death.<br />
<br />
On November 4, 2014 another teenager, 16 years old from Palo Alto's Gunn High School, Caltrain suspects committed suicide around 1:00 am just south of Palo Alto's California Street station. This is yet another of Governor Jerry Brown's and California Democrat Party political sacrifice...on his vanity("vanity project" per Neel Kashkari, former 2014 candidate for Governor) project HSR, and its altar of (easy access) death. '<br />
<br />
I am concerned that these all-too-easy fatalities, whether by accident or suicide or whatever, amounting to 9 this year, 2014; 50 since 1/1/2011, 210th since 1/1/1995, are a continuing result of the one-party, e.g., Democrat, majority rule, monopoly, and obedience of the unified result of San Francisco Bay Area political bodies at local, county, regional, state, and federal levels who have united to support their insensitive, uncaring, ego-driven Democrat Governor and the cronies who support him, regardless of how many die on these outdated trackage, a deadly embarrassment to Silicon Valley's innovation, creative, and "creative destruction attitude that prevails up the SF Bay Peninsula--except for this long-time deadly street level HSR shill--Caltrain. Even HSR is currently set to be at street level, thus terminating those people on its shared street tracks, but at 110 mph instead of Caltrain's up to 75 mph speed (whether by accident or suicide). <br />
<br />
It is past time to start work to replace Caltrain-HSR shill with a safer, electrified, street-separated, zero traffic congesting, bay area wide, integrated real mass transit system--BART. Replacing the Caltrain-HSR shill will cost about the same as "upgrading" the outdated Caltrain-HSR train from SJ to SF by replace it with BART for the final 30 miles up the Peninsula, to seamlessly connect and close the Bay Area loop with Eastbay commuters to/from the Peninsula's Silicon Valley employers. BART should save many more lives due to its legally required street separation. Unfortunately, replacing Caltrain-HSR with BART will take about 15-20 years, thus another 200 deaths of friends, neighbors, and others on Caltrain-HSR tracks. But, the effort will only start with public/voter pressure on local, regional, and state Democrat officeholder sufficient to overcome Governor Brown, the (anti-human) Sierra Club, Big Labor, and Democrat-led Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Bay Area Council go-along, get-along business members. <br />
<br />
Here is a 2010 article response Comment about these unfortunate deaths and the Mineta Transportation Institute's so-called "Correction" about Caltrain deaths, for some background:<br />
<br />
Important footnote:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2010 the earmark, specially Democrat funded "Mineta Institute for Transportation" //(MIT) was headed and, from my own experience, an anti-automobile, pro-rail federal and state Democrat funded advocacy "institute" (hah!!!!) thus any such "Correction": as noted above that downplays the extreme danger of this outrageous, out-of-place, ought-to-be, and once was pre-urban, rural commuter train that runs through increasingly dense SF Bay Area Peninsula cities at street level (causing huge cross and parallel traffic delays must be viewed from MIT's<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>rail foamer" bigotry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hidden agenda is the scandal that not only prevents electrified street-separated BART from replacing this deadly Caltrain (210 dead since 1995, 50 since 1/1/2011, and 9 so far this year on this historic (1864 US Civil War built) trackage, but that Caltrain is really the Peninsula placeholder for the CA and Bay Area Democrats' High-speed rail corridor--regardless of how many lives must be sacrificed by suicide or accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Gov Jerry Brown and MIT's then-ExecDir, former CAHSRA now US HSR head, Rod Diridon Sr said, in separate media (CBS Face-the-Nation with Bob Schiefer), Kbay, Southbay Sunday with Sam van Zandt) interviews, verbatim that "I've been working for 30 years to bring high speed rail to California...." HSR was only approved in 2008, though the CAHSRA had been funded for over a decade by Sacramento Democrat legislators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, I allege that the last two-lanes 13 miles of SR152 Pacheco Pass near Gilroy that kills and injures a number of people every year (4 dead this year alone) because it was determined by local Democrats to be extorted into an improved 4 lane congestion-priced toll road whose excess revenue (about $2Billion to 2040) could help fund the adjacent planned HSR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the full story of the result of one-party Democrat monopoly control of all local, county, regional, state, and federal elected and appointed boards--and the two leading business leadership groups in cahoots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way, another two suicides occurred on the Palo Alto Caltrain-HSR tracks in the past 3 weeks--but public officials (Democrat- controlled) will do nothing in sacrificial service to their crony-capitalist (or, perhaps, crony Socialist)HSR god. If HSR is to be, then it should follow the existing Amtrak route to San Jose, then Oakland to points east, not the few riders heading to SF.Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-33760635974701725812014-08-25T16:49:00.001-07:002014-08-25T16:49:10.909-07:00I am hopeful that political candidates running for office in the November 2014 California elections will take on the proper and wise and cost-effective and transportation excellence cause of BART Around The Bay by committing to replace Caltrain along the SF Peninsula with BART over the next two decades and provide a transferless frequent, safer, non-polluting rail capability for travelers at any major trip generation point around the Bay. <br />
<br />
Caltrain Death Count as of today:<br />
7 dead in 2014 into August.<br />
48 dead since 1/1/2011<br />
208 dead since 1/1/1995<br />
<br />
Below is another recent blog on the BAtB Twitter:<br />
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
On the question of Grade-separating street-level tracks such as Caltrain has, are not as effective as grade-separated tracks as BART would have. </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Caltrain's easy street-level fatalites, including suicides, and accidents ought to speak loudly to you. Caltrain deaths at San Antonio road overcrossing of the Caltrain street-level tracks and other i/cs are clear. Additionally, Caltrain has a higher kill rate due to its train-to-track clearance than BART--which, because of its third rail has more space--and has saved lives from both suicide attempts and accidents from those who fell on the tracks, much to the dismay of the former.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
