More on the High Speed Rail... and Grand Terrace

Public hearings to discuss high-speed rail in Riverside County
Desert Sun Wire services • October 12, 2009

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091012/NEWS01/91012002

Public hearings will be held in Riverside County this month as state officials take comments on proposed routes for the southernmost leg of California's proposed $40 billion high-speed train network.

The state plans to route 220 mile-per-hour trains from Los Angeles through the Inland Empire to San Diego, with proposed stations in the eastern San Gabriel Valley near Diamond Bar, at Ontario International Airport, in downtown Riverside near the UC Riverside campus, and near the 15/215 split in the Temecula Valley city of Murrieta.

But several alternative plans are pencilled in for the Inland Empire, with one plan bypassing Riverside entirely by instead going directly south down Interstate 15 from Ontario to Murrieta. Another plan would loop the tracks all the way northeast into a proposed station in downtown San Bernardino.Several plans are also up in the air for bringing the tracks from alongside the San Bernardino (10) Freeway at Colton into Riverside near the UC campus.

The 220-mph trains through the Inland Empire would bypass the crowded Amtrak and Coaster tracks along the beaches of Orange and San Diego counties, and would place Riverside County as an important link in a proposed rail network stretching on through Los Angeles, Lancaster and the San Joaquin Valley to San Francisco and Sacramento.One tentative map for the Inland Empire shows the tracks would be at grade level from Ontario Airport east along the 10 Freeway past Colton, then curve southward on elevated tracks to Grand Terrace.Under that plan, the tracks would either be at grade level or elevated along Interstate 215 through Riverside, then cross Moreno Valley, Perris and the Temecula Valley.

Most of that route would be at grade level along or in the middle of the freeway, although some sections would be elevated, the state's tentative map shows.Three alternatives exist for crossing the San Gabriel Valley and approaching Los Angeles Union Station: either next to, above or in the middle of the San Bernardino (10) or Pomona (60) freeways, or along the existing Union Pacific tracks through Industry, Pico Rivera, MontebelloTo the south, the tracks would head south above Interstate 15 to Escondido, zigzag west to the La Jolla and end at downtown San Diego. At the request of San Diego officials, a major transportation interchange point at near-capacity Lindbergh Field may be added.

The hearings start in San Diego County this week, and will take public testimony on the proposed routes, as the state hears evidence on what issues and alternative routes must be studied during the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.All of the hearings are from 3-7 p.m., and are set for: -- Oct. 19 at the Murrieta Public Library, 24700 Adams Ave., Murrieta. The second hearing will be from 3-7 p.m. Oct. 20 at Corona Public Library, 650 S. Main St., Corona.The final Riverside County hearing will be Oct. 22 at Cesar Chavez Community Center, 2060 University Avenue, Riverside.

A hearing will be held Oct. 29 at the Pomona First Baptist Church, 569 N. Main St., Pomona.The first leg of the California network will be funded with $9.95 billion in bond funds approved by voters, and a sizeable chunk of the $8 billion that Congress has allocated for nationwide high-speed rail seed money as a part of President Barack Obama's commitment to high speed rail. Congress is expected to add another $1.5 billion in economic stimulus moneys as well.

The federal government has identified eight city-pairs and corridors across the country as likely recipients of the federal money, but other states are seeking to get a piece of the federal pie. The President has said California is at the head of the line because of the commitment of local moneyand advanced state of planning, as well as the fact that California is the only state proposing travel speeds of 220 miles an hour.

Nevada officials are proposing a privately-funded high speed track between Las Vegas and the outskirts of San Bernardino, and are investigating the possibility of bringing it across the mountains to plug into the California network.Arizona and several other states are setting up planning efforts to investigate building high-speed rail lines between Southern California and Phoenix and Tucson.