The Burlingame Voice

People are talking about High Speed Rail

The discussion of High Speed Rail has been going on... on this blog and others and through emails circulating back and forth about its pros and cons. Rather than regurgitate all of the conversations that have transpired, I will attempt to summarize what I have read and heard. Also included below are a few pics of what elevated trains look like.

• First, the green sounding HSR is anything but. One premise is that we will be allowed to travel and work at the same time. Why not work without travel? Teleconferencing technology is increasing in quality and decreasing in cost. The cost of traveling will only go up.
•  Secondly, Quentin Kopp, the guru for HSR is promising the rail can be built between LA and SF by 2014. The Governator wants to see groundbreaking in 2010. That means, all this community outreach that has been scheduled is not a dialogue with the community, it’s a monologue from the HSR authority to us. The “train has left the station,” pardon the pun... and we may have missed it.
• Third, historically, large capital projects like the big dig in Boston, the Eurotunnel, BART to the Peninsula have run huge deficits. It seems fairly obvious that this one will do the same based on funding projections that the HSRA have already made, like expecting much of the funding to come from private sources. The private sources will be us, the taxpaying public.
• Fourth, this project, like others of this magnitude, are billed as job creators. Really? How many “local” jobs will they create? How many “local” jobs will disappear when they bulldoze businesses along the proposed route?

 There are reports that are more scientific than the bloggers, so here is one link:

A Due Diligence Report on the California High-Speed Rail  <http://www.reason.org/news/show/1003044.html> 
 

One interesting statistic contained in the report, mentioned above, is that high speed rail does little to reduce road traffic. 

“Besides the high costs, these trains do little to relieve congestion. "Not a single high-speed track built to date has had any perceptible impact on the road traffic" in Europe, says Ari Vatanen, a European Parliament member. California predicts its 220-mph trains would take just 3.5% of cars off of roads. California highway traffic grows that much every two years.”

In the shots below, you can get a sense of scale by looking at the truck parked along the side of the track. Keep in mind however that this track is two tracks wide, the HSR through Burlingame and the Peninsula is four tracks wide.

 

 
 

 

Congrats BHS Class of '09

On this lovely, sunny Burlingame afternoon the Class of '09 concluded their four year journey through high school.  Included among the 320 graduates were 75 California Scholarship Foundation honorees and seven valedictorians who attained perfect 4.0 grade point averages for their entire four years at BHS.

Board of Trustees member Peter Hanley noted in his acceptance speech that by earning the diploma today the graduates have reduced their chances of being unemployed by 35 percent.

Congrats to the whole class, and especially student speakers Roxanne Barghahn, Grace Delia and Adam Klein, on a job well done.  We also hope the three students who had to forego the graduation ceremony to compete in the CCS track and field championships did well today.  Go Panthers!

Trolley $aved for Now

The Daily Journal is reporting that the B'game Trolley will continue in service with some reduced hours and perhaps a loss of Sunday service (the day with the least use).  Participation by the Marriott has been an issue, but they appear to be back on board, so to speak.  From the Journal

Burlingame officials began discussing cutting the $110,000 contribution to the trolley earlier this year as one of many budget reductions. Recently, businesses came together in an effort to keep the free service running, at least from July through December — a six-month period in which the service will be funded without the city contribution.

“The last thing we want to do in economic slowdown is reduce our marketability either of our hotels or of our local merchants,” said Ross Bruce, president of the Broadway Business Improvement District.

A meeting of interested parties was held in April including the local hotels, business leaders from both Broadway and Burlingame Avenue shopping areas, the city and chamber. As a result, the Marriott ended up rejoining the effort after pulling out in January.

Currently, the trolley runs 363 days per year. In the last quarter, the trolley transported 8,759 riders, or a daily average of 97. Numbers are calculated by single rides, not round trip. There were 45,644 riders over the past year, a 126 daily average. Sunday had the lowest rider percentage at 10. Other days range from 14 percent to 16 percent.

It's possible that 126 riders on an average day might mean 63 people using the trolley to get to and from their destinations although I have helped a couple of grandparents figure out where to catch it with their grandkids just to cruise around town.  We will keep an eye out for the new schedule.

Open Thread: Memorial Day

This is an "open thread" which is a chance for you to offer your thoughts on the topic du jour.  In this case it's Memorial Day.

What does Memorial Day mean to you?  Is there a Burlingame veteran that you would like to recognize?