As for costs, the Transportation Demand Management capability of one-seat BART Around The Bay to unite East, South, and Bay riders, commuters, event attendees, University students, and shoppers, offers huge environmental, time, and motor-vehicle cost-saving benefits. As written previously in blogs of "BARTAroundTheBay" and "Freemotorist', apparently some rigid Caltrain (always done it this way") zealots cannot understand readily that spending another dime on Caltrain also known as the 30-year High-Speed Rail (HSR) shill and placeholder (as Jerry Brown and his 40-yr long taxpayer-funded pro-rail progeny Rod Diridon Sr confirmed when they both said that they"...have been working to bring HSR to California for 30 years" KCBS-Face The Nation, 2012; KBAY Sunday Southbay w-Sam Van Zandt-2012). </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Caltrain was initially funded by Gov JB1 in 1982, 30 years ago, with local support by then-politician Diridon. Replacing Caltrain (a 15 yr project for the future betterment of the Bay Area transit users, in which another 200 people or so will die on Caltrain's tracks), and using its Right Of Way (ROW) for BART Around The Bay wouild minimize cost by $Billions. </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Redirecting the $5Billion or so planned for Caltrain-aka HSR construction from SJ to SF and the TransBay Terminal, to BART would go a long way to closing the $8 Billion in funding for the last 21 miles gap in BART Around The Bay from Millbrae to the planned SouthBay/SCU station. This would nearly double BART's capacity with unified two-way BART travel capability around the bay area's major university, shopping, airport/train, downtowns' trip generation points. </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Caltrain (aka HSR) vs BART cost deflection arguements ignore that, as Brown and Diridon said essentially, Caltrain is HSR. HSR is going to cost well over the current $68 Billion fraudulent number for a completely unneeded public tax(es), toll, and fee choo-choo. </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Eight Billion $ for a top-notch BARTAroundTheBay two-way closed-circuit, frequent, safer, electrified, grade-separated (by tunnel, trench, or aerial viaduct) zero-congesting rail, is far 'cheaper and far more beneficial than the boutique, limited, less-frequent, dangerous, polluting (think:1910 Dumbarton Rail resurrection) over the now-Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge South Bay. waters) back-and-forth only limioted set of at-capacity trains. </div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.77777862548828px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Embrace a better SF Bay Area backbone (high-capacity) mobility future, not mired in "always done it this way thinking", certainly not in progressive Silicon Valley/SF Bay Area where "Creative Destruction" is the hallmark of our innovation and creativity.</div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-91342421370007343952014-04-04T16:40:00.001-07:002014-04-04T16:41:47.998-07:00SJ Metro papers buyout Santa Clara/San Benito crucial news sourcesOn news today that Metro Newspapers bought out the critical newspapers of Gilroy Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Freelance and Santa Cruz paper, I wrote the following Reply with respect to these communities and their newspapers key informative role in the Governor Brown's Northern California Trackway Scandal that far outpaces anything New Jersey Governor Christie is alleged by his opponents to have done. Here, in Calfornia, Governor Brown's longstanding rail fetish, dating back to his first term where he used, manipulated state road right of way lands to effect the return of taxpayer-funded mostly inefficient, congesting, money-losing streetcars (now labeled with the generic term of "light rail") that failed due to their inflexibility in contrast to auto-mobiles and buses and coaches.<br />
<br />
But despite 204 deaths to date from 1/1/1995 to today, at a current rate of more than 1 death per month, including too-easy suicides. Already 3 track deaths this year, 2014, including a Pleasanton-homed Good Samaritan high-tech worker (Nividia) death in Santa Clara, just two days after the SC VTA held a "celebration" of Caltrain, the HSR's 30-year SF Bay Area Peninsula rail placeholder\. Incredible, to think this aged trainset is allowed to exist, and no Democrat in any local, regional, state, and federal position, except truly progressive Gavin Newsom are willing to fight to redirect HSR funds to local/regional needs, such as closing the final one-seat rail gap from SJ to SF with safer, electrified, non-congesting, frequent two-way BART in the Caltrain/HSR right-of -way: Here's my Reply note in Metro's San Jose Insider comment on Metro's takeover of the South Santa Clara County's critical news sources"<br />
<br />
"I hope Metro maintains the independent integrity that Metro & Insider demonstrated on the Shirakawa and other scandals.... Gilroy and MH are the crux of SoCounty/SCC VTA HSR fraud enablement--and Democrat-backed VTA Board's plan for the final 13 mile SR152 (joint with SR156) Pacheco Pass toll road to US101 to help fund it (as allowed for nearby transit facilities, per AB2032, Dutra, 2004). Sorry to read of Gilroy Editor Mark Derry's departure.<br />
Christie's Washington Bridgegate issues are nothing compared to Caltrain, the now, out-of-the-closet, placeholder/shill admitted Jerry Brown and Rod Diridon Sr clear rail fetish put on taxpayers, with its 150 year old street-level suicide, accident deathtrap and increasingly dense congestion (GHG) generator. The Caltrain shill, with same track size as HSR, blocking finally extending BART around the whole Bay, as BART was originally planned, and that all Bay Area counties have approved taxes to support BART, indeed, SCC by 2/3 vote in 2008!<br />
BART would be super-efficient with dual direction high-frequency, safer, electrified, quieter, one-seat rail transit (like the 2 freeway loops around the Bay), separated from street-level traffic (required by law). <br />
Both Gov. Brown and Diridon had on-air interviews (CBS Face the Nation w/ Bob Schiefer, and KBAY Sunday a.m with Sam Van Sant(?) in mid-2012) where they admitted to their up-to-now secret agenda. They both said they've been "...working to bring High Speed Rail to California for the past 30 years." This is when the first Gov. Brown gave the initial 3-year funding for Caltrain (1982).<br />
The scandal is that hundreds have died in Caltrain's 150-year old street level trackway. Based on B.A.N.G. reporting, 204 dead since 1/1/1995, 45 dead since 2010, three this year (2014) continues the average of just more than 12 dead per month. Far fewer die on BART by any measure, including suicides. New BART trains, more bicycle friendly focus, and huge efficiencies result by our politicians and business leaders planning BART to close the last 21 mile gap from Santa Clara (Univ) to Millbrae with minimal neighborhood and environmental or land needs would be possible by replacing deadly Caltrain by ending HSR and redirecting NoCal $ to bring BART to SJ, SCU, then up to Millbrae. This save Billions that would be needed to update, separate, electrify, the incompatible Caltrain with BART's united efficient, ultimate Bay Area Loop. <br />
