Transporation Daily News 10/25

Bay Area transportation leaders endorsed a future statewide high-speed rail system Wednesday with two routes through the region: one that runs through the East Bay and over the Altamont Pass and another that would head over the Pacheco Pass via the South Bay. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission confirmed its long-standing support of the Pacheco Pass route as the best choice for express service to Southern California but said an Altamont Pass alignment should also be built to provide service between the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley. That recommendation angered some rail advocates and environmentalists, who called it a fantasy and said two stretches of track aren't likely to be built. Instead, critics charged, the endorsement of two routes amounted to a de facto vote for the Pacheco Pass route. SF Chronicle 10/25/07

 

Despite lingering doubts about its future, a proposal to build a high-speed rail line between Southern California and San Francisco was kept alive Wednesday when the state Transportation Commission allocated $15.5 million for engineering and design work. The money is a small fraction of the $40 billion that the system would cost to complete, but commissioners said they were not willing to pull the plug even though full financing had not been arranged. LA Times 10/25/07

 

The 9th Circuit Court has agreed to put on hold an injunction against enforcement of the California Air Resources Board regulation requiring ships calling at California ports to use low-sulfur fuel in their auxiliary engines. The injunction will remain lifted until the case is resolved. Cunningham Report 10/24/07

 

Pressure from hospitality and agriculture industry leaders has prompted the Transportation Agency for Monterey County staff to pull funding for Caltrain rail operations out of a draft transportation sales tax spending plan and replace it with more money for buses. TAMC officials are drafting a list of spending priorities for $700 million that would be raised from the hoped-for 20-year, half-cent transportation sales tax that would require two-thirds voter approval. Monterey Herald 10/25/07

 

Officials from a coalition of peninsula cities (Burlingame, Menlo Park, Daly City, Redwood City) said their plans to put red light cameras on El Camino Real and other state highways appear to be stuck, while Caltrans considers their applications to install the equipment. The cameras catch red-light runners and reduce accidents on state highways through those cities. Caltrans has yet to green light the project, though an answer was expected in July. SJ Mercury 10/23/07