Jarred Simmons: Praise for Pedrozo, but there’s a better way for HSR

Merced City Councilman Josh Pedroza leadership to revisit the proposal for a High Speed Rail Heavy maintenance facility at Castle is refreshing. But one has to wonder if that’s a real possibility since politically he also endorses the proposed Merced HSR Station at 15th Street and Canal to be located on the west side of the Union Pacific tracks.

Imagine the reality of cost, overruns, and predictable delays from HSR to traverse east toward Castle, across Highway 99, both the Union Pacific and Santa Fe tracks. It may well turn out to be another HSR engineering fete to watch in addition to the blue route Wye with its two-grade crossings near Chowchilla.

Wouldn’t it make sense to move the HSR Merced station to Highway 140 at Kiby Road, within the city limits, and align it with the Mission interchange, Castle, and east-side Fresno south route? This would make Castle more tempting and enhance UC Merced, the Mission/UC Merced expressway, tourism, re-promote the city as a year-round route to Yosemite, and mitigate displacing businesses in the downtown. Why let a $250,000 downtown design grant for the HSR Merced Station handicap Castle for the potentially greater good for the county, Atwater and Merced as a whole?

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Jarred Simmons: Praise for Pedrozo, but there’s a better way for HSR."