Gilroy and MH would be better served with a Santa Cruz VTA coach-like service north to SJ multi-modal train/bus station than infrequent, rigid Caltrain, thus, the importance of Gilroy and MH, Hollister and commuters'points south--and completing SR152 without any tolls (we already pay for roads with our auto taxes and exorbitant auto fees).<br />
This deadly, congestion-causing Caltrain placeholder for HSR ought to be investigated and exposed, at least since Santa Clara and SM Counties' voters voted to support BART, as other Bay Area counties did previously. Note that BART took over the ROW of at least 3 other formerly street-level trackways. Christie's 4-day Bridgegate is nothing compared to Brown's HSR/Caltrain Trackgate! <br />
<br />
The Bay Area needs the Josh and Dan duo to investigate and expose this deadly, ongoing Caltrain/HSR sham and scandal that pollutes and endangers Peninsula residents instead of BART."<br />
<br />
Also, posted on my Freemotorist blogspot site.Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-11516616412255323242014-02-11T04:23:00.001-08:002014-02-11T04:23:24.830-08:00Calfi Governor Jerry Bown's SF area Caltrain-HSR Altar of Death. NJ Gov Christie bridgegate is nothing to compare!<header style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; padding-right: 46px; position: relative;"><span class="post-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="author publisher-anchor-color" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><a data-action="profile" data-role="username" data-user="53192633" href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/chris-christie-republican-governors-association-fundraising-record-103345.html?hp=r1#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;">Freemotorist</a></span> </span><div class="post-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block;">
<span aria-hidden="true" class="bullet time-ago-bullet" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cccccc; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1.4; padding: 0px 4px;">•</span> <a class="time-ago" data-role="relative-time" href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/chris-christie-republican-governors-association-fundraising-record-103345.html?hp=r1#comment-1239470209" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 39, 59, 0.34902); font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;" title="Tuesday, February 11 2014 3:15 AM">15 minutes ago</a></div>
<ul class="post-menu" data-role="menu" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 3px; visibility: visible !important;">
<li class="collapse" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;"><a data-action="collapse" href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/chris-christie-republican-governors-association-fundraising-record-103345.html?hp=r1#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.6; padding: 10px 0px 10px 10px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; top: -7px; transition: color 0.1s linear;" title="Collapse"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">−</span></a></li>
<li class="dropdown" role="menu" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/chris-christie-republican-governors-association-fundraising-record-103345.html?hp=r1#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border-color: rgba(0, 39, 59, 0.0784314); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 2px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) !important; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;"><b class="caret" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; border-right-color: transparent; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; content: '↓'; display: inline-block; height: 0px; margin-left: 2px; margin-top: 4px; opacity: 0.3; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: top; width: 0px;"></b></a></li>
</ul>
</header><div class="post-body-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px;">
<div class="post-message-container" data-role="message-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 545.5555419921875px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="publisher-anchor-color" data-role="message-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<div class="post-message " data-role="message" dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px;">
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; padding: 0px;">
What's the big deal with Christie's 4-day Bridge-gate when Calif Gov Jerry Brown admitted in 2012 on CBS' Face the Nation with Bob Schiefer that he "has been working for 30 years to bring High Speed Rail (HSR) to California." Indeed. Thirty years ago, nearing the end of the first term of California Governor, JB's (a rail "foamer" to be ssure) in 1982, Jerry Brown's administration gave SF Bay Area the initial 3 year funding for the deadly ~60 mile "Caltrain" from San Jose (and later Gilroy) to SF--the same rail as HSR is to take in this Democrat-one party, monopolized SF Bay region. Since his 2010 election, Brown has come out of the closet to support the Caltrain-HSR dangerous and deadly boondoggle even more up the SJ-SF Peninsula--with budget cuts elsewhere to support HSR's huge costs (over those of the needy poor and disabled, e.g., Calworks, InHome Services, MediCal cuts, etc). Despite all negative State Audit, Legislative Analyst and Transportation Expert Peer reviews, court decisions (HJTA vs HSR C060441 in 2011-- ergo, the 2008 ballot language was unconstitutional and illegal (a sales pitch, not objective), and the judgment now against it that halts funding (Judge McKenney) for compliance, JB's rail fetish overwhelms his sense of duty to the people of California. Ever since a granddaddy neighbor was killed crossing the Caltrain tracks near my home, I've tracked Caltrain fatality reports (via San Jose Mercury News) back to 1/1/1995. SInce 1995, 203 deaths on this 1864 (yes, Civil War, post Promotory Point, pre-auto, pre-urban, re-electricity, light bulb etc) Caltrain trackway. JB supports/protects this killer track, though BART makes more sense to close the loop around the Bay, Caltrain, as a placeholder uses the same standard rail width as HSR. About 12/deaths/yr occur by suicide or accident on the street level tracks by the 50-70 mph Caltrain Express trains. Two dead already this year. Prior deaths are indiscriminate: a visiting Indiana Obama-supporter, former Stanford professor, teenagers, despondent lovers, good samaritans (trying to save others on the tracks), kids, public employee union members, and more. Gov JB's (RailBeam?) 