Passenger Trains > Why is the west coast doing so well with rail and light rail?

Date: 01/03/19 18:33
Why is the west coast doing so well with rail and light rail?
Author: Lackawanna484

The NY Times has an article about the envy of NYC's transportation commissioner Polly Trachtenberg, after a visit to the west coast of the US. Los Angeles plans to double the rail mileage,and has vastly expanded its system in recent years. Scooters, bikes, etc. Seattle has a well integrated regional network of rail, light rail, bus, etc

NYT offers two tantalizing clues. One is a better sense of regional needs, and control by the politicians in that region. By contrast, NYC's system is controlled by Albany, and neither the Governor nor the Mayor use mass transit. It's a prop, but not something either uses very often.

The second is the use of the ballot measure to initiate large projects, like the California High Speed Rail. The right of citizens to put a project on the ballot and fund it is absent in most eastern states. (As is the right to recall politicians.) Mayor Garcetti was amazed that the citizens voted a permanent sales tax to fund transportation development.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/nyregion/transportation-east-coast-vs-west-coast.html