What to Expect When You’re Expecting Passenger Rail: 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 that initially opposed CAHSR. While supporters champion increased connectivity and the provision of environmentally sustainable transportation alternatives, critics contend the project’s benefits will not outweigh its environmental costs and economic disruptions. This study examines how California’s Central Valley cities and communities are preparing for and adapting to CAHSR construction and implementation through a content analysis of publicly available planning and policy documents with qualitative interviews with 17 local government administrators and other key officials. The findings reveal how Central Valley cities are planning for high-speed rail while also navigating conflicting economic, environmental, and community priorities to generate public support for the project. Implications for future implementation of passenger rail in car-centric locations with significant political and social opposition are discussed to offer further useful insights to support American mobility.
Josephine K. Hazelton-Bpyle, PhD
Dr. Josephine Hazelton-Boyle is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and a Faculty Fellow with the Fresno State Transportation Institute. Her research broadly focuses on how transportation organizations are advancing non-vehicular transportation options. She is also interested in how transportation organizations navigate issues related to politicization and fairness. Her research largely draws from the lived experiences of transportation administrators to explore these topics. Dr. Hazelton-Boyle currently serves as the Chair for the American Society for Public Administration’s Section on Transportation Policy and Administration. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Naomi Bick, PhD
Dr. Naomi Bick is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Fresno and is the University’s Master of Public Administration program coordinator. Her research focuses on public policy, with an emphasis on climate change, urban politics, and transportation. She is also interested in the intersection between environmental policy and transportation policy, particularly at the local, regional, and state levels. Her research utilizes qualitative and quantitative approaches. She has previously served as a Fresno State Transportation Institute Faculty Fellow. She received her Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in 2021
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