Posted on 09/27/2010 3:57:57 AM PDT by Leisler
When USC professor and transportation expert James Moore heard the findings several days ago that the $9 billion Subway to the Sea won't relieve congestion on the Westside, as vowed by Antonio Villaraigosa, Moore was among a number of transportation insiders who wasn't stunned.
"I didn't need an Environmental Impact Report to know that," says Moore, iconoclastic director of transportation engineering at USC, referring to an environmental study by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Moore says the truth about how Metro plans to use up to $9 billion in sales taxes being paid by 8 million consumers in Los Angeles County is: "We're not building [a subway] to ease congestion. We're doing it for political reasons."...........
(Excerpt) Read more at laweekly.com ...
9 billion buys a lot of politics.
To all that read this article, you should have seen the runup to, the combination of dances for the money, dances for the power that was the Alameda Street Corridor project in Los Angeles back in the ‘90’s.
It’s stated public purpose of getting the truck traffic off of the Freeway has yet to be achieved. Lots of money, lots of graft, lots of disappointment.
No rail project will I ever look upon with a positive eye after that experience.
In other words, it worked like a charm.
Wonder what percentage 9 billion is toward balancing the out of balance state budget. Not that anyone living in CA cares, other than a few freepers and some other conservatives.
Maybe the “subway to the sea” is appropriate given all the DIM/LIB lemmings in America.
Balanced budgets are just rest stops on the way to bigger budgets.
Is it the crook mentality, liberalism, communism, leftism, or just bad parenting that got us to this point?
be grateful it’s not $18 billion
oh wait a bit and it will be!
“9 billion buys a lot of politics.”
Imagine what 8 times that amount would buy. Boston’s Big Dig was supposed to cost $2.6B, but ended up costing $22B. I see no reason LA would be exempt from this sort of big project price creep.
YES!
Free Willie!
Tell us more than
“Study Area vehicle miles traveled would be reduced by 0.57% compared to No Build,” the EIR tersely states.
9 billion buys a lot of politics.
It also buys more miles of monorail than subway tunnels or freeway lanes.
Monorail? Monorail!
“In other words, it worked like a charm.”
Hardly could one say ...”it worked like a charm” for those that expected the results of the expense, the inconvenience of their streets, and communities along the way torn up for a number of years to make their lives safer, and so less polluted, etc. as was sold them.
But then too all too many don’t realize that liars lie. Government is so full of liars it’s a miracle anything of benefit to the public whom pay for it all exists.
Monorail? Monorail!
Yes, tunneling for subways is very expensive.
You really don't want to tunnel unless you absolutely have to, (Like NYC or in the Mountains.)
Overhead Monorail is less expensive than subway tunnels.
Overhead Maglev would be even better!
But that wasn't the point of my post.
Balanced budgets are just rest stops on the way to bigger budgets.
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