2012 admission, on air, to Schiefer, my ignored Tweets to JB about the danger, his $250M in this years Calif budget and now $29 million interim during the Court's HSR halt, only shows JB's true callous disregard and open admission of his Caltrain-as-a a-placeholder while at-grade Caltrain kills, maims, and congests/pollutes over 36 million vehicles/year (100k per day, per 1985 study), this on his (and Democrats') Caltrain-HSR Altar of Death. Obama is coming to Fresno this Friday, ground zero for not only the Calif Drought, but also HSR's starting point....presumably to deliver his Valentine wishes about both. But, even Democrat support is waning with Lt Gov. Gavin Newsom telling Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Russell Hancock, that his support for HSR is "softening" now (aired on KLIV, 1590 last week) due to the financial and other issues. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />So, what is with Christie's supposed 4 day issue, eh? Gimme a break. JB's Caltrain-HSR has millions congested/yr and hundreds die. The dead are dead. GW Bridge Delays were temporary delays--no deaths, and not for 20-30 years, while BART (street separated by law) waits finishing the planning for the last 21 miles to complete its long-envisioned, safe, loop around the bay (think like the efficiency of the complete Chicago Loop)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-23336251692462296912013-12-13T17:14:00.001-08:002013-12-13T17:14:02.956-08:00Democrats cry again Road Fund Deficiency-- another (Calif) Democrat effort to ripoff motorists for HSR funding <header style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; padding-right: 46px; position: relative;"><ul class="post-menu" data-role="menu" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 3px; visibility: visible !important;">
<li class="collapse" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;"><a data-action="collapse" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24690336/crumbling-roads-how-can-california-repair-them?source=rss#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.6; padding: 10px 0px 10px 10px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; top: -7px; transition: color 0.1s linear;" title="Collapse"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">−</span></a></li>
<li class="dropdown" role="menu" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"> <a class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24690336/crumbling-roads-how-can-california-repair-them?source=rss#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; border-color: rgba(0, 39, 59, 0.0784314); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 2px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) !important; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;"><b class="caret" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; border-right-color: transparent; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; content: '↓'; display: inline-block; height: 0px; margin-left: 2px; margin-top: 4px; opacity: 0.3; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: top; width: 0px;"></b></a></li>
</ul>
</header><div class="post-body-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px;">
<div class="post-message-container" data-role="message-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 600px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="publisher-anchor-color" data-role="message-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<div class="post-message " data-role="message" dir="auto" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
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.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
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. </div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">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. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">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. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">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.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px;">
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.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px;">
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. </div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px;">
LOL! Not possible by these anti-motorist, special-interest Democrat Stepford-Wife politician robots, of course. </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-72711878619444508122013-12-06T00:08:00.001-08:002013-12-06T00:08:25.910-08:00Start Planning now for the 15 -20 year effort for BART Around The Bay, to save lives and provde efficient arterial Bay Area Rail TransitMore advocacy for BART Around The Bay as posted on the Menlo Park Atherton Patch December 05 2013.<br />
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? <br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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. <br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-46452829485602093132013-10-29T21:26:00.001-07:002013-10-29T21:26:33.127-07:00Restore lower SF Bay Estuary & Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge to its pre-1910 natural state!This note is intended for agencies and organizations who are concerned enough to help improve further the lower San Francisco Bay's water quality and beautiful natural environment with better long-range planning, implementation, advocacy while improving Bay Area transit mobility and air quality, specifically, today, aimed toward the bienniel San Francisco Estuary Conference Members, Regional Water Quality Control Board(s), Bay Conservation District, ABAG and MTC/BATA members.<br />
<br />
To wit:<br />
<br />
Just a quick note to ask the SF Bay Estuary conference members, this meeting or next, and/or the Implementation Committee to please consider supporting a push to finish BART around the SF Bay with a component relating to elimination of the old 1910 Dumbarton Rail Bridge pylons since they will no longer be necessary when BART achieves its ultimate and original goal of circling the Bay. BART currently is planned to go through San Jose to the Santa Clara University station. BART already exists from SF to Millbrae. That leaves only 21 miles to close the ultimate BART Around The Bay gap that will increase BART's capacity for two-way access around the Bay, to all the major universities, airport and train stations, many shopping and TOD centers. With BART completing the 21 miles, no further need exists for the old Dumbarton Rail bridge $1Billion reconstruction/recreation across the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, since BART will serve the same communities, Union City, Redwood City, Menlo Park/Palo Alto. thus the 1910 era pylons can be removed, restoring the DEWR to its pre-1910 natural state, and avoiding implementation of a diesel-electric train air and brake pollution across the refuge. . The $1 Billion programmed to Dumbarton Rail project could be applied to Regional Measure 2's other major, proven one-seat (no transfer) candidate electrified, grade-separated, safer project: BART is one of them. Indded, Santa Clara County's VTA has noted possible planning to extend BART up the Peninsula to the end of its jurisdiction at Palo Alto/Stanford University/Stanford Shopping Center at the Menlo Park/San Mateo County line, thus leaving only the distance from Menlo Park to Millbrae to consider for a study etc and so eliminating the need for any Dumbarton Rail regressive reconstruction over the DEWR.<br />
