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Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Category Archives: Anaheim Streetcar

“Lie Rail”

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, OCTA, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment
This won't end well...$5 billion elevated light rail in Hawaii

This won’t end well…$5 billion of  elevated light rail in Hawaii

Regular readers know we’re big fans of Randal O’Toole — the Cato Institute’s resident expert on government-funded public transportation.

Mr. O’Toole travels a lot and addresses those who will listen about the follies and unjustifiability of historically popular public transportation systems, especially “light” rail, and streetcars that are merely light rail with a friendlier, more comfortable, more nostalgic and salable label.

We’ve railed for years against the planners in Anaheim, Santa Ana and particularly the rail fanatics at the Orange County Transportation Authority that ignore all the evidence and promote this costly nonsense on busy streets that need no more congestion, or injuries, or deaths.

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Kris Murray: Liar

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, Kris Murray, OCTA, Orange County 1 Comment
kris-murray

Curt Pringle’s girl on the Anaheim City Council

Anaheim Councilmember Kris Murray won’t likely talk to us, but she’ll lie to the Liberal OC.  From an interview published in October, in italics below we’ve copied the segment where she fibs, stretches the truth and obfuscates about her pet project, a $318 million streetcar system she and her City Council wants to build between the Convention Center, Disneyland and the $190 million white elephant ARTIC train station that’s to replace the perfectly adequate, existing Metrolink/Amtrak/High-Speed Rail station at Angels Stadium that’s NEVER going to see a Bullet Train.  Both ARC and the Bullet Train are also fully supported by Lucy Dunn and the OC Business Council.  Murray was a staffer under Dunn before selling out to former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. Continue reading→

Even Detroit can build a streetcar cheaper than Anaheim

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, OCTA 4 Comments
Register: Anaheim's propsed streetcar system would consist of 10 vehicles that would travel a 3.2-mile route in about 18 minutes. The streetcars would look similar to this European streetcar, according to city officials. Photo: City of Anaheim

OC Register: Anaheim’s propsed (sic) streetcar system would consist of 10 vehicles that would travel a 3.2-mile route in about 18 minutes. The streetcars would look similar to this European streetcar, according to city officials.  Photo: City of Anaheim

From the Detroit Business News two days ago:  Subcontractors begin vying for work on Detroit’s $140 million M1 Rail project.  In part,

At an open house for subcontractors and others needed to help build a 3.3-mile streetcar down Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Lawrence Stevenson said he considered being involved in the project as something that would be “historic.”  But he will only be a part of that history if his company, Detroit-based Stevenson Construction, can successfully land a contract for a portion of the work the M1 Rail line…needed for the $140 million task.

That’s $42.4 million/mile, 58% less the estimated cost for Kris Murray’s Anaheim trolley — and that’s only IF Anaheim succeeds in absconding with OCTA Measure M funds to build a $319 million streetcar between the Convention Center, Disneyland and the new $174 million ARTIC train station that’s never going to see a High-Speed Rail Bullet Train once a Sacramento Judge gets through with Gov. Brown and his rape of Proposition 1A.  The streetcar topped a cost comparison involving 11 other streetcar systems across the country. Continue reading→

Elect, not Select the OCTA Board

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, ACC-OC, Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, ARTIC, Curt Pringle, Kris Murray, Lucy Dunn, Masters of the Universe, OCBC, OCTA, Orange County, Orange County Business Council Leave a comment

smoke-filled-room

Monday’s OCTA Board decision to “continue studying and planning the [Anaheim] streetcar proposal, with a warning to get the costs down” (per Tuesday’s Register story, outside Paywall here) underscores the political quality of the Board’s leadership and composition, its process of consensus vs. common sense decision making, its ignorance of simple technical concepts and a considerable lack of fiscal responsibility by not acknowledging that Anaheim’s $319 million streetcar project is unnecessary, unjustified, REDUNDANT to two existing bus systems and an absurd waste of Measure M tax money.

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OCTA Board delays Anaheim Streetcar approval

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim Streetcar, ARTIC, Darrell Johnson, OCTA, Orange County Leave a comment

market_crash3

Per the Anaheim Blog, the OCTA Board vote on Anaheim’s streetcar system has been delayed until the next Board Meeting:

Earlier this morning, the OCTA Board of Directors voted to continue its decision on approving the Anaheim City Council’s approval of the streetcar option as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Anaheim Rapid Connection system.  Several directors had concerns and questions they wanted more time to have answered.

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Foretelling Anaheim’s future using other city streetcar systems

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, Kris Murray Leave a comment

But wait, there’s more.  The Washington Post editorializes on an Arlington, VA streetcar project that’s attained woofer status.  In part, its streetcars

would make traffic worse and, because they are overpriced, would siphon resources away from other important needs.  Some say that only streetcars can stimulate desired development. Not so. Last July, the Government Accountability Office reported that modern buses can stimulate development just as well as streetcars can. Some cities, like Cleveland, have experienced better development along bus rapid transit lines than has been experienced around the best streetcar system. Continue reading→