Not that they're bragging or anything, but the Times Union has an editorial today congratulating Florida governor Rick Scott for rejecting federal high-speed rail funds:
For the Capital Region, this is $58 million worth of good news. So, thanks once more to Florida, and to the people who elected Mr. Scott.
The paper goes on to write that while true high-speed rail might be a ways off, improvements in the immediate future will pay dividends in improved service, and jobs:
The route that New York and other states are taking, with the help of federal money is a better one. Yes, it will require the fiscal discipline, sound management not always on display in such huge public works projects. It might demand slightly higher taxes, too. But to say no to opportunity, as Florida and those other states did, would have kept New York on a slow, sluggish track to a past lacking in innovation and the dividends that it pays. Any more help coming our way, Florida? We could use it.
That job creation message was underlined by a federal official during a visit to Alstom Signaling yesterday, reports Jeffrey Blackwell at the Democrat and Chronicle. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary John Porcari said the plan is a "model" of how federal investment in rail will create jobs, while visiting the Alstom plant in the Rochester suburb of Henrietta yesterday:
The visit came on the heels of an announcement Monday by President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of a $2 billion investment in high-speed rail projects across the country. Porcari said the development of high-speed rail as well as upgrading the nation's entire rail system is important to future economic growth. "Nowhere is this more important than here in upstate New York, and it is great to be back home in Rochester today talking about the 200 additional jobs Alstom is adding just because of the high-speed rail program," Porcari said. "What President Obama and Secretary LaHood announced was the next step in investment in New York state and across the country that will build this economic future."
Porcari also appeared on Capital Tonight yesterday, and State of Politics has the video.
Infrastructurist has reaction from around the country about the reallocation of Florida's rejected rail funds. The headline: the Northeast is the big winner - and Wisconsin is cheesed off.
And almost on cue, Amtrak released ridership numbers in and out of the Albany for the month of April, and they were way up, reports Eric Anderson at the Times Union's Buzz blog:
Ridership on the Ethan Allen Express to Rutland was up 14.9 percent from year-earlier levels, while passenger totals on trains west of Albany to Buffalo and Toronto were up 13.9 percent. The Lake Shore Limited posted a 15.3 percent rise, while the Adirondack was up 12.0 percent. Empire Service trains between Albany and New York City posted a 6.9 percent gain.
And the last word on New York’s high-speed winnings goes to the Oneonta Daily Star’s editorial page, with this vivid analogy about the Empire State netting the Sunshine State’s cash:
It's like when nobody else wants that last slice of pizza ... or the floral arrangement on your table at the end of the wedding reception. You smile and take it.
Want more news from the Innovation Trail? Subscribe to the feed.
