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ROSAMOND - Decisions made by taxpayers after World War II put in place transportation infrastructure that paved the way for coming generations.
Kern Council of Governments officials say the time has come for those who benefitted from those decisions to return the courtesy.

"People coming up from World War II put up their votes, or their would be no (Interstate) 5," said Bob Snoddy, regional planner for KernCOG.

A hands-on workshop at Hummel Hall in Rosamond on Tuesday was designed to get input into the future of transportation through Kern County and beyond.

"We want to think ahead of where we are today," said Snoddy.

KernCOG officials hope people will begin to realize the choices made now in terms of spending will impact transportation plans in the area for decades to come.

"I know it's a hard concept to get excited about but someone has to make the 2030 year decisions," Snoddy said.

Among the plans on display for the half dozen that trickled in Tuesday was an aerial view of Kern County. Residents were asked to use a push pin to locate their own residence on the map, allowing them to see where they were in relation to existing and proposed infrastructure.

Maps outlining planned or proposed transportation corridors improvements and high-speed rail corridors were also on display.

In December the environmental impact report is scheduled to be released for the proposed high-speed rail system which would route along Interstate 5 or run through the Tehachapi Pass.

The county board of supervisors and Bakersfield city officials are recommending the route with a station at Truxtun Avenue, east of the existing Amtrak station in Bakersfield.

The high-speed rail system would have no connection to the existing Metrolink system, which now stops in Lancaster; the new system would pass either over or under existing tracks, Snoddy said.

Eventually the high-speed rail would link riders from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento.

"There will be people living in Bakersfield and working in San Francisco, that'll be normal," Snoddy said.

A consultant on the high-speed rail proposal said Merced could expect the biggest economic benefit from the proposed routes but that the overall benefits of a regional transportation system would be far-reaching.

Of the $156 million spent on transportation annually in Kern County, about $68 million goes to highway construction, $62 million toward operations and maintenance, $9 million for public transit, $2 million to bike and pedestrian traffic and another $15 million for miscellaneous maintenance.

One of the main goals of workshops like Tuesday's is to get people's opinions, Snoddy said.

"The idea is to bring people into focus and see what's important to them," he said. "It's not us telling you; it's you telling us," he said.

High-speed rail, a viable alternative for the next decade is making waves up and down the coast.

Bay Area employers have already committed to paying rail commuters salary for travel time, Snoddy said of the Internet-ready high-speed rail system that could, for instance, take commuters from Bakersfield to Sacramento in about 2 hours, competing even with airlines when all factors are considered.

"If you give them something sexy and exciting maybe they'd ride it," said Marilyn Beardslee, senior planner for KernCOG.

Not only does the high-speed rail option get commuters off the road and increase plausible commuting distances, it stands to be a drastic improvement to air quality because they are made to run either on electricity or clean diesel fuel.

The bottom line is two options Beardslee said "build or no-build."

With the no-build option "you are saying you are willing to spend time in traffic 40%-50% more than you are now," Snoddy said.

Both the high-speed rail and improvements to existing infrastructure are obviously more costly than doing nothing, but do more to improve the future of transportation.

Building more airports is another legitimate alternative, Snoddy said, but by far the most expensive.

At Tuesday's workshop those who attended were also allotted $5 million in paper money and asked to deposit it into labeled containers to indicate what they consider priorities.

Categories included operations and maintenance, Amtrak and high-speed rail, air quality, bike and pedestrian paths, public transportation or "other" transportation needs such as cameras, or red light enforcers, at intersections.

Those who showed up Tuesday were interested in having the Metrolink extend from Lancaster to Rosamond.

For information or to give input, call KernCOG at (661) 861-2191.

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