Few local issues illicit reactions as strong as California’s planned High Speed Rail project. While I will not discuss the logic or practicality of the project, I will focus on one very important issue for Morgan Hill: the route the train will take through our town.
The plans for the Bullet Train seem to be constantly changing. However, one proposed path through Morgan Hill would be particularly devastating to our town. This proposal would have the train be elevated 50 to 80 feet in the air (as high as an 8-story building) and run along the west side of Highway 101 at 225 mph. While the train is not supposed to run that often after 10pm, during operating hours there could be more than 10 trains per hour at almost 100 decibels (about as loud as helicopter at 100 feet), almost 4 times as loud as highway 101 is now. This is a sound level that can potentially damage a person’s hearing in as little as 8 hours.
This route through Morgan Hill will potentially cause the destruction of more than 50 homes and destroy the quiet enjoyment for hundreds more. And while the government will have to pay fair market value for the home acquired by eminent domain, the home owners who remain will likely see their property values plummet due to the sound impact. Those residents may have a more difficult time recovering that lost value from the government. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a route through Morgan Hill that will not negatively impact our community or create a dangerous situation for our residents.
In addition, this path through Morgan Hill will threaten and potentially close many local businesses. Home Depot, Honda of Morgan Hill, Hobby Lobby, In-N-Out Burger and The Residence Inn are just a few of the businesses that will be impacted or forced to close if the bullet train is allowed to take this path. If these businesses are closed, not only would this result in many lost jobs, but it would be a major loss to our city’s tax base which would decimate our budget; not to mention our community’s inability to patronize these businesses.
I will stand up for our residents and do everything imaginable to prevent this train from destroying our homes, ruining our neighborhoods, taking our jobs and decimating our local budget.
If you want me to stand up for our community and stop the High-Speed Rail project from ruining our town, please consider voting for me this November 6th. Also, you can join my campaign by contacting me here.