REGION: Lawmakers try to spread high-speed rail cash around

Measure on November ballot would target Los Angeles-San Francisco corridor

By DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Friday, July 18, 2008 6:10 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- A move is under way to spread the $9 billion in a ballot measure for high-speed rail throughout the state rather than just on tracks between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Sacramento lawmakers, with the support of local politicians, are trying to rewrite the measure so some of the cash would be available for the portion of the $45 billion, 800-mile statewide train system that has been proposed for San Diego and Riverside counties.

Members of the San Diego Association of Governments' transportation committee stressed Friday the region must not be left behind if the measure passes in November.

"We need to have that high-speed rail, especially from Temecula down to UTC (University Towne Center)," said committee member David Druker, mayor of Del Mar.

About a decade ago, the state's leaders decided to build a modern system of speedy trains capable of traveling in excess of 200 mph to connect California's major urban centers, and to provide relief for the state's congested highways and crowded airports. They created a California High-Speed Rail Authority that mapped out a plan.

Under that plan, authority planners say trains would whisk passengers between San Diego and Los Angeles in an hour and 20 minutes, along an inland route next to Interstates 15 and 215 with stops in Escondido, Murrieta and Riverside.

In 2002, lawmakers sought to move the project forward by putting a $9.95 billion bond measure on the 2004 ballot. The bond would set aside $9 billion for fast trains between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but not San Diego. However, the measure would provide $950 million to improve the existing coastal railroad in San Diego County and southern Orange County.

The measure has been postponed twice, but is headed for the ballot this fall. A simple majority vote will be required for passage.

When lawmakers first crafted the measure, they opted to focus the $9 billion on the Los Angeles-San Francisco leg, describing it as the backbone of the future system.

But things have changed since then, said Gary Gallegos, executive director for the association.

California has embarked on an ambitious plan to curb greenhouse gases to slow global warming, and driving is one of the biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions, Gallegos said. And the price of a gallon of gasoline has soared to nearly $5, spurring a demand for alternative ways to travel to work.

"This could help commuters," he said.

Beyond that, it would offer an alternative to hopping on a commuter flight when flying out of Los Angeles International Airport, he said.

Committee member Charlene Zettel, who represents the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, said, "If we had a high-speed rail connection, that would expand the capacity of Lindbergh Field tremendously."

All those changes argue for spreading the money around, Gallegos said.

In a bid to do so, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston, introduced a bill in February to remove the Los Angeles-San Francisco focus. It passed the Assembly on May 29.

But Assembly Bill 3034 ran into obstacles in the Senate, where a senator from San Francisco persuaded colleagues on the Transportation and Housing Committee to amend the bill to reinsert the Los Angeles-San Francisco focus.

Senators who back Galgiani's original bill managed to soften the language somewhat in the Appropriations Committee, but they failed to get it out of the Senate this week. And they missed a deadline for getting the rewrite into the ballot information pamphlet that will be mailed to voters.

Galgiani said backers now are aiming to move the bill when lawmakers return from a break in August, and to put the change on a supplemental voter pamphlet.

Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, is one of those who backs the bill.

"If we pass a statewide bond, there ought to be a statewide benefit," Ducheny said.

Ducheny added that, from a practical standpoint, if there is no money in the measure for voters in San Diego and Riverside counties, and Sacramento, it could flop at the ballot box.

"The emphasis on LA-to-San Francisco is just another nail in the coffin in my mind for the whole system," said Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta.

But the long-time opponent of high-speed rail doesn't believe voters should vote for the measure under any scenario.

"We're short of money, we're long on debt, and if we're going to borrow any money, it ought to be for water infrastructure," he said.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.