SAVE ANGELES FOREST FOR EVERYONE
Fighting the High Speed Train Since 2014
S.A.F.E. was organized to stop the California High Speed Rail Authority from building train routes within the Palmdale to Burbank project section that damaged our local communities, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Angeles National Forest. The so-called “East Corridor” includes routes that would travel approximately 41 miles over, under and through our communities and open space. Locally impacted communities include: Kagel Canyon, Lake View Terrace, Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Canyon and Sun Valley. Potential impacts, from both operational and construction phases, include damage to our community character, water resources, visual and aesthetics, noise and vibration, truck traffic and air quality, human and animal health, equestrian culture and industry and economy. We are working in unity with neighboring communities similarly impacted by high speed rail proposals including Pacoima, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Acton and Agua Dulce.
Don’t Railroad Our Communities! Read all the facts and history of this project and get involved!
Rendering of Route E2 viewed from Shadow Hills
Brief Overview of the Project. The California High-Speed Rail Authority was formed in September 1996. However, it did not gain any traction until 2008, when California voters narrowly approved Proposition 1A allowing the state to issue $9.95 billion in bonds to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
What we voted for:
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A 220-mph high-speed train
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With a 520-mile route connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles
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With a budget of $45 billion
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With the requirement that $9 billion of the $9.95 billion bonds be matched by public and private funds.
What we got (13 years later):
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A “not high-speed” train that will have to share miles of blended tracks at speeds ranging from 40 mph to 80 mph
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With a scaled-back initial operating segment of 171 miles connecting Merced to Bakersfield
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With a budget of $99.9 billion
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With NO private funds secured, plus an $80-billion funding gap that needs to be filled to actually build out the full line
From 2014 to present, scathing audit reports have been issued, scandals have rocked the project (including a defective bridge which had to be demolished shortly after construction), massive budget overruns, high management turnover, a state legislature demanding accountability, and purchase and/or seizure of generational family-owned properties (including farms, orchards, and ranches) which later were deemed not to be needed after all—many of which were not paid fair market value for their property.
The Latest
Refined SR14 is the Preferred Alternative but can change if conditions warrant
* Read the Burbank Airport Authority v. California High Speed Rail lawsuit here
* Draft 2022 Business Plan is available for public comment
(spoiler alert! cost is up to $105 BILLION!) Click here for Business Plan.
With the release of the draft business plan, the Authority Board will review management’s recommendations and seek input as part of a 60-day public comment period that starts 2/8/22 and closes 4/11/22. The Authority is providing the following options for submitting comments:
As of 2022, the cost of the HSR is anywhere from $77B to $105B. In 2008 when this was approved by voters, the budget was $45B.
Online comment form through the Draft 2022 Business Plan website at: https://hsr.ca.gov/about/high-speed-rail-business-plans/draft-2022-business-plan-comment-form
By email at: DraftBP2022@hsr.ca.gov
U.S. mail to the Authority:
California High-Speed Rail Authority
Attn: Draft 2020 Business Plan
770 L Street, Suite 1180
Sacramento, CA 95814
Voicemail comment at: (916) 384-9516
Provide public comment at the two upcoming Board of Directors Meeting within the public comment period being held virtually on February 17 and March 17.
* Palmdale to Burbank Project Section's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) DELAYED AGAIN! (March 2022 release date pushed back)
N.E. San Fernando Valley Potential Property Impacts Map – Zoom in to view
All three proposed routes tunnel (deep bore and cut & cover), are at grade, and require bridges throughout the environmentally sensitive Angeles National Forest----home to numerous wildlife habitats (including endangered species) and our precious groundwater supply.
* Burbank to Los Angeles Project Section
Burbank will lose 75% of its local water supply for an extended period of time and over 130 businesses, and the brand-new Avion development near the airport will have to be demolished at a cost of nearly $1 billion.
Burbank Area Potential Property Impacts Map Large file – Enlarge to 100% to see property and street names.
Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement – Burbank to LA Project Section
* Burbank Airport Authority Files Lawsuit Against CHSRA - LA Times 2-25-22
* Informational Meeting for N.E. San Fernando Residents - 2-16-22
Zoom Meeting Recording: CHSRA P-B - SAFE Video Recording 2-16-22
Flyover video: CHSRA Palmdale to Burbank SR-14A Preferred Alternative (narrated)
* The bullet train just keeps on failing by The Daily News Editorial Board 2/16/2022
* Costs for California’s high-speed rail project climb another $5 billion by Associated Press - 2/16/2022
