Comments on: Train Idea Off Track

By: Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 16:30:46 +0000

People in Seattle and Los Angeles also pooh-poohed light rail just as Dave (Boise Guardian) does now.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Portland stopped arguing with each other and did something.

Now the people in Los Angeles and Seattle are crying because their cities are transportation nightmares – in spite of their bus systems.

Read this Seattle Times cover story (and weep):

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0202/cover.html

Boise arguably ranks as the third largest city in the Pacific Northwest:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050425/NEWS0106/504250307

So the choice is clear.

Should Boise adopt the Los Angeles/Seattle model (as you seem to suggest)?

Or should Boise adopt the Portland model?

As much as I love Boise, I suspect our people, with their fake, phony, pseudo-conservative political orientation, will not permit Boise to adopt the Portland model.

Boise will stifle infrastructure required to support a creative, thriving, entrepreneurial class and will repeat the failures in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Federal tax policy needs to be reformed to provide an incentive to increase urban densities nationwide.

Density is not a dirty word.

Density means spending LESS as a community on UNWISE EXTENSION of government infrastructure (sewers, roads, bridges, etc.) to support urban sprawl housing and commercial development projects.

The current model – under republican control – encourages people who are desperate for home ownership to snap up cheap houses away from the city centers.

This is a failed model.

Unfortunately, current federal tax policy – under republican control – results in bleeding heart, liberal, wasteful spending on SPRAWL.

Idaho conservatives need to rethink their positions.

Cordially,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

By: Treva Hamilton

Treva Hamilton — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 04:04:20 +0000

I’m in favor of trains, but only if I can take one to Portland, Salt Lake, Chicago, and east.

By: Tam

Tam — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 20:04:59 +0000

Finding cars with rear wheel drive, and enough power to serve cops is a trick. Guardian said it correctly that crown vics are about it. Good for Raney for taking it upon himself and not delegating it down the foodchain to determine if these cars meet the need.

By: frank

frank — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:04:14 +0000

As Ada County just had a big press conference Friday unveiling their new fuel efficient vehicles I wondered how people would feel about the fact that Sheriff Gary Raney is running around in a brand new hemi-powered gas guzzling Dodge Charger.

They say that he’s testing it as a future patrol vehicle. That makes zero sense as the sheriff is not involved in any actual police work and is not in a position to
see how the vehicle would perform in an actual ongoing patrol capacity. I’m sure it has more to do with the sheriff’s large ego. Apparently money spent on gas isn’t an issue when it comes to the top dog. Nice way to lead by example Gary.

Ed note–Top cops are often given free demo cars to test since they are the ones with the authority to BUY the cars from manufacturers and the patrolmen love to complain about the boss not having to ride in an uncomfortable vehicle all day. Give Raney a chance since about all there is out there today is the Ford Crown Vic.

By: b.smith

b.smith — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 18:52:16 +0000

See, there you go thinking again. What a wonderful idea you have presented. Because
it has real merit however you can be sure it is going to be pushed aside. Idaho’s
political leadership, nothing different than the rest of the country, has no ability
to think nor has any business sense what so ever. It is not their intention to do
what would be sound practices but see how many dollars they can attract from the
federal level (as though these dollars were picked from a tree somewhere in
Washington). COMPASS, Ada Planning, et al, think only in terms of how to study the
need by spending huge sums of money on programs they were supposedly hired to know
something about. We could have a bus system in place with all the dollars Treasure
Valley has spent on transportation studies. I urge you to continue to present your
idea before the people so leadership gets their foolish idea of a rail system out of
there heads.

By: Sharon Ullman

Sharon Ullman — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 12:04:47 +0000

It’s so nice to see the GUARDIAN poke the appropriate holes in this hare-brained train idea! Why does this idea keep popping up? It defies logic! This area has neither the total population nor the population density necessary to make rail commute a viable alternative. At most, preserving a rail corridor for possible use in the distant future is all our local elected officials should be doing in this regard at this point in time.

The bus experiment sounds like a good idea as well. Maybe with the lights all turning green, and non-stop routes, more people could be encouraged to actually commute this way.

Another pro-active step our local elected officials could take would be to identify permanent transportation corridors and implement zoning that pushes the higher density housing projects (i.e. apartments and condos) to these areas. For mass transit to function economically, you need a lot of people in a limited area. Otherwise, fuhgedaboutit!

By: Elle

Elle — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 03:39:23 +0000

Your comments about the bus idea is right on. If you look at the cost of the “trains” in all the other cities that the Mayor keeps talking about the cost per rider is way out of line.

Noboby is going to get on a train and ride to the Boise Depot and then get on a bus to ride downtown! And just last week the City Council said OK to having 78 “high end condos” that cost $375,000 to $500,000 each built right next to the “tracks”. Boy I’ll bet those folks will be happy – NOT!

The train idea is nothing more than a grab for federal funds – just as the Mayor announced today. Almost evey community with a “train” ends up raising taxes to support it because it does NOT pay for itself. So eveyone pays so a few can ride.

Even the Urban Land Institiute states in its own research that people in the west WILL avoid public transportation and pay more to move OUT of the city so they can own homes.

The other “assumption” that the Mayor and Council make is that businesses will locate downtown – – which is a false assumption and is not happening. The ONLY way it might happen is if the city gives away services via the CCDC.

If you think your property taxes are high now just wait until the train arrives!