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 Current plans call for unnecessarily building parts of the system through taxpayer-protected wilderness or undeveloped land, when it may be faster, more cost-effective, and less environmentally damaging to build along existing transportation corridors (where people who want to ride it live!).
Consequently, PCL and PCL Foundation have led the assembly of a comprehensive assessment of the High Speed Rail Project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) by ten California environmental and alternative transportation groups. This assessment urged the state to study building the rail system and locating stations along existing highways and transportation corridors, rather than through virgin wilderness or on farmland where it would induce sprawl. We urged rail service that would maximize ridership and attract the most possible people out of cars. We also demanded that wildlife crossings and other wildlife and habitat sensitive building practices be included in any future High Speed Rail System. While the State has not yet issued a final EIR responding to thousands of public comments, the State has agreed to spend the next year or more studying the alignment that we found would avoid destroying Henry Coe State Park, and to consider smart growth suggestions in the EIR.
Take a tour of the wilderness in Henry Coe State Park where they are proposing to build the rail line: http://www.coeadvocates.org
Altamont-High Speed Rail (3.35MB PDF file)
Download a five page brochure about why the “Altamont Pass” should be examined as a possible route for High Speed Rail.
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