A map of the proposed High-Speed Rail line, which will eventually connect San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego (courtesy California High-Speed Rail Authority).
People with lower paying jobs in the Bay Area are left with very few options. They either need to find a bunch of roommates to help cover the cost of the sky-high rents in the area, or endure a grueling commute from places with more affordable housing — places like the Central Valley. However, with California’s new High Speed Rail line proposal, the idea of living in a place like Fresno or Merced, and working in San Mateo or San Francisco would become very practical. Consider this: the median home price in San Jose, for example, is around $900,000, while a place in Los Banos, just 25 miles southwest of Merced, boasts single family homes for around $250,000. Does this mean that the Central Valley could become a massive bedroom community for Silicon Valley?
While this High Speed Rail might not do much to affect housing prices in places like San Mateo or Hillsborough (desireable locations typically stay very desirable), the rail could have some very detrimental effects for commuting residents of the Peninsula. For the fifty-one mile segment of the line between San Jose and San Francisco, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has proposed “blended service,” meaning the tracks would be shared with Caltrains. During peak hours, some twenty trains per hour would be rolling up and down the Peninsula, causing what local opponents are calling “the greatest traffic disaster the Peninsula has ever experienced or will ever experience.”
What could the High-Speed Rail mean for Californians, both in the Central Valley and in Silicon Valley? Check out this very interesting radio segment done by Valley Public Radio on the High-Speed Rail.
San Mateo Parks Living 