It's been a bit rough lately. With the economy in the tank and people not wanting to spend any money, I've had great hope that some places were continuing to move forward with their urban rail plans. But the opponents fight harder than ever because they see the threat or people don't plan things enough to go forward with any confidence. Just today, the list of articles that show how hard we have to keep working was a bit much for me to handle.
Houston - The Mayor questions whether there is money to pay for two lines of the new five line light rail expansion in the city.
Austin - The Mayor decides its not time to have a bond election to pay for a future urban rail line.
Scotland - The company building Edinburgh's tram wants to delay 30 months after the rough ride they have already had.
Tampa - Ballot issue for rail dead for now due to lack of decision in how much of the funding would go to the rail project.
Bellevue: The city council is a bunch of morons there and don't want to run the line through a dense employment center.
There is a ray of hope out there. The Mayor of Los Angeles made me feel a bit better recently when he decided that he was going to ask to get things done faster. Ask for a loan so you can save billions in construction costs and have something built for your money faster. I would like to think that is how we work in the United States. But sometimes reading all the news I do just gets so depressing. At least someone has suggested
a way forward. Whether we follow it or not is up to us.