Passenger Trains > Palmdale CA high speed dreaming

This will never happen as all the lawyer will have all the money.

Residents can get information and give comments about the proposed Palmdale station for California's high-speed rail system as well as for the XpressWest train to Las Vegas at a community meeting Thursday.The meeting will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Larry Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, to provide information and receive input from residents about the multi-modal transit station proposed for downtown Palmdale.

Residents are cordially invited and encouraged to attend. The station area plan will develop design recommendations and identify economic development opportunities.

"Please join us to meet the project team, learn about the project and provide your input," said Mike Behen, Palmdale's Transportation/GIS manager. City officials and the California High-Speed Rail Authority last year approved a funding agreement that would start the planning process for the proposed multimodal transportation center. The city will receive $600,000 in grant money and contribute $200,000 itself toward studying viable plans and seeking public input in the development of the new station, which is expected to be south of the current Metrolink station though a location has not been decided upon.

In the request for proposal, the document filed by the city in 2015 that helped pave the way for the agreement with the rail authority, Palmdale officials outlined components to be studied, including: "pedestrian and bicycle access, jobs, shopping, dining, entertainment, recreation, art, cultural amenities, lighting, signage, open space, architecture and building design, parking landscaping, environment and human impacts ."According to the request for proposal, the station will include platforms for California High-Speed Rail, buses, Metrolink and "will eventually be served by the Palmdale Airport, a future regional airport; the High Desert Corridor, a planned freeway/expressway that connects the Antelope Valley to the Victor/Apple Valleys; and the XpressWest, a future high-speed rail system that will connect Las Vegas with Palmdale via Victorville.

"The meeting comes the same day as the California High-Speed Rail Authority is scheduled to meet in Santa Clara to discuss a proposed new business plan that calls for offering initial high-speed rail service between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley, beginning in 2025.High-speed rail officials say they are still committed to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim by 2029, with a station in Palmdale.

Mayor Jim Ledford said Palmdale officials sought and received assurance that the high-speed rail authority will complete environmental studies and design plans on the Palmdale-to-Burbank segment, despite the plan to start Northern California service first.Ledford said he supports designing the Palmdale-to-Burbank segment so that its track can be used by XpressWest trains traveling to Los Angeles.Once the environmental studies and design plans are done, he said, the segment can be built by the high-speed rail authority itself, by XpressWest or even by private firms, Ledford said.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/16 21:56 by cajon.

This will happen right after the Intercontinental Airport is built.

I find it interesting that Palmdale -- which is nowhere close to the shortest routes between Bakersfield and the LA basin (CA HSR) and Las Vegas and the LA Basin (XpressWest) -- somehow has now ended up on both routes. HSR will never work if it wiggles all over the place instead of taking the direct route. And the sooner the planners figure this out the better it will be.

BTW XpressWest chose to connect in Palmdale to avoid having to build its own line into the basin. They wont build the line from Palmdale themselves.

WP17 

These public meetings sometimes have long-reaching effects.  I helped put on a few and every comment from every attendee became a part of the planning documents, and some influenced design decisions.
Message:  If you have an opinion and/or an interest, make yourself heard, even if only to say it would be a good or bad thing.
As to Palmdale, I think it could be a node on a network sometime.
The existing Las Vegas proposals that use Cajon Pass end up far east of a large part of the L.A. market.  By going further west to Palmdale and then using (a hopefully upgraded to some extent) Metrolink to the San Fernando Valley the Las Vegas train would be closer to another big market segment.
 

They've been tallking about HSR out of Palmdale since 88, was interesting then (I was in Junior High) but I still view it now still as a pipe dream, it's still a pipe dream!

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> These public meetings sometimes have long-reaching
> effects.  I helped put on a few and every comment
> from every attendee became a part of the planning
> documents, and some influenced design decisions.
> Message:  If you have an opinion and/or an
> interest, make yourself heard, even if only to say
> it would be a good or bad thing.

I can't believe individual citizen comments regarding the CAHSR project would have any influence at all unless said citizen is extremely wealthy.

RRTom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> railstiesballast Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > These public meetings sometimes have
> long-reaching
> > effects.  I helped put on a few and every
> comment
> > from every attendee became a part of the
> planning
> > documents, and some influenced design
> decisions.
> > Message:  If you have an opinion and/or an
> > interest, make yourself heard, even if only to
> say
> > it would be a good or bad thing.
>
> I can't believe individual citizen comments
> regarding the CAHSR project would have any
> influence at all unless said citizen is extremely
> wealthy.

I don't think you're cynical enough, and I'm not being sarcastic. If that individual happen to say the right thing to fit the agenda of the CA HSR, then count on favorable media coverage and possibly a hero's treatment. Wealth won't matter unless the said individual has enough influence to manipulate construction projects in the state.

FYI, the arrogance and the stubborness of the CA HSR board has been well documented, both here on TO and in the media.

WP17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find it interesting that Palmdale -- which is
> nowhere close to the shortest routes between
> Bakersfield and the LA basin (CA HSR) and Las
> Vegas and the LA Basin (XpressWest) -- somehow has
> now ended up on both routes. HSR will never work
> if it wiggles all over the place instead of taking
> the direct route. And the sooner the planners
> figure this out the better it will be.
>
> BTW XpressWest chose to connect in Palmdale to
> avoid having to build its own line into the basin.
> They wont build the line from Palmdale
> themselves.
>
> WP17 

​It's the best way to get both lines built. With high speed, you can absorb a little bit longer route. If traffic takes off so that the demand warrants it, you can build the shorter links later.

​With the linkup via Palmdale, Bakersfield and north will have an attractive route to Las Vegas.

So true.

What's the estimated time now? 3 hours & 50 minutes???

It was supposed to attract air travelers for financial viability and become favored way between Bay Area and So Cal and not just L.A. 

Such a shame.

WP17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  . . .  HSR will never work
> if it wiggles all over the place instead of taking
> the direct route. And the sooner the planners
> figure this out the better it will be.
> WP17 

DonNadeau Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was supposed to attract air travelers for
> financial viability and become favored way between
> Bay Area and So Cal and not just L.A. 

​I think that was a bad mistake from the start.

​Southern California to Bay Area is a bit long for HSR to compete with air.

​A better approach would have been to get  networks going both in the South and the North and then let them connect by growth. When they came together you would have had an established traffic base to justify more direct links.

​Just my opinion, and it does not count for anything now.