High Speed Rail - What Does It Really Mean for Communities?

Ok – so I don’t want to be “downer Debbie” on the topic of High Speed Rail (HSR), but I have my concerns. High Speed Rail – the $8 billion buzz term of the year, is likely to be coming to a town near you. The idea is at first great. We upgrade existing rail, add connections, stations and near passenger trains to our system to the benefit of those seeking regional train travel. But what do you do when you arrive in St. Louis? Indianapolis? Cincinnati? Getting to any of these destinations by comfortable, speedy and affordable transit is wonderful, but my concern comes in the idea of getting around once you are there.

Sure, Chicago has a good transit system and is very walkable once a traveler arrives at Union Station. But what about those other cities? Sure they are nice cities but walking and transit aren’t really serious options. I admit that I don’t know the HSR spending proposals inside and out, but I do know that little has been said about the completeness of these plans. What seems to be missing is a complete plan for transit options at train stations and a general interest in the cities these trains will travel to. For example, Cincinnati, a city continuously challenged by urban decay, transit failures and overall disinvestment (with a few exceptions), has a beautiful, historic train station located just outside of the downtown area. The challenge is bifold. Decades ago, this underutilized train station (Amtrak operates very few trains through this station and the Amtrak entrance is at the lower level), was converted to a museum center. Additionally, getting to and from this station is particularly challenging since it is not centrally located downtown and few transit options are available. If car rental options are available, I’m not aware of them.
And what about freight operations? For high speed rail to succeed, passenger trains must assume right-of-way, unlike the current arrangement in most of the US. This means that through an agreement, freight trains will either yield to passenger rail or set certain times for freight usage. I wonder what the impact on the freight industry will be. Since we are in economic downtown, freight rail numbers are lower than peak economy. So when things turn around and freight rail hits its max again, will there be room for both passenger and freight rail trains on our limited rail system.
This certainly makes me wonder if HSR has moved too hastily. Many cities aren’t really ready for it and the rail industry may not be either. I would love to have a complete regional rail system in the US as much as the next planner, but I want to hear more about the options, the realities and the extended plans to accommodate this system. I commend the Obama Administration for putting the money into the HSR idea, but I hope it’s not just a giant waste of money. It’s up to the cities and regions to make HSR work best for them, but nearly every city can barely keep the city operating in these times.

What is the future of HSR and out communities? I’m not sure and I can’t just blindly support the HSR initiatives. There are so many wants and needs for cities today and I’m not sure if our priorities are set correctly. I would love to see the money go toward improved local transit, infrastructure improvements and community improvements.
For more information on HSR, visit: www.fra.dot.gov

It's been awhile, it's a new year

Ok, so I haven't written in quite some time. I can blame the holidays. Ah yes, the holidays: when Americans ramp up their consumption to massive rates. "Black Friday" is called black Friday for a reason. So how do all of those toys, ipods, Starbucks mugs and baby Gap outfits get from their port of origin (likely China but could be South America, Mexico or Taiwan) to a spot on the shelf for your eyes to feast upon. It's a long journey for the items we consume. Many make multiple trips across oceans - yes multiple.

Do people ever stop to think about how these items really make it into our hands? I admit, I never used to. But now when I get frustrated at a truck in my neighborhood, I remind myself that he is serving us and our economy. Of course, American spending has been down in recent years, but we still consume more goods per capita that any other country.

I recently attended the TRB Annual Meeting in DC. For anyone now familiar with this conference, let me just say it is the single largest collection of transportation professionals, researchers and policy makers all together in DC for nearly one week. I'm talking everything from pavement analysis geeks to bicycle safety designers and of course, freight professionals. As always, the conference was packed with interesting sessions from morning till late evening, lots of good discussions about current trends, issues and policies and naturally, what the future holds with the upcoming transportation authorization. I am always humbled to be in a room with most of these folks. And I always come home excited and charged to do more for freight and transportation.

Now if the Obama administration would just do one major thing, I am confident that many jobs and many changes to our infrastructure and transportation system would ensue - pass the renewal of the transportation authorization bill that is a major source of funding for transportation projects. More importantly, this bill sets the tone for policies, design and emphasis for all transportation projects. This has a major impact on Americans. ISTEA, passed in 1991, was the first of these such bills and really for the first time in the US, emphasized non-motorized transportation (e.g. bicycling, walking, etc) and set a tone for bills that have followed. ISTEA arguably led to more focus on safety, energy usage, transit improvements and enhancements, context sensitive design and preservation.

Most in the transportation field are anxiously awaiting the passage of the next transportation authorization. Until then, most cities, states and MPOs must make do with the limited funds they have and just keep things operating. Hopefully, with a significant focus on freight transportation, the new bill with bring needed changes to freight infrastructure, new policies and new freight jobs.