THAT’S DEBATABLE:Railways in land of freeways

It appears that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed 2007 budget has put the brakes on plans for high-speed train service between Los Angeles and Anaheim, but Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle is still holding out hope that funding for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center between Angel Stadium and the Honda Center will be restored. The governor has also requested an indefinite postponement of a $9.95-billion rail bond that was planned for next year. Do you support the proposed cuts? And what are your thoughts about eventually bringing high-speed rail to Orange County?

I do not support adding another $10 billion of debt to the state credit card to create a state-run rail system.

There are private firms willing to invest several billion dollars to build and operate toll roads in California. The absence of such companies lining up to offer their capital to build high-speed rail tells me the market knows something many of my legislative colleagues evidently do not: Namely, that passenger rail does not make much economic sense here in California. If such a rail system is built, there will be so many stops mandated by local politicians that it will hardly qualify as “high speed.”

Locally, you can see what diverting large sums of money into rail has done in Los Angeles County — just travel north on I-5 until you get to the Orange County-L.A. County line. When you slow to a crawl, note that the freeway in L.A. is the same width that it was when it was first built 50 years ago. This is so because Los Angeles has spent its limited tax dollars on light rail and mass transit.

Chuck DeVore

Assemblyman (R- Newport Beach)

I am intrigued by the idea of bringing a high-speed rail to the state to provide service to Orange County, but I am unsure if California is ready to embark on such a monumental project.

California’s road network has been static for nearly a quarter of a century, and the status quo just will not cut it anymore. We have not built new roads and highways to keep up with our massive population growth. The 405 Freeway is more of a parking lot than a multi-lane freeway, and we all know that not only does congestion negatively affect our environment, but it also cuts deeply into our economic productivity.

Providing the much-needed traffic congestion relief will require a multi-pronged approach. First and foremost, we must open up more lanes, build more onramps and offramps and get the cars moving.

Next, we need to see what the transit needs are and what we can afford. While bullet trains work well in France and Japan, it may not for vehicle-dependent California. Instead of putting more and more money into studies for the prospective, far-off plan of a high-speed-rail system, let’s dedicate public funds to the widening of our freeways and to the building of additional infrastructure. Let’s see some results that alleviate the congestion today, as I am committed to seeing our state once again regain national leadership in infrastructure quality.

Tom Harman

Senator (R-Huntington Beach)

High-speed-rail proposals have been unrealistic since first approved by the Legislature in 2002, as evidenced by the repeated postponement of a statewide vote. A network of reliable, high-speed rail lines connecting the state could be a modest asset, but it can’t be a priority in a state beset with more important needs and ongoing budget problems.

Last year I wrote a measure to modify the current proposal so the initial leg of the rail line included Orange County instead of terminating in Los Angeles. This addition would have added millions of passengers annually and improved the pending proposal. But I continue to have concerns about a state-run, state-financed rail system that most certainly will run over-budget and be underused. If this is such a fantastic idea, why don’t private businesses make the investment and reap the profits?

I applaud Schwarzenegger for cutting funding to this state-run, state-financed, vague proposal and focusing our limited resources on more lanes — not trains.

Van Tran

Assemblyman (R-Costa Mesa)