TAMC chooses light rail for rapid transit line

This means the Castroville Gang Bangers will have improved access to Monterey. Do we really want that? There are many Gang Bangers in Castroville.

Who is going to ride this train? It's going to go from Marina to Monterey. I watched the presentation on TV, and TAMC reps stated this train would alleviate commute congestion on Hwy 1, mostly people traveling from Marina to Monterey for work.

But how many people are going to give up their cars to get from central Marina to Window-on-the-Bay Park? Once they get dumped off there, how do they get to where they are going?

If this were a "tourist" train bringing people back and forth from the Bay area (and giving us a way to get to the Bay area), it might succeed, but as proposed now I see it as a boondoggle.

the mind-set of people wanting to take public transport instead of driving has to come first and that is not there...this would be a gigantic waste of tax money -- just because the rails are already there doesn't make it a smart action--it's a bizarre route--

Of course they chose Light Rail; they purchased the right of ways years ago. This study was only to justify their previous mistake. We need flexibility not fixed rails; most riders will be college students. Cities, open your pockets books, the fair box will only pay 25 percent of a ride. Let’s hope the Feds are smarter then we are and deny funding for the next phase. TAMC minutes of the past state this will be used mostly by tourists

Rubio just wants dues from his unionized carpenters when the public is forced to pay excessive wages during the long construction phase. He is easy to read.

What is a "choice" rider?
I can't find a definition anywhere.
And I'd use either, light rail or rapid transit, I hate reparking in Monterey.

$Million dollar trains to shuffle idle kids from Marina to Monterey.

Helicopters that cost $6000/ flight to fly someone to the hospital.

We close schools and libraries to fund these boondoggles.

Can't we live with a few less agencies? Who created these and how do we get rid of them?

Million dollar trains that will make the peninsula easier to navigate, and pave the way for future transportation like this in the state.

Helicopters that cost $6000 and will save you're butt in a traumatic car wreck; heaven forbid...

Libraries that will stay open because well...they will.

Chill out trains are a good thing. I can only hope we have a public transportaton system half as good as Europes is now in the next 30 years. We never will if we don't start somewhere...

Bad idea, because part of the right away has been sold off to Granite's rock yard in Seaside. The rail line can't make it into Monterey anymore. You don't need a million dollar study to find that out. Therefore service would only exist between Sand City and Castroville, and light rail would be a joke. Amtrak would be a joke too because who wants to get off in Sand City? They are better off scrapping it for the value of the steel.

It would be interesting to know how many riders are expected on this low-density corridor to justify the construction and operating costs. Without any grade separation, the congestion and safety factors will be serious considerations throughout Monterey, Seaside and Sand City, especially. The congestion around the Costco/Save Mart shopping centers will be unbelievable every time a train passes through the area and will likely snarl traffic for blocks around that already busy area.

And where, pray tell, will TAMC comes up with the hundreds of millions required to build this white elephant?

It seems as though whatever monies can be secured should be spent on shoring up the scaled-back bus system, which has much more flexibility than a fixed rail line in sparsely populated communities. Maybe the community spirited stance would be to re-direct those monies for shoring up the failing San Francisco Bay Bridge, an artery that services more people in a day than this light rail line would serve in a year.

I think TAMC should have stuck with the original goal of developing intercity rail service between Monterey and the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't hear anyone asking for a local light rail system. I do hear people wondering when we'll finally get that train to San Francisco.

That said, however, one major reason for building the project is to connect Monterey with intercity trains at Castroville. Trains between the SF Bay Area and Salinas are expected to be running about the same time as the light rail line is completed. There's more to this project than just local service.

Lingering in my mind is the question of whether people riding from Monterey to the SF bay area will want to change trains at Castroville. It adds a layer of inconvenience, particularly in adverse weather or if you're a tourist lugging baggage. Furthermore, after dark Castroville is not exactly a place where I would want to be outdoors waiting for the next train. I think more people would use a train to SF if it was a seamless trip directly to Monterey.

-Mr. Toy
www.montereypeninsula.info/delmonte/clubcar.h...

If one lived in Salinas and worked in Pacific Grove, how would one get to the work site? The bus? A cab? Walk? Unless we find a solution to the end destination problem I feel people will not ride the train. And unless said solution is easy and affordable again people will not ride the train. This train is not for tourists. Monterey is just not that cosmoplitan like San Franciso where one can take Bart or Light Rail to within a few blocks of the destination anywhere in the city.

