Seven cities get California HSR grants
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe California High-Speed Rail Authority is offering grants for station planning to seven cities located near the project’s initial construction segment in the state’s Central Valley.
Gilroy, San Jose, Merced, Fresno, Tulare/Kings, Bakersfield, and Palmdale are eligible to apply for up to $700,000 in federal stimulus funds and $200,000 in state stimulus funds to help plan for high speed rail stations, the authority said.
The amount each city receives is dependent on the cost of individual planning efforts and available matching funds. The authority said funds would be available in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Last week, the Gilroy City Council approved a staff-picked firm to conduct a station visioning project, which will analyze Gilroy’s two station location options . Funding for that project will come courtesy of a $150,000 matching grant from the Valley Transportation Authority and $50,000 from the City of Gilroy, according to city officials.
Despite mounting criticism and political obstacles, California’s ambitious $44 billion, 700-mile HSR plan continues to move ahead, unlike other true HSR efforts in the U.S., in part because the state has committed state funding to the project, which has helped draw federal funds, including funds from other states, such as Wisconsin and Ohio, that have rejected federal grants.
The congressional budget agreement reached late Friday night, however, reduces FY 2011 funding for FRA High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail to $1 billion, a reduction of $1.5 billion from FY10. That means future federal assistance likely would be less likely and/or smaller in size.
