California High-Speed Rail Authority: Thousands of Californians Weigh in on High-Speed Train Project; End of Public Comment Period Marks Another Major Milestone.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As the last day of the public comment period approaches for California's high-speed train system's environmental document, project officials gear up for the next step -- reviewing and responding to the thousands of comments received. The seven-month comment period for public deliberation of the groundbreaking plan began in February 2004, after the unveiling of the unprecedented transportation-planning document in January 2004. The last day for public comment on the program level environmental document is Tuesday, August 31, 2004.

"Not since the development of the state's highways more than 50 years ago has a comprehensive transportation planning process of this size been undertaken," said Joe Petrillo, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. "Believe me, in that era there were not the regulations in place as there are today. We are proud of the work undertaken and look forward to progressing to the next level of the planning document."

Public hearings were held in five locations across the state, including: Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno and San Diego. Due to requests for additional input, CHSRA added two more public meetings, one in San Jose and another in Los Angeles. In all, nearly 500 people attended. The public was also invited to mail or email their comments to the authority and hundreds were received.

The process to develop the draft environmental impact report (EIR/EIS) spanned 30 months and included participation of local, state and federal transportation officials, elected leaders, environmental agencies and the general public.

The Draft EIR/EIS includes more than 2,500 pages describing the potential environmental impacts of three transportation system alternatives and comparing how well they would meet California's current and future transportation needs.

The report concludes that for less than half the cost of building more highway lanes and airport runways, the high-speed train system could carry up to 68 million passengers by 2020, and would increase mobility, help relieve highway congestion, help protect California's environment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The study also found that high-speed trains would cut exhaust emissions, protect our air quality, and use less land than it would take to expand existing transportation infrastructure.

Support for the project was overwhelming. At the Sacramento public hearing, local elected leaders expressed encouragement for bringing the alignment to the planned transportation hub in downtown Sacramento. In Fresno, elected officials and Chamber of Commerce representatives gave their backing of high-speed rail citing the lack of current transportation options in the Central Valley. In San Francisco, Mayor Newsom, former Mayor Willie Brown, representatives from organized labor, business and environmental groups discussed the need for environmentally sound alternatives to meet future transportation needs, particularly the need to maintain San Francisco's economic viability. In Los Angeles, representatives from the City of Los Angeles Mayor's office and cities throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties weighed in with comments supporting the project. A number of local officials gave testimony favoring the Palmdale route alignment from Bakersfield. In San Diego, city, county and local transportation agencies were overwhelmingly in support of high-speed rail with particular emphasis on the route alignment on I-15 and the need to further increase transportation options for residents who commute into north San Diego County from Riverside and San Bernardino. In San Jose, a large turnout echoed testimony statewide and raised concerns for Henry Coe State Park and other wilderness areas. In all, nearly 500 elected officials, business, labor, interested parties and environmental stakeholders attended the public comment meetings along the proposed route.

"The process allows the public to review and comment on the alternatives in the Draft EIR/EIS and gives the Board additional means to evaluate the impacts of each of the project alternatives," said Petrillo. "It's important to note that while public support for high-speed trains was overwhelming, we do not discount the concerns raised by a vocal minority over certain alignment options, particularly those connecting the Central Valley to the Bay Area.

"Importantly, any negative comments received so far have been primarily focused on route alignments, station locations or operational issues -- not opposition to high-speed rail in general."

The Final EIR document will include the draft document, public comments and the policy decisions in response to the comments received. Generally, a Final EIR is released 30 days after the review; however, with a document and scope of project of this unprecedented size, coupled with limited staff and budget, CHSRA officials expect the process to take about three months.

The Final EIR document will be certified by CHSRA and then provided to the Federal Railroad Administration for filing of a "record of decision." After the record of decision, the CHSRA will take the next steps for developing "project specific" environmental impact reports for each of the route alignments.

For more information about the California High-Speed Rail Authority visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov.