Thursday, April 02, 2009

The train and the bus

Sorry for the late notice on this: the Caltrain Board meets beginning at 10 AM TODAY. The big item on the agenda is a resolution for Caltrain to enter an agreement with the California High Speed Rail Authority. The proposed agreement is for Caltrain to provide free use of its right of way, while the HSR Authority will pay for electrifying the Caltrain line and full grade separation along with other improvements. This is a major financial slam dunk for Caltrain, but significant opposition to high speed rail is building along the Peninsula. I'd attend the meeting but I'm completely slammed at work right now; if you can run out to San Carlos in the next half hour and speak up in favor of High Speed Rail that would be fantastic. Holy Murph had a post somewhere describing why HSR on the Peninsula provides a net benefit to Peninsula residents, but I can't find it at the moment. Basically, though, he reminds us that if the people traveling on the corridor don't ride the train, they'll travel some other way -- probably by air or freeway.


Conversation on the bus last night

Heavy traffic clogged downtown San Jose streets last night as motorists circled searching for cheap / free parking (which doesn't exist on event nights), and big crowds gathered around the HP Pavilion aka "The Shark Tank," one of local large event venues where concerts occur.

Me (age 40+): I wonder what's going on at the Pavilion tonight.

Tom (20-something): I don't know. Lots of traffic.

Me: Lots of people my age and older.

Tom: Oh yeah, Bruce Springsteen is playing tonight.




I tried something new and learned something new last night, but I'll save that for another post so I can shoot this Caltrain meeting note out PRONTO.

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