<br />
I am seeking water quality agency support/sponsorship to begin the discussion to do the above at ABAG, MTC/BATA, Regional Water Quality Board and other public and private stakeholders who have a vision for this approximately 15 year project.<br />
<br />
Currently, MTC and Peninsula cities are not looking at this, rather continuing the old 198x-1990s Dumbarton Rail notion. Will members of the group help raise this awareness?<br />
<br />
My interest is to plan to replace the once-successful, but now outdated, at capacity, at grade, and very deadly Caltrain (kills 12-16 each year for decades on its tracks) with BART, and not add another leg across the Bay and refuge of this outdated system--because an effective heavy rail train system exists: BART. Caltrain, because of its express trains (same max speed as BART ~ 75 mph) run at grade through the heart of Peninsula Cities, whereas BART must be grade separated and is already electrified and parallel 15 miles from SF to Millbrae, so only 21 miles remains to upgrade the Peninsula Corridor rail and truly relieve Peninsula highway traffic, as BART has done in its existing corridors. I am will aware of many obstacles and East Bay needs, but Santa Clara and San Mateo county residents have both approved, and are paying taxes for BART, but key cities in the 21 mile gap have no direct access now. Imagine the future, at least with respect to replacing the planned Dumbarton Rail reconstruction with a more efficient BART Around the Bay that will serve more riders and protect the lower Bay, restore it to it natural state, not seen since 1910....in only 15 years or so, if we can get public agencies to start focusing on this Bay Estuary improvement opportunity. Note that Dumbarton Rail (DR) project is stand alone, though planned to be under the current Caltrain administration. My suggestion here is to sever DR from Caltrain by redirecting resources to bring BART closer to closing the 21 mile gap, while providing more frequent, farther reach, and better service to entice transit mobility. <br />
<br />
Omar Chatty<br />
408-972-4119Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-54042109765475679022013-10-18T01:04:00.000-07:002013-10-18T01:04:23.704-07:00Posted on the Palo Alto Patch, "Speak Out" board, Friday, 10-18-13:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">on </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">Saturday 10/19/13 Caltrain </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">will hold a nice 150 yr </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">celebration of its trackway at the Merrill St station area from 9:00am to 3:00pm, per the MP Almanac/PA Weekly</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">. Caltrain has served its purpose well from inception in the very rural, pre automobile, pre-light bulb, pre-telephone, pre-paved road</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> era, but now the Peninsula is burgeoning with growth, especially high density housing (Transit Oriented Development) such as the apartments near where the latest Caltrain street-level fatality occurred, the 13th this year, 42nd since 1/1/2011, 201st since 1/1/95...5 of those died in Palo Alto in the last year, and this is the 4th in Menlo Park in the last 2 years. The Caltrain carnage must stop. Who's child will be next? The MP and Palo Alto city councils and state legislators (Gordon, Hill) and federal rep's (Eshoo, Speier) have done nothing. Caltrain has tried to reduce fatalitites, but more growth will induce more deaths, suicide or accident. Caltrain is simply out of date. Electrification will not help. Grade crossings have not stopped fatalities at other corridor sites. I have urged the local MP, PA, MV, Sunnyvale city councils to please start investigating bringing BART south (after the strike ends</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">!) because BART must be elevated or below street level at intersections (as each city determines the design</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> with BART). BART has fewer suicides, is safter, cleaner, quieter, electrified, and has </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">a greater reach around the bay to reduce inbound </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">auto commute</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> congestion--but will save lives. No effort has been made by the (sorry to say) all-Democrat elected officials because, as Jerry Brown (and Rod Diridon Sr tax-funded rail and HSR advocate) admitted in media last year, that they have been "working to bring High Speed Rail to California for 30 years". This is exactly coincident to when the passenger train up the Peninsula was taken over from SP by California then the Caltrain Board. The Gordon/Eshoo/Speier/Hill "Blended Solution" for two -tracks (which is very dangerous for 4 train types</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> to all operate on together </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">won't be allowed ultimately, only 4-tracks are safe). So, although this ought not be political, the fact is that Caltrain is blocking BART discussions to come down the Peninsula to greatly reduce these deaths, because HSR and Caltrain can share the same (very dangerous) track width. BART's are wider and only for passenger travel. That is the background. The key here is that 12-16 people are killed by Caltrain, especially the 75mph Express Mini-bullet (tragically named) trains. More trains will mean more deaths on this outdated system. It will take 15-20 (160-240 more </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">deaths) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">years to bring BART down the last 21 miles from Millbrae, past Hillsdale, to Stanford then</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> to BART's planned station at Santa Clara University. So far, Caltrain, as the HSR placeholder in the Peninsula, has superceded my pleading to PA and MP and other councils, all Democrat controlled, do to this Democrat and Sierra Club backing of Caltrain HSR. Human, child, stray pets, of so many deaths simply don't rate against the Dermocrat HSR </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">agenda.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> Will you, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">your child, or someone you know,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> be next to die on these long-since outdated urban Caltrain </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">tracks. Please attend Saturday's event (politiely) to urge a study to close the gap to bring far safer, cleaner, non-traffic congesting</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> BART down the Peninsula the rest of the way to make BART Around The Bay loop a safe and better reality for us. Whose child will be next? We have to put a stop to this carnage/slaughter/dismemberment of people who happen to be on the tracks when monster, million-pound, "unstoppable", inflexible Catrains roar through at street-level, endangering anyone nearby. </span>Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-90925679119419892572013-10-14T18:30:00.001-07:002013-10-18T01:01:53.091-07:00<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