Burlingame isn't quite old enough to have historic cemeteries like Colma, St. John's in San Mateo or the Union Cemetery in Redwood City so we don't have the civic ceremonies that correspond to those revered grounds, but we still remember.

What is your touchstone on this day?

Can the State Take City Money?

With all but the legislators' pay raise Propositions going down in flames on Tuesday, the next round of maneuvering has begun.  Today's Wall Street Journal (page A3 in the printed edition) notes:

SAN FRANCISCO -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his efforts to find funds to balance the state budget, has proposed borrowing $2 billion from municipal governments over the next fiscal year, a tactic that is rankling local officials up and down the state.

Mr. Schwarzenegger is invoking a 2004 law that lets the state demand loans of 8% of property-tax revenue from cities, counties and special districts. Under the law, the state must repay the municipalities with interest within three years.

Administrators of already cash-strapped cities and counties said the loans would force even deeper cuts in services. Fewer cops and fire engines would be on the streets, they said, and parks and libraries would be closed more often. And some local governments would be forced to lay off workers to keep their budgets out of the red, they said.

Mr. Schwarzenegger's proposal "suggests that financing state government and state-government services are more important than these basic community services," said Chris McKenzie, executive director of the League of California Cities. "I think it's something most of the public would disagree with."

The San Mateo Daily Journal published estimates of how much money we are talking about on May 14th.  The potential loss for Burlingame is $1,170,257.  From the city web site, a link titled "Budget Update" starts with

As you are probably aware, the City of Burlingame, like many agencies, is having a challenging budget year that will continue into the 2009-2010 fiscal year which begins in July 2009. The City’s revenues have steeply declined over the last 6 months. Hotel taxes paid by individuals who rent rooms are down 11% and general sales taxes show a 15% decline. In January 2008 the City Council adjusted the current budget to remove $2.3 million of expenditures in order to balance 2008 revenues and expenditures. The shortfall for 2009-2010 is expected to be larger, namely $4.27 million.

This is an issue that is not going to be resolved quickly.  Who has constructive suggestions?

Thursday night on the Ave.

Do you remember when 8pm on Burlingame Ave. on a Thursday night was a complete zoo?  No parking.  People crowding the sidewalks.  Outdoor tables with bustling waiters and waitresses.  Live music?

Well, it was pretty quiet tonight at 8pm but I was struck by the tale of two restaurants.  The Mediterranean Kebob place was full--not a single open table.  The Burger Joint was nearly empty--only one table was occupied inside or out.  Both restaurants respect your dining dollar, but people seem to be gravitating to one much more than the other.  Why is that?

I Parked it Right Here!

The Daily Post's Police Blotter shows there were three cars stolen in Burlingame over the weekend:

  Friday 6:17am       100 block of Bloomfield

  Saturday 8:44am    2500 block of Adeline

  Saturday 10:16am  1600 block of Adrian

These cars sometimes get abandoned on the streets.  I know from personal experience that when you call the Abandoned Vehicle line (i.e. the non-emergency police number at 650 692-8440) if the car has been reported as stolen, the police will be there in a flash.

More on why high speed rail on the Peninsula is misguided.

This is something from a guy named Martin Engel. I have read his letters to the editor several times, usually about transportation issues. He makes some good points. I believe, as he does, that Caltrain has made a "deal with the devil."  How can they be objective about high speed rail when they are riding ontheir coatails inorder to get their own projects paid for? Read on.

 There is an MOU between the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB) that operates Caltrain, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA).  In that agreement, there is -- in effect -- a business deal.  The deal states that the Rail Authority will provide the funding and construction of all grade separations, electrification, signaling hardware and some other stuff.  We know that the Authority projects costs for the rail corridor to be $4.2 billion.  The PCJPB, in turn, will provide the rail corridor itself as their part of the bargain.  Although the Joint Powers Board claims in this MOU that they are the 'sole owner' of the corridor, elsewhere they agree that they are 'stewards'.  And that, as you will see, is a far more appropriate term.

 Malcolm Dudley of Atherton, a major figure in rail related developments on the Peninsula, points out that the rail corridor was purchased from Southern Pacific, precursor to Union Pacific, by SamTrans.  At that time, SamTrans was the only functioning organization in San Mateo County with authority to sign such a purchase.  That is, the rail corridor transferred from private to public hands.

