[throwaway999d]

HSR is a great example of what happens when a bunch of coastal elites look at the countryside ("flyover country") and assume it's empty and worthless so nobody will object if they run a bulldozer through it for a big government project.

On the contrary, California's Central Valley is one of the most vibrant and important areas of the state with property claims going back to the homesteading period. So shocking that these people aren't happy with a bunch of LA and SF people wanting to tear up their back yards for a boondoggle they will never use or care about.

[calichoochoo]

The amount of land needed for HSR is much less than that needed to transport current and future population by either air or road. Just look a how much prime land SR-99 and of course many HSR opponents want to widen it.

[throwaway999d]

Nice talking point. Locals actually use roads. They will never use this "bullet" train to go to cities hundreds of miles away from where they live and work.

[calichoochoo]

Think how happy locals will be then that the people traveling farther aren't clogging up the roads.

[dragonwriter]

IME (having grown up in Fresno) people from the valley travel to SF and LA areas quite a bit.

[dragonwriter]

> HSR is a great example of what happens when a bunch of coastal elites look at the countryside ("flyover country") and assume it's empty and worthless so nobody will object if they run a bulldozer through it for a big government project.

If you look at the prop 1A results map, most of the counties (inland or coastal) it would serve with stations tsupported it, while most of the rest opposed it. Though coastal/inland split might explain the non-secret counties that supported it, and the smaller number of served counties that opposed.

[ajmurmann]

Can you explain what's "vibrant" about the central valley? Their economy certainly is not.