The (Monday, 10/14/13 latest Caltrain death/slaughter/dismemberment on its tracks of the 16 year old Menlo Park boy north of the Menlo Park Encinal station is the 25th since 1/1/2012, the 13th this year, and 201th since 1/1/1995 which is when I started my Caltrain death count. </div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
In a tragic irony, on Saturday, 10/19/2013, Caltrain and the Peninsula's nearly all elected Democrat public officials and other representatives will celebrate Caltrain's 150th year at Menlo Park's 1100 Merrill Street Shelter from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Indeed, what more does this irony demonstrate that this Caltrain is now dangerously out of place. The Peninsula is no longer the very rural area of 1863, nor the suburbia of the 20th century, but now an increasingly urban-densifying region of annual multi-million square foot vertical growth (SmartGrowth, Sustainable Communities, Agenda 21-One Bay Area Plan) increasingly congested area where a surface-level train has become simply too dangerous, congesting, polluting, noisy, and scary to operate in our midst at street-level.These increasing number of Caltrain deaths are inevitable! Deaths of children, temporarily despondent adults, accidental track crossings, and even stray pets and wildlife that happen on the tracks at the wrong moment. <br />
<br />
A few years ago, a SJMercury News reporter surveyed US train accidents, and, as I recall Caltrain was near the top in number. With the increasing density of Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) along the corridor, such as the apartments near the latest fatality (no sure if the dead boy lived there or not), deaths will certainly continue, and likely increase. Will you, someone you love or care about, be the next victim?<br />
<br />
So many have died, yet despite my pleas to Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and other city councils in the Caltrain corridor to please work to initiate a study to bring grade-separated, electrified, non-congesting BART down the last 21 miles of the Peninsula to join its future planned station at Santa Clara University. Imagine the safer regional connectivity--without transfers, to shopping centers, SF, SJ, sports stadiums, our major Bay Area universities and train and air travel destinations...safer!</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
Caltrain is outdated and ought to be replaced with the far safer, greater reach around the Bay, more frequent service that causes zero parallel and cross traffic congestion (read GHG), is already electrified and must be grade separated by law. What will it take for the monolithic, Democrat monopoly of elected horizontal and vertical officials from city council level, county, region, state and federal government offices to finally start to plan to replace Caltrain with BART?!! Every year, 12-20 people die on its tracks, about 40-50% may be suicides, but far fewer die on BART's tracks despite its larger reach. How many more must die before one of these 'caring' Democrats do something to start to plan to extend and fund the last 21 miles of BART to its current planned terminus in Santa Clara at SCU. BART around the Bay (my advocacy blogsite name, too) to over the next 15 years or so (another 160 or so will die on Caltrain tracks during this period, or more if it takes longer to extend BART south from Millbrae)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">. Indeed, all counties are now paying taxes for BART. It is time to close the Bay Area BART gap.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">Question to our SF Bay Area all-Democrat politicians: How many more must die before you act to stop this massacre by this outdated, dangerous, congesting, polluting, out-of-place train in the midst of our ever-increasing urbanity???? Where is Senator Jerry Hill, or the mayors of Menlo Park, San Bruno, Palo Alto, where most deaths have occurred recently, or Assemblymen Kevin Mullin or Richard Gordon, or Congresspersons Eshoo or Speier (for whom Caltrain locomotive #925 has her name emblazoned on it) to terminate this train track carnage, improvetranist and road mobility, one-seat transit rail reach around the Bay (two way) to educational, shopping, airport and rail destinations, while reducing pollution, congestion, noise, increase frequency and hours of service, and, save precious transit $$ long term? Where are these caring Democrats? Why does Jerry Hill make such a grandstand about the 8 who died in the San Bruno pipeline blast, the 5 who died in the horrific limousine fire, but yet refuses to do anything to move to better safer rail transport on BART in the Peninsula/ Why? Simply because, as a good Democrat who depends on typical Democrat funding and support (high-density developers, labor unions, and the Sierra Club) all of whom support HSR, he must support the Democrat "Caltrain/HSR" cause over the lives of his constituents. Tragic, just tragic and sad.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.4;">Please, how many more must die by Caltrain before this train is removed from our danger, at the earliest, in 15 - 20 years?</span></div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-58312778438296626692013-09-27T17:08:00.000-07:002013-09-27T17:08:26.266-07:00Please, please, please have the BART Long Term Metro Study (Bay Area Rapid Transit -- Hello!) scope include studying the cost/benefit and huge capacity increase that would come if BART closes the 21 mile Peninsula gap between Millbrae and the future terminus at Santa Clara/University. <br />
Caltrain is at capacity and has proven 55,000 riders per day, with more Peninsula Corridor density in planning Only BART can address such high-density Smart Growth/Sustainable Communities Strategy vertical growth sprawl.<br />
A key option to keep costs down, benefits up, is to replace the dangerous, deadly (11 dead this year, 23 since last year's start, and 199 since 1/1/1995) Peninsula Caltrain at-grade "kill train." BART has all the features of proposed Caltrain improvements, with electrified, grade-separated, savings by having only one Bay Area heavy rail administration, reduced Caltrain SF SoMa footprint and TBT docks for BART, no longer Caltrain, and, by being around the Bay (as per Perata's suggestion, 09-26-13), gain more transit efficiency for taxpayers and riders. <br />
