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Southern California Transit Advocates is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, development and improvement of public transportation in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
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California High Speed Rail [California's] official interest in high-speed rail dates to 1993, when the Legislature appointed a commission to study the feasibility of a fast-train network. Their cautious but affirmative conclusion led to the creation of the High Speed Rail Authority in 1996. Since then, the authority has completed an overall environmental study for the project, determined alignments and station locations, completed a business plan and gathered ridership studies and cost estimates. (From "High-speed rail plan a key ballot measure" San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 11, 2008) http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-09-11/news/17156812_1_high-speed-rail-authority-high-speed-rail-rail-service In 2009 Metro CEO Art Leahy appointed Alex Clifford (at that time General Manager of Metro's Gateway Cities Service Sector) to be Executive Officer (EO), High Speed Rail for the agency. In that capacity Clifford provides executive direction to project management staff and consultants to facilitate the implementation of High Speed Rail (HSR) projects, including planning and implementing the Los Angeles to Anaheim, Los Angeles to Palmdale and Los Angeles to San Diego HSR corridors.The position also has responsibility for representing Metro for the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN), Amtrak and Metrolink service corridors. (Per agenda item #24 Metro Board Sept. 24, 2009 meeting) http://www.metro.net/board/Items/2009/09_September/20090916EMACItem24.pdf Clifford received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly, Pomona and his MBA from California Baptist University. His prior transportation experience extends from his eight years of service as a Riverside City Councilman. As a councilman, he represented the City of Riverside on the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and was elected chairman for two consecutive years. He also represented the City of Riverside on the Riverside Transit Agency for eight years. Clifford also was appointed by the RCTC to represent Riverside County on the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA/Metrolink) and served as chairman for two consecutive years. His other transportation experience includes the Intercity Rail Joint Powers Authority, the RCTC/SANBAG California High Speed Rail Subcommittee and the California/Nevada Super Speed Train Commission. (From a Metro press release announcing Clifford's appointment to being GM of the Gateway Service Sector) http://www.metro.net/news_info/archives/2004/02_february/mta_024.htm On March 23, 2010 Metro and OCTA submitted to the High Speed Rail Authortity comments on a desire to have shared use options re-considered in the L.A. to Anaheim segment: http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DB_Attachments/100323_CA_High_Speed_Rail.pdf On March 25th, High Speed Rail Authority Chair Curt Pringle responded to the letter and promised to add an agenda item on the concerns raised at an upcoming Authority Board meeting: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/news/Leahy-Kempton-LetterHigh-Speed.pdf AGENCIES California High Speed Rail Authority http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/ With the growing interest in the project the Authority has now vastly expanded its outreach to local governments and effected citizens, as reflected in the events calendar on the Authority's website: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/calendar.htm Federal Railroad Administration http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/31 Metro http://www.metro.net/projects/high-speed-rail/ OCTA http://www.octa.net/M2Project.aspx?EntryId=343&TabId=1509 City of Palo Alto http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/living/news/details.asp?NewsID=1223&TargetID=4 2008 BOND MEASURE Measure text, analysis, pro and con arguments http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2008/general/title-sum/prop1a-title-sum.htm Proposition 1A county by county (and statewide) final vote totals http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/maps/returns/props/prop-1a.htm http://holmes.uchastings.edu/cgi-bin/starfinder/0?path=calinits.txt&id=webber&pass=webber&OK=OK California Transportation Commission Guidelines for HSR bonds http://www.catc.ca.gov/programs/HSR/Draft_High_Speed_Train_Bond_Guidelines_121709.pdf California Transportation Commission bond formula shares for connecting rail services http://www.catc.ca.gov/programs/HSR/HSR_Formulashare_Attachment_I_121709.pdf 2010 FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDING http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-high-speed-intercity-passenger-rail-program-california INFORMATION RESOURCES California High Speed Rail blog http://www.cahsrblog.com/ Form to be added to e-mail list for notifications from the California High Speed Rail Authority http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/joiner.htm To subscribe to the periodic High Speed Rail Advocates newsletter from Californians for High Speed Rail send an e-mail request to sharon@ca4hsr.org. HighSpeedRail.org http://www.trainweb.com/highspeedrail/ High Speed Rail Update from Progressive Railroading www.HSRUpdates.com HSR News http://www.hsrnews.com/ California HSR Planning on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/27717393@N05/sets/72157623164558868/ BACKGROUND Congressional Research Service report on HSR in the United States http://www.opencrs.com/document/R40973/2009-12-08/download/1013/ Institute of Governmental Studies at University of California, Berkeley page on HSR http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/htHighSpeedRail.htm Background paper to 1/11/2010 Assembly Transportation Committee hearing on HSR Business Plan http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/committee/c24/hearings/HSRA%20final%20background%20Jan%2011hearing.doc California Legislative Analyst's Office analysis of 2009 High Speed Rail Business Plan presented to Assembly Transportation Committee http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=2159 October 2009 HSR symposium http://www.its.berkeley.edu/newsbits/winter2009/hsr.html Webcast (streaming video) of the symposium http://www.its.berkeley.edu/newsbits/winter2009/video/hsr_complete/ Government Accountability Office June 2010 report - High Speed Rail: Learning From Service Start-ups, Prospects for Increased Industry Investment, and Federal Oversight Plans http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-625 "How Long Will It Take To Bring High Speed Rail to California?" (transcript of KPBS radio program broadcast March 30, 2010) http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/mar/30/will-california-have-high-speed-rail/ California State Auditor April 2010 report -- "High-Speed Rail Authority: It Risks Delays or an Incomplete System Because of Inadequate Planning, Weak Oversight, and Lax Contract Management" http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2009-106.pdf Metro Investment Report interview with CHSRA Executive Director Roelof van Ark: http://www.metroinvestmentreport.com/mir/?module=displaystory&story_id=522&format=html UC Berkeley Institute Of Transportation Studies June 2010 report -- Review Of "Bay Area/California High-Speed Rail Ridership And Revenue Forecasting Study" http://www.its.berkeley.edu/publications/UCB/2010/RR/UCB-ITS-RR-2010-1.pdf CALPIRG Education Fund June 2010 Report Next Stop - California: The Benefits Of High-Speed Rail Around The World And What's In Store For California http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/ff178505134e5feffbd9dc8faf2ece7d/Next-Stop-California.pdf Report on May 17, 2010 Los Angeles County Technical Working Group meeting (Los Angeles to San Diego via the Inland Empire section) http://file.lacounty.gov/bc/q2_2010/cms1_148487.pdf Center for Urban Infrastructure Summer 2010 report Thinking Ahead: High-Speed Rail in Southern California http://www.c-u-i.org/images/study.pdf Environmental groups' September 20, 2010 letter expressing concerns regarding high-speed rail through downtown Los Angeles http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dnagami/group%20HSR%20letter%209.20.10.pdf California Office of Inspector General Oct. 27, 2010 Final Review Report http://www.inspectorgeneral.ca.gov/res/docs/pdf/Final%20Report%20High%20Speed%20Rail%20with%20Cover%20Letter.pdf STAKEHOLDERS, PRO AND CON Californians for High Speed Rail http://www.ca4hsr.org/ Bay Rail Alliance http://www.bayrailalliance.org/california_high_speed_rail Planning and Conservation League http://www.pcl.org/pcl/pcl_highspeedrail.asp TransForm http://transformca.org/campaign/high-speed-rail Metropolitan Transportation Commission http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/rail/high-speed.htm Concerns of Coe State Park Advocates http://www.coeadvocates.org/RailProject.htm Center for High Speed Rail http://www.highspeedrailonline.com/ U.S. PIRG http://www.uspirg.org/issues/transportation/high-speed-rail FourBillion.Com http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2228/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2048 Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design http://www.calhsr.com/ Western High-Speed Rail Alliance http://www.whsra.com/ American High Speed Rail Alliance http://www.americanhsra.org/ railLA http://lahighspeedrail.blogspot.com/ TRANSDEF http://transdef.org/HSR/HSR.html Peninsula Cities Consortium http://www.peninsularail.com/ California Rail Foundation http://calrailfoundation.org/HSR.html Community Coalition on High Speed Rail http://cc-hsr.org/index.shtml High Speed Rail-Peninsula Rail Engagement Project http://hsr-prep.blogspot.com/ No High Speed Rail Through Alhambra http://www.alhambra123.org/ COMMENTARY Wheels Coming Off High Speed Rail Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association http://www.flashreport.org/featured-columns-library0b.php?faID=2009122211223034 Mark Reutter, author of Making Steel, provides analysis on High Speed Rail for ProgressiveFix.com: http://www.progressivefix.com/mark-reutter On high-speed rail, Senate Transportation Committee is off the track Bob Balgenorth, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?1&_c=yusy54itacho8m&xid=yuqwu1upc8x2os&done=.yusta44c260kwd&_ce=1274378582.2b8ede63e5c2e35303be99721fbf48a5&_c=yusy54itacho8m "Time to get moving on high-speed rail" by Representative Don Young (R-AK), former Chair of the House's Infrastructure and Transportation Committee http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39072.html OTHER PROPOSED HIGH SPEED RAIL PROJECTS IN CALIFORNIA DesertXpress (linking Victorville and Las Vegas with possible extension to Antelope Valley to connect with CHSRA line) http://www.desertxpress.com/ EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS Siemens http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry/us/hsr-portal/hsr-landing.html Talgo http://www.talgoamerica.com/High-Speed.aspx |