SPEEDY TRAINS GET A GREEN LIGHT; RAIL AUTHORITY OKS BUSINESS PLAN DRAFT.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services After two years of technical analysis and study, the California High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail project is a proposed high-speed rail system in the state of California. The system is being planned by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which will design, build, and operate the system. Authority approved a draft of its business plan that outlines how a 200-mph train system could link Northern and Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . The plan recommends a 700-mile system that would take 16 years to build, cost $25 billion and connect Sacramento and the Bay Area with Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . ``We do not envision high-speed trains replacing the automobile or the jet. We do expect that Californians will enjoy a more efficient and productive transportation infrastructure with the advent of high-speed trains,'' the authority says in a draft report to the governor and Legislature. At a meeting in Fresno, the authority's nine-member board voted Wednesday to put the draft report before the public at a dozen or more meetings up and down California starting in January. The meeting dates and locations have not been set. ``This is a draft for public comment,'' Mehdi Morshed, the authority's executive director, said in a telephone interview after the meeting. The authority calculates a statewide quarter-cent sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. could pay for the system, but recommends against adopting a financing plan now because money could be acquired later from other sources, including the federal government, Morshed said. The authority also has not made a decision on the main controversy regarding the Southern California route: whether trains would run up Interstate 5 over the Grapevine, or through the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . Environmental studies will be conducted on both routes, Morshed said. ``The authority is saying we need to look at both of them during the environmental process,'' Morshed said. Environmental studies will take at least two years, so the earliest the rail system plan could be put before California voters as a ballot measure would be 2002, he said. The draft plan says high-speed trains are a ``logical next step'' to keep pace with transportation pressures as California's population is expected to increase 36 percent over the next 20 years. It also says that two public opinion surveys found that more than 60 percent of Californians favor construction of the system even if they must pay more in sales tax. A train ride between San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and San Diego would take about 3-1/2 hours at top speeds of over 200 mph, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the commission. San Francisco travelers headed for Los Angeles could get there in 2-1/2 hours. Train ticket prices would be ``significantly lower'' than air fares, and travel times would be comparable to taking a plane, when getting in and out of increasingly crowded airports is taken into consideration, the report predicts. The authority estimates the system would carry more than 42 million riders and generate $900 million in revenue a year, including more than $300 million in profits. The report says that despite the profit projections it would take a ``substantial'' investment of government funds to build the system. But the authority is recommending a step-by-step approach under which the Legislature and governor would approve enough money to pay for environmental studies and some engineering work before deciding whether to build the system. That tactic would give planners time to hone their cost estimates and line up federal support, the study says. It could also make the program more acceptable to lawmakers and the governor. Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Dean Florez Dean Florez (born April 5, 1963 in Shafter, California) is a California State Senator. He has represented the 16th District since 2002. He was reelected to a second term on November 7, 2006. Florez was born and raised in the Central Valley. , D-Bakersfield, said he will introduce legislation in January to allocate $25 million for initial environmental studies, extend the life of the authority and give Gov. Gray Davis some appointments to the authority board. The current members were appointed by former Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that or legislative leaders. ``The big part of it is to get this environmental impact report going,'' Florez said. ``That will keep the project alive.'' He predicted the system will face strong opposition in the Legislature. Hilary McLean, Davis' deputy press secretary, said Davis was in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of drafting his budget for next year and would consider Florez's legislation. ``No final determination has been made,'' she said. |
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