<br />
Enabled two-way BART Around the Bay greatly improves BART capacity and alternative routing of BART cars for incident recovery/avoidance. BART can share most Peninsula rail corridor ROW with HSR/Freight trains separate tracks (of course), with some, but limited need for more ROW acquisition/eminent domain, or, as part of the Peninsula Grand Blvd (El Camino Real) project corridor study, above or below ground level. <br />
<br />
The Long Term BART Metro Study must consider the full loop of BART Around The Bay to save tax dollars in the long-term, increase TOD use, reduce congestion (Caltrain delays 100,000 cars each day--at least), reduce GHG and brake particulates, and increase pedestrian, cyclist and cross-traffic safety. The SF Bay Area needs one-seat heavy rail 24-hr high capacity, modern, electrified, grade-separated, safe rail, like many major US and EU cities. That means BART. After all, now even Santa Clara and San Mateo County residents are paying sales taxes for BART--but those in the 21 mile gap from Millbrae and Santa Clara are not getting their moneys worth!<br />
<br />
Plan to Build BART Around The Bay, Now!<br />
OmarFreemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-90683265169231429982013-09-06T17:53:00.002-07:002013-09-06T17:53:58.133-07:00Stanford Dance and community Arts leader, Susan Cashion, whose death at Palo Alto, California's Charleston Rd crossing is the third death by Caltrain this year at theCharleston Rd crossing. Whether by all-to-easy suicide for those, hopefully temporarily depressed, or by accident, is yet another sorrowful death in the too-long history of the surface level, 1863 trackage that is outmoded and outdated, but serves, sorry to say, as the 30 year placeholder for High Speed Rail up the Peninsula. Both Gov Jerry Brown and local politician, long-time HSR train leader, Rod Diridon Sr, admitted on the air, KCBS "Meet the Press" and KBAY Sunday 6:00am show that they have been working to bring High Speed Rail "for 30 years" Despite my pleas over the past two years to Palo Alto, Menlo, and Mountain View city councils, Caltrain and Santa Clara County VTA and other politicians and groups to beg, plead, urge these govt orgs to at least start the 15 year or so process to bring the far safer BART (yes, still some suicides, but far fewer), electrified and grade-separated, non-congesting, non-polluting, high-capacity, efficient trains, down <u>the last 28 miles from Millbrae, through Burlingame, San Mateo (Bay Meadows Devel), Hillsdale Shopping Ctr, Stanford+ Palo Alto etc to join with BART's planned station in SCU. </u>This final Bay Area loop closure will save lives and tie all these Bay Area universities, shooping districts, sports venues and our communities together far safer. Yet, not one of the Democrat-controlled bodies or Democrat members in the Democrat monopoly of elected officials has dared to look to bring BART down (despite the thousands of jobs and access it will bring) and virtually eliminate such sad events and losses to the community as Susan's and so many others, from a Pay Pal executive, to a County employee caught on the tracks between cars, to even Democrat-activist visitors from Indiana, unfamiliar with the deadly Caltrain tracks, who panicked during the 30 seconds it took for the train to hit and kill her from when the first gate movement and flashing lights started. The truly sad reason for keeping this train, and blocking BART coming down is because every Democrat, backed by the labor unions and misguided Sierra Club (offshoot "Friends of Caltrain") with its now-big business/high Density developer and High Density Builder focus, want to use the same-width Caltrain tracks (BART's are different) irrespective of the financial, community, or killings (both human and astray animals on its tracks) horrible impacts. <br />
<br />
Politics and Democrat campaign support payoffs are more important than the safety of those who cross the tracks to local politicians, San Jose and Peninsula city councils, and state (Gordon, Hill--worst of the worst!), Beall, Yee, Simitian, etc) and federal legislators (Speier, Eshoo, Honda, Lofgren). Susan's death is the 9th this year 2013, the 21st since 1/1/2012, 197th since 1995, yet no one cares enough to overcome this stupidity with the better, safer BART alternative to plug into for whoe intra-regional transit benefit. Please help stop these tragedies by writing your local legislators, newspaper letters and Online Comments and Patch. I with others plan to be at the next regular Palo Alto City Council Public Comment on Monday, 9/9/13, 7:00pm to ask, plead, again (probably to no avail without lots of help from local residents) to stop this tragic, politically-inspired, payoff that keeps Caltrain for future HSR on its deadly tracks. . <br />
<br />
My sympathies for her loved ones and those that knew and benefited from Susan's wonderful life. Perhaps this tragedy will be a catalyst for change from this deadly 75mph Caltrain that races through our streets and neighborhoods at ground level. In the 15 years or so of aggressive planning and fund search, another 160 persons, at least, can be anticipated to die on the Caltrain Killtrain tracks, at the current years' death rates by accidents (60%) and suicides (40%). So much suffering, only for political cause, Democrats HSR desire. Tragic, just tragic insensitivity. How many more must die?<br />
<br />
I will post this on my BARTAroundThe Bay blogspot. OmarFreemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188623774972035498.post-39006438197431957262013-09-04T19:04:00.002-07:002013-09-06T15:02:11.170-07:00More on why BART must replace Caltrain...August 29, 2013 Sixth Palo Alto death in 1 year. Ms Cashion, Charleston<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The Caltrain (Killtrain) / HSR monies that were approved this week by Governor Jerry Brown in Senate Bill 557 authored by the S.F. Peninsula's Supreme Hypocrite State Senator Jerry Hill's, should instead have gone to extend BART through Burlingame and into north San Mateo, as another step to the new Bay Meadows housing and other Corridor TODs, the expanding Bohanan Hillsdale Shopping Center, and Stanford University/Palo Alto enroute to its complete S.F. Bay Area loop closure at the future Santa Clara University (SCU) station.<br />