 The funding for this deal came from the three Peninsula Counties. Our tax dollars at work.  Therefore, Dudley claims, the Caltrain Corridor actually belongs to the citizens and taxpayers of the three counties.  I agree with him.   As a consequence of the sale of the corridor, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board was created to administer the rail corridor and what came to be called Caltrain, the rail commuter service.  That's not the same as ownership.   All of which is to say, the JPB represents all of us in administering this public rail corridor.  JPB is no more the owner of the rail corridor than the National Park Service owns our National Parks.  Both have decision-making powers but cannot claim 'ownership.'

A Bad Business Deal

Put these two situations together, and we discover that Peninsula taxpayers are about to get the short end of a very long stick. Let me explain.  The Caltrain Strategic Plan 2025, with their expectations of high-speed rail development investments on the corridor, might lead one to believe that Caltrain would be receiving rent or lease fees from the CHSRA in payment for sharing the use of the corridor. 

 After all, if I rent the first floor of my building to someone who wants to open a restaurant, wouldn't I expect him to make the capital development investment to fix the place up as a restaurant since it would be his profitable business?  And I would, of course, also charge him rent. That would be a fair and equitable deal.  Don't we charge grazing fees to ranchers who feed their cattle on federal public lands? 
But, that's not what is happening here.  An inter-city rail operator is going to use our rail corridor after making extensive improvements in order to operate this high-speed rail system at a profit.  CHSRA will pay for those improvements, but then, when that investment has amortized, use of the rail corridor will be free in perpetuity.

 Caltrain people have told me that they are the hosts of this partnership and high-speed rail will be the guest.  Rather than 'guest,' I would prefer the word 'tenant.'  We, the people, are the owners of the corridor and the Rail Authority will be the tenant.  However, with the current arrangement, they will pay no rent.

 It should be pointed out that we have them over a barrel.  Kopp and Diridon insist, absolutely, that they must use the Caltrain corridor.  They refuse to go anywhere else.  They also insist that they will generate $1 billion in annual profits.  Why must we let them do this for free, forever?
Indeed, unless I have misread the MOU, there are no time limits to the agreement.  This is not, for example, a 99-year arrangement, to be re-negotiated in the year 2108.  That's also not a good deal.

 If such an arrangement is acceptable to the Joint Powers Board, as it appears to be, and they represent us, they are doing a lousy job and should be called to task.  They have not negotiated in good faith on our behalf.

What's in it for Caltrain and for us?

How about using those fees from the High-Speed Rail Authority to finally resolve Caltrain's perennial structural operating deficits? How about reducing ticket fares and thereby increasing Caltrain ridership?  How about borrowing against that income revenue as the 'local' contribution to tunnel HSR beneath those cities that want HSR out of sight?
Dear Colleagues, if I have my facts wrong or if I am not understanding something in this argument, please correct me.  If I do have a compelling case, I would like to see it brought to the attention of attorneys and those among us who are taking action to protect our interests on the Peninsula.  If this bad deal slips past us and we do nothing about it, we have only ourselves to blame.

Move Over American Idol . . .

. . .Burlingame has its own version of the popular singing contest!  Led by the indefatigable Cathy Foxhoven, 12 finalists will compete for the title of Burlingame's top singer on Friday, May 22, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the Burlingame Rec Center.  The top twelve range in age from 9 to 69.  If you miss the performance on Friday, you can hear all twelve sing again on Sunday, May 31 from 2-5 at the Broadway Grille (sponsor of the competition).

Best of luck to the 12 contestants: Annabel Chick, Chelsea Collins, Carson Robinette, Peter Scattini, Nico Collins, Veronica Ortiz, Sara Oromechi, Genevieve Florea, Joe Viscarra, Kiki Arnaudo and Eric Ribeiro, William Hatfield and Tom Collins.

  

Free and fun family entertainment in Burlingame on a Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Where's The Fire?

There will be never before seen photos and stories that tell the tale of the evolution of an all volunteer fire department, where firefighters got paid per fire,to the department as it is today--one that uses the most modern, cutting edge equipment to fight fires. You will also have the opportunity to get a close look at the 1908 chemical wagon just before it is transported for permanent display inside the new Burlingame Hillsborough History Museum inside the historic Burlingame Train Station.

SAVE THE DATE!  It all begins at 2pm at The Burlingame Fire Department, Station #34 on California Drive and Palm Avenue.
Sunday, May 17. Free and Open to the public. No reservations required.

The Chemical Wagon, purchased in 1908 will be on display during the presentation and then moved the new Burlingame Hillsborough History Museum. Photo:©Burlingame Historical Society