Did Bankhead Shoot Self in Foot? Or have The People Really Spoken?
A Friend just passed along the minutes from a California High Speed Rail meeting back in May 2008. The city of Fullerton “strongly supports the HSR project” per Councilman Don Bankhead. Hey, wait a minute. Did the City Council of Fullerton adopt a formal position on the HSR , and did they appoint Bankhead to be it’s official spokesman on the subject?
And if the Council really and truly already decided that we’re on board the HSR, then why bother with one of those idiotic “work shops” at tonight’s council meeting, and why have another one on April 26th at the Senior Center?
Anyway check this out:
CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY/ MEETING MINUTES / MAY 14, 2008
The meeting of the California High-Speed Rail Authority was called to order on May 14, 2008 at 9:30AM at Anaheim City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd in Anaheim, CA.
Mr. Bankhead stated the City of Fullerton strongly supports the HSR Project. To date the City, CalTrans and OCTA has invested millions of dollars in public transit services at the Fullerton Transportation Center. Mr. Bankhead stated Fullerton has the busiest rail station between Los Angeles and San Diego along the LOSSAN corridor. In addition, the City of Fullerton is working with CalTrans and OCTA to construct a new parking structure to accommodate up to 1000 rail passengers. There would be a platform adjacent to the parking structure that could accommodate high-speed rail. Mr. Bankhead stated the City of Fullerton supports the Authority’s budget request for $103M towards the development of high-speed rail. Mr. Bankhead stated on behalf of the City of Fullerton that the Authority consider a stop in Fullerton which would serve the region and build upon a previous transportation investment.
Wow, that and a vote to spend millions to move a McDonald’s 100 feet to the east. I’d hate to run for reelection on that record.
Let me at ’em!!!
Greg for Council?
Last night I attended a dinner meeting of the California Land Surveyors Association (professional society, not a labor or bargaining body). Our guest speaker was Darrell Johnson, Dept. CEO of OCTA. He spent the bulk of his time talking about the grade separations and bus service. Then he touched on ARTIC. With just a few minutes left before he was to run off to another meeting, he talked briefly about HSR.
He said OCTA started with a $7million budget looking at possible HSR routes 4 years before HSR was approved. Figuring they should know by now where the alignment will take the train, I asked where could the public find information on the alignment and proposed route. He said he had just taken the same question from a Fullerton councilman and that he did not know the answer because the alignment hadn’t been finalized. He said it should be ready in May. Then he checked his notes and said June. Then, after the meeting, he said sometime late summer. Then he gave me contact information on someone at OCTA who “handles rail projects”. All of this so that some commuters might shave ten minutes or so off their commute!
On an interesting side note, you might think Darrell’s degree to be in business, financing, or engineering given the nature of his position and the professional services he provides to tax payers. Nope, he’s a political science graduate with quite a railroad resume.
So, how did OCTA know HSR would pass? How did they justify $7million to study HSR from Anaheim to L.A. before HSR was approved? Surely they know where they want to build it; they had 4 years. Why won’t they share the amount of devastation they plan to bring to Fullerton now?