Hanford City Manager Darrel Pyle says the city will be requesting several million dollars to help pay for extension of key infrastructure like sewer and water to the proposed California High Speed Rail station site about a half mile east of the city limits.
Pyle, who attended the CHSRA board meeting this week, noted that the communities of Shafter/Wasco recently got a $5 million commitment from the agency to help manage rail impacts there ” and they don’t have a station site.”
“We do” adds Pyle, now that the Authority has unanimously selected the east of Hanford alternative route at their November board meeting last week. The proposed station stop is just north of 198 and east of Hwy 43.
“We will return in a few weeks to give the Authority staff our engineer’s estimate of the costs” adds Pyle.
The authority board heard proponents of having a station stop in the Tulare/Kings region. ”We don’t want to miss the train.We don’t want to wave as it goes by” stated mayor Amy Shuklian of Visalia to the rail authority board. By 2060 more than a million people will live in the two county region says Shuklian – helping to increase ridership on the planned bullet train.
”We don’t want to miss the train.We don’t want to wave as it goes by” stated mayor Amy Shuklian of Visalia
CHSRA staffer Diana Gomez told the board that putting a station at the interface of Hwys 98 and 43 would not amount to sprawl because it fits into Hanford’s current growth plans.it “They are already moving that way” she said. The city is processing a general plan amendment for a large Costco-based shopping center nearby.
The planned Tualre/Kings regional station has been a dot on the map but the current discussion appears to offer more concrete and immediate plans with the City of Hanford requesting infrastructure funding. ”I assume travelers will be approaching the station site off Hwy 43 about on the Lacey alignment” says Pyle. The station site would also be connected to Visalia and Tulare County by the Cross Valley rail line that also serves industry in Kings County that also ties into to the main UP line.Long term term – a potential feeder line could wisk travelers from the HSR station into Downtown Visalia some expect. In addition,Hwy 198 has recently been widened to 4 lanes.
Lawsuit Update
In other news from last week in the Kings County lawsuit against CHSRA – there was a hearing but not much news. The hearing was held in Sacramento Superior Court with Judge Michael Kenny.The judge had ruled against the CHSRA earlier this summer and this week’s hearing was to determine what remedy Judge Kenny would order. News accounts suggested he did not seem to tip his hand. He has 90 days to rule.
The CHSRA lawyer argued they will not spend any state Prop1A money on the project yet and therefore are not in violation of the judge’s earlier ruling or the assertions of their critics. Opponents are asking the judge to rescind HSR construction contracts that include the first leg between Fresno and Madera,now moving forward.
While Hanford is not part of the Kings County lawsuit over Prop 1A they are key players in the drama having opposed plans early on to allow the HSR tracks in its Downtown.That set in motion the debate over the HSR route elsewhere in Kings County. Even though they don’t wan’t high speed trains in Downtown they do appreciate the business that AMTRAK brings and realize it is likely that AMTRAK service will move to the new station site in a few years. For now the decision to relocate the service would be with Cal Trans says Pyle, although a new JPA is set to take over. The new track would speed AMTRAK trains to perhaps 100 mph between Fresno and Bakersfield long before 200mph HS trains are ready to run. Hanford wants to continue to steer passengers into its Downtown,important for civc pride. Hanford may seek more help from the authority to do this.