Sunday, March 22, 2015

Stupid Ideas

I love the trains, and I'm usually on board for relatively "stupid" projects, based on the idea that if we build stupid roads we can build some stupid trains too, but the Path extension project truly is stupid.

When he killed the ARC tunnel to New York nearly five years ago, Christie said -- with all apparent sincerity -- that he wanted to find another way to increase trans-Hudson capacity. He even endorsed Amtrak's plan, the Gateway tunnel project, saying he was "thrilled" with it.

But the governor has never actively pushed for this tunnel. In the Port Authority's 10-year capital plan, the commissioners allotted zero money for it. They did, however, include a redundant $1.5 billion extension of the Path train to Newark Liberty International Airport, a ridiculous scheme that Christie cooked up with United Airlines.

The governor has long had his own agenda at the Port Authority, and apparently, the Gateway project just wasn't on it.

Only Chris Christie could concoct a rail project I'd oppose. Actually, that's not true. His twin across the river, Andrew Cuomo, also has a stupid project I'd oppose.