The Headline-a-week, Grandstander-Par Excellance Jerry Hill (and to a lesser degree, other Caltrain/HSR union labor supported Democrats) are quick to submit legislation to prevent future limousine (5 dead) deaths and San Bruno (8 dead) deaths, and, even expresses concern for the suicides of 18 <span style="line-height: 21px;">San Quentin Death Row murderer's. Yet, Hill has been not only served on, but also presided over, as Chair, the Caltrain killer train board of directors for years. Hill, Congresswoman Speier (a Congresswoman who has built her whole public career on sympathies that she leverages at election time from the deaths around her: her former Congressman boss, Leo Ryan in Jonestown, her first husband, a surgeon killed on El Camino by an uninsured motorist, gun deaths legislation, and, with incredible chutzpah, in the latest election year, 2012, Speier announced that she had her fetus, a baby-to-be, killed in her womb by abortion that she, a busy Congresswoman, had to have performed "for her health."</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">Caltrain locomotive #925 is emblazoned with her name for her years-long support--and callous disregard for the human lives Caltrain has taken over the years. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">Tragic all the way around. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 21px;">Indeed, the Democrat/union monopolistic lock on SF Bay Area politics, Hill, Speier, Mullin, Gordon, Eshoo, Beall, Tisser, etc. fight for the killer Caltrain, now a formal placeholder for HSR and Corridor high-density and higher property taxes, while over 200 people have been killed by this train over most of these politicians' political career's that started in the early 1990's. The Democrats consistent callous disregard for human life in this Caltrain+HSR corridor, defines political hypocrisy at its worst, creating the HSR Altar of Death on its standard gauge tracks. BART tracks have a different width than Caltrain/HSR, thus, BART is safer because of the unique BART Bay Area closed circuit high-capacity, grade-separated, electrified, intra-regional trackage. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21px;">The Senate Bill 557 $600M are only for Caltrain EU-like electrification, not grade separations, thus 100,000 motorists and even more people (passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians) continue to be delayed each day as each of the many Caltrains pass at-grade intersections, adding thousands of hours delay and adding tons of Caltrain congestion-generated pollutants into the atmosphere that we breath. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 21px;">We can be sure that Caltrain cost overruns will occur as with most train capital projects. In the future, the planned San Jose Downtown "Grand Central" Station is already planned for BART, like the SF TBT, thus saving more millions by removing the need for separate station platform and amenities for the outdated surface-level Caltrain commuter train killer. The $600M and more, should be spent to extend BART south into and past Burlingame into north San Mateo, and, from the south into downtown San Jose enroute to the joint terminus SCU station. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 21px;">After all, both San Mateo and Santa Clara County have sales taxes, the latter more than one tax, to fund BART now!</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Unlike Pittsburgh or Philadelphia or New Jersey or most of Southern California, Caltrain commuter-type surface trains don't belong here any longer. Because BART around the Bay is a very realistic, safer, grade-separated, congestion-free, single-seat (fewer transfers) and more feature-rich alternative that serves many SF Bay Area residents already, completing it as the Bay Area backbone, heavy rail, high capacity closed loop railway passenger system requires only a relatively short distance remaining to be built.<br />
<br />
With the known planning of millions of more square footage and higher density development near and adjacent to the Peninsula (now-Caltrain) Corridor each year, only BART's two-way Bay Area loop operation can meet the upcoming demand. The Peninsula's US 101 is simply too congested. US101 has reached width capacity in most communities. Major right-of way (ROW) expansion to handle this urban (Smart Growth/Sustainable Living Strategy/Agenda 21/OBAP) densification into local communities by eminent domain will likely result in significant disruption and protest. </div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
History clearly demonstrates that more human (and animal) deaths will occur proportionally over time on Caltrain tracks rather than BART, if human deaths are a matter of concern at all to Caltrain+HSR bigot-advocates, such as the human-subordinating, high density development organizations like the Sierra Club, TransForm, SPUR, etc. (despite their misguided, well-intentioned efforts).<br />
<br />
In discussing the Peninsula Corridor with a retired Caltrain engineer, many domestic and wildlife animals are slaughtered on these tracks by Caltrains as well. He estimates that the Caltrains that he has operated over the years have run over an estimated 60 dogs, other animals, and carillon-eating wildlife during his career when they, too, could not get out of the way of his fast moving surface-level Caltrain. Where are the animal activists?<br />
<br />
Too, note that BART Around The Bay (BAB) eliminates the need to rebuild the Dumbarton Rail bridge and, better yet, enable the removal of the old, decaying former rail bridge piers that have stood since 1910 in the midst of the South Bay's Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge. Then, the Refuge can be fully restored back to its pre-1910 natural purity since BAB will serve the same communities this additional surface-level Dumbarton Caltrain Rail system would have served, but with no human or animal deaths nor new congestion along the planned route from the East Bay to Redwood City. </div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
So, how much are human lives worth, particularly those by accident or those suffering a temporary depression that would not have resulted in suicide had the Killtrain been more difficult to access where Caltrain crosses at grade level at 50-75 mph, such as Charleston, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Burlingame, San Mateo streets? <br />
<br />
Note that many deaths, suicide and accidents don't occur at intersections, but easy-to-access, street-level, walk-on, at-grade Caltrain tracks. </div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 21px;">Recall, that despite "the way we've already done it", i.e. Caltrain, in this supposedly Innovative Bay Area, BART would be one-seat around the Bay as Transit Mobility must accomplish to compete with the two automobile one-seat freeway loops that exist around the Bay.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #42474a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px;">
I believe that the investment in BART while seemingly more expensive short-term, has huge savings and benefits long-term (all the above, plus one set of administration, equipment, and maintenance requirements), single-design capital costs, especially if the Caltrans ROW can be used. The ROW is already govt-owned. human life takings, reduced cars on the roads, reduced pollution, fewer GHG, better air quality, and better SF Bay Area Transit Mobility to handle growth with BART facilities' already huge SF Bay Area reach and proven ridership that serves so many Bay Area constituencies noted above. </div>
Freemotoristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14345170881516543434noreply@blogger.com0