November 4, 2010
I reported on Tuesday that high speed rail was going forward in Wisconsin. I reported yesterday that the GOP was going to try to stop it. Now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
The state Department of Transportation has told contractors on the high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee to stop work on the federally funded project “for a few days,” in the wake of rail opponent Scott Walker’s victory in the governor’s race, Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi said Thursday.
November 3, 2010
Despite my post yesterday, it seems the GOP-elects in WI are still determined to stop high speed rail in the state. I’m just going to say it: This is short-sighted. Mass transit, especially high speed rail, is a key component to energy independence, ending addiction to fossil fuels, and improving the nation’s infrastructure and economy. China, for example, is spending signifiant resources on high speed rail across the country.
UPDATE: For more about here, see http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/a-high-speed-derailment/.
November 2, 2010
‘Rail deal quietly locked in‘ reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Just days before an election that could decide the fate of a planned high-speed rail line, state and federal administrators quietly signed a deal to commit the state to spending all $810 million of the federal stimulus cash allocated to the Milwaukee-to-Madison route, transportation officials confirmed Monday.
The unannounced weekend agreement frees outgoing Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration to sign contracts for much if not all of the work. That could hamstring efforts by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans to kill the project and spend the money on something else if they take control of the governor’s office and either or both chambers of the state Legislature and Congress on Tuesday.
September 30, 2010
September 26, 2010
Check out this fascinating article and the accompanying photos/designs about Masdar, a being built 20 miles from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
August 24, 2010
Legal Planet blogs about a cool mass transit idea apparently being developed in China–the Straddling Bus. See here.
August 23, 2010
The American transportation infrastructure is poor, and as, I stated before, individual energy consumption and the risk of climate change are being hedged against the creation of carbon-free automobile technology. Yet it seems there is so much continued hostility towards improving train travel in the U.S. I must admit that I personally don’t get it. Taking the train is so much more comfortable and easy than a plane or driving a car, except that the tracks and/or train cars are in poor shape so travel times are too long. Trains cost money, but so do highways. And trains are more environmentally friendly than cars or planes. So I applaud efforts to improve train travel in the U.S. since I view it as a savvy long-term investment in terms of the environment and the econony; unlike others who view train infrastructure as a short-term economic waste. This has been the debate in Wisconsin for some time about having high-speed rail between Milwaukee and Madison. Now it seems the Democratic governor is pulling out all the stops to make sure the line gets built. See here. And while I’m at it, the Vermonter needs to go faster so I can get from Montpelier to NYC in less time. Here’s hoping.
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 