MrToy wrote:

I think TAMC should have stuck with the original goal of developing intercity rail service between Monterey and the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't hear anyone asking for a local light rail system. I do hear people wondering when we'll finally get that train to San Francisco.
That said, however, one major reason for building the project is to connect Monterey with intercity trains at Castroville. Trains between the SF Bay Area and Salinas are expected to be running about the same time as the light rail line is completed. There's more to this project than just local service.
Lingering in my mind is the question of whether people riding from Monterey to the SF bay area will want to change trains at Castroville. It adds a layer of inconvenience, particularly in adverse weather or if you're a tourist lugging baggage. Furthermore, after dark Castroville is not exactly a place where I would want to be outdoors waiting for the next train. I think more people would use a train to SF if it was a seamless trip directly to Monterey.
-Mr. Toy
www.montereypeninsula.info/delmonte/clubcar.h...

Waiting for a train in Castroville at 10:00pm? Gang Bangers would be waiting for you!

Anyone afraid to be out on the street after dark in Castroville doesn't know much about Castroville. Yes, there are gang problems in Castroville, but the gangs direct their violence almost entirely against each other. Tourists waiting for a train there would be at least as safe as they'd be at stations in Seaside and San Francisco. There are far more unsavory characters hanging around the downtown areas of Monterey Peninsula cities after dark than you'll ever find in Castroville.

Dave Leist Yucatan MX wrote:

If one lived in Salinas and worked in Pacific Grove, how would one get to the work site? The bus? A cab? Walk? Unless we find a solution to the end destination problem I feel people will not ride the train. And unless said solution is easy and affordable again people will not ride the train. This train is not for tourists. Monterey is just not that cosmoplitan like San Franciso where one can take Bart or Light Rail to within a few blocks of the destination anywhere in the city.

You get off your butt and walk or ride a bike the rest of the way. I ride 17 miles to work. I'm betting even you could ride 3 or 4.

RLS wrote:

Anyone afraid to be out on the street after dark in Castroville doesn't know much about Castroville. Yes, there are gang problems in Castroville, but the gangs direct their violence almost entirely against each other. Tourists waiting for a train there would be at least as safe as they'd be at stations in Seaside and San Francisco. There are far more unsavory characters hanging around the downtown areas of Monterey Peninsula cities after dark than you'll ever find in Castroville.

I don't recall any shooting or killing in Monterey, Castroville has killing and guns! The drugs will see people waiting for a train and, "There is my next fix" Castroville is full of Mexican Terrorists Gang Bangers. Read the news paper!

I do better than read the paper. I actually spend time in Castroville. Walking the streets after dark in Castroville is at least as safe as walking the streets of downtown Monterey or Seaside (and if you don't recall any shootings or killings on the Monterey Peninsula, you must not have lived here long). Castroville is a very small, very friendly town, and being afraid of it because some gang trouble there has made the paper is laughable.

Do you actually believe there are more drug addicts looking for a fix in Castroville (pop. 6,724) than in Monterey (pop. 30,641)?

Even assuming Castroville is as safe as can be, that's only a small part of the question. The real issue is whether travelers between the Monterey Peninsula and the SF Bay Area - be they tourists or locals - will want to change trains at Castroville. Will they find it acceptable to avoid freeway traffic, or will it be just enough of an inconvenience to discourage ridership? Personally, it would make me think twice about taking the train (especially if I had luggage to carry) and I'm about the most avid rail traveler you're likely to meet. So I doubt the average person who is less enthusiastic would want to make the transfer.

I've never spent any time in Castroville, but I knew an older gentleman who lived there. He was mugged and beaten up, and that was the last straw for him. Last I saw him he was looking to move to Monterey.

-Mr. Toy
www.montereypeninsula.info/delmonte/clubcar.h...

MrToy wrote:

Even assuming Castroville is as safe as can be, that's only a small part of the question. The real issue is whether travelers between the Monterey Peninsula and the SF Bay Area - be they tourists or locals - will want to change trains at Castroville. Will they find it acceptable to avoid freeway traffic, or will it be just enough of an inconvenience to discourage ridership? Personally, it would make me think twice about taking the train (especially if I had luggage to carry) and I'm about the most avid rail traveler you're likely to meet. So I doubt the average person who is less enthusiastic would want to make the transfer.
I've never spent any time in Castroville, but I knew an older gentleman who lived there. He was mugged and beaten up, and that was the last straw for him. Last I saw him he was looking to move to Monterey.
-Mr. Toy
www.montereypeninsula.info/delmonte/clubcar.h...

RLS, I am not the only one who is concerned about Gang Violence in Castroville. See what I mean?

I'm concerned about violence, whatever the source, in Castroville and elsewhere around Monterey County. Everyone should be concerned about it. What people shouldn't do is jump to the ridiculous conclusion that Castroville is somehow a less safe place to visit at night than downtown Monterey or Seaside.