Infrastructure | California Policy Center

How Can Local Officials Prepare for the Upcoming Janus vs AFSCME Ruling?

“A public employer shall provide all public employees an orientation and shall permit the exclusive representative, if applicable, to participate.” – Excerpt from California State Assembly Bill AB 52, December 2016 In plain English, AB 52 requires every local government agency in California to bring union representatives into contact with every new hire, to “allow...

By Edward Ring

High-speed rail passenger service to Las Vegas: another desert mirage

In 2014, Governor Jerry Brown infamously promoted California High-Speed Rail as the best way to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles. To justify the estimated $68 billion price tag, the governor tried to play the funny guy, asserting that “old people who shouldn’t be driving … should be sitting in a nice train car...

By Kevin Dayton

Rapidly growing hyperloop industry offers alternative to California high-speed rail

Since Elon Musk introduced hyperloop in 2012, several startups have been formed to commercialize the technology. Hyperloop is a 21st century approach to intercity travel in which pods fly through sealed, low pressure tubes at speeds of up to 760mph. Although a large amount of hyperloop research is occurring in California, our state government is...

By Marc Joffe

The high-speed rail system has failed its promises

It will soon be nine years since high-speed rail was passed in California. But Californians haven’t gotten the high-speed rail system they were promised. Instead, high-speed rail has taken a new form: it is more expensive and smaller in scope, and it will substantially increase traffic congestion in urban areas. High-speed rail will cost Californians...

By David Schwartzman

The horrible history of state contract awards

California’s state contract award system combines the worst of two worlds, delivering significantly higher infrastructure costs and longer construction time. Since government contracts are typically awarded on a lowest-cost basis, construction companies often engage in dodgy practices to win contracts. The history of Tutor Perini demonstrates why a company’s history should be taken into account...

By Nicholas Umashev

California fiscal outlook remains grim

California’s state government collected $2.68 billion less in revenues than expected during the 2016-17 fiscal year. The bad news will likely worsen California’s position relative to other states: After crunching 2015 data for fiscal conditions in all fifty states, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranks California 43rd. While we rank a relatively strong...

By David Schwartzman

UCI’s hyperloop team looks to propel transportation technology forward

While other students are out partying on a Friday night, a team of UC Irvine undergrads is installing new control systems and fine tuning software for their hyperloop pod. Their prototype is a step toward realizing Elon Musk’s vision of whisking passengers and cargo from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. The team...

By Nicholas Umashev

The unelected bureaucracies that keep us stuck in traffic

Inadequate roads are leaving Californians stuck in traffic. According to a 2016 study by Inrix, a data company that specializes in traffic-related analytics, Los Angeles, California has the worst traffic in the United States. San Francisco takes the number three spot, and San Diego comes in number 14. In all, 17 California cities rank among...

By Jackie Lavalleye

Kickstarting California’s infrastructure boom with asset recycling

President Trump has been pushing for a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure and faces the struggle of how to best direct resources to useful projects. Meanwhile, California has proposed a list of $100 billion in infrastructure investment projects aimed at improving the transport network and water facilities. Clearly, there is a need for collaboration between...

By Nicholas Umashev

Elon Musk‘s Hyperloop makes Brown’s bullet train obsolete

Twelve years before it’s supposed to be finished, the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) system is already outdated. While the state HSR Authority focuses on building infrastructure that dates back to the Kennedy era, the private sector has moved on. Elon Musk – who called High-Speed Rail “one of the most expensive per mile and one...

By Nicholas Umashev

Lawsuit demands California High-Speed Rail comply with voter intentions

Young people calling San Francisco “home” in the fall of 2008 tried to leave an enduring legacy for future generations. Enough of them signed a petition to qualify a November 2008 ballot measure that would have snidely named a new city sewage treatment plant after President George W. Bush. (The measure failed.) Much more costly...

By Kevin Dayton

Unelected Coastal Commission violates property rights while keeping California thirsty

The California Coastal Commission is interfering with efforts by two Encinitas homeowners to rebuild a seawall and stairs on their ocean property. The seawall and stairway had been in place for decades, but were severely damaged in a 2010 storm. Despite obtaining approval from the City of Encinitas to make the repairs, the Coastal Commission...

By Marc Joffe

Applying for New CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority: My Cover Letter

Editor’s Note: Kevin Dayton asked if he could leave the California Policy Center to apply for an opening at the California High-Speed Rail Authority. We told him to give it a shot… April 28, 2017 California High-Speed Rail Authority Attn: Human Resources 770 L Street, Suite 620 MS 4 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Application for...

By Kevin Dayton

Bullet train myopia driving local transit boondoggles

SACRAMENTO – Over the past six years, California legislators and the governor have increased overall general-fund spending by $36 billion but couldn’t find extra money to spend on road, freeway and other meat-and-potatoes transportation projects. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t spending money like drunken brakemen on myriad rail-related projects. Sacramento’s transportation focus has been...

By Steven Greenhut