How Central Valley Communities are Preparing for High-Speed Rail

Approved by California voters in 2008, the California High- Speed Rail (CAHSR) project is a planned 800-mile rail corridor across California aimed at delivering intercity passenger rail service to the state’s largest metropolitan areas. This was the first voter-approved high-speed rail project in the United States and remains one of its most contentious. The first phase of the project’s construction is currently underway in California’s Central Valley, including many communities which initially opposed CAHSR.  

While CAHSR supporters champion increased connectivity and the provision of environmentally sustainable transportation alternatives, critics contend that the project’s benefits will not outweigh its environmental costs and economic disruptions. Additionally, further research is needed to understand how local jurisdictions along the CAHSR corridor are preparing for inter- and multi- modal connectivity (specifically transit, active transportation, and vehicular connectivity) with CAHSR stations. This is particularly important given the automobile- centric nature of many Central Valley cities along the CAHSR corridor; therefore, having a comprehensive understanding of how local jurisdictions are (or are not) planning for inter- and multi-modal connectivity can help to shed light on what more needs to be done to fully integrate CAHSR with local transportation networks. A better understanding of how local jurisdictions are preparing for inter- and multi-modal connectivity will also potentially benefit CAHSR station design and development.

This research integrates a content analysis of planning and policy documents paired with qualitative interviews of key government administrators. The goal is to understand how Central Valley cities are planning for CAHSR.