It’s 6:57 in the morning as I sit comfortably ensconced in my seat aboard the Capitol Corridor train headed for Sacramento. With a steaming cup of java in my right hand and a good book in my left hand, I am a content man.

Since we left Auburn about a half an hour ago, I have been lucky enough, as our locomotive glided through the verdant and oak-studded foothills and valleys of Newcastle, Loomis, and Penryn, to spot three lamas and one jackrabbit. The lamas, as they lazily chewed their breakfast, seemed to share my contentment about living in God’s Country while the jackrabbit looked nervous and hopped into the tall grass. Perhaps he was late for some Easter-related activities.

As I look up from my book, I glance out the window and see that we are not more than 200 yards from I-80 – the one spot on our journey when the Union Pacific railroad tracks and highway are parallel - and are about to, in only a few minutes, enter the Roseville station. Suddenly, I see hundreds of red brake lights from the cars and trucks flash against the morning sky. I imagine many of these drivers are now furiously punching the radio station buttons in search for news about the suspected accident ahead and seeking guidance about possible escape routes. I wish them success. It looks like it’s going to be a stressful commute.

The writer Flannery O’Conner once said, “the truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” The truth is that over the next twenty years, Placer County is expected to experience a 70% increase in population and a 90% increase in jobs. That’s a lot of people trying to get from here to there and back again. Are we preparing now to meet these transportation and housing challenges? Will we be able accommodate such rapid population and employment growth and still maintain the rural character of our county? Are we destined to waste hours upon hours on congested roads and highways?

With enough vision and will we don’t have to become a San Jose North. We can create a better future here. A few days ago, I read with interest the report “Planning for Prosperity,” published by the Sierra Business Council in 1997, which outlines a number of recommendations to help us maintain the rural character of our county, with working farms and ranches, by creating more compact, town-based development as an alternative to mindless sprawl. One of the recommendations is that “growing rural counties need to join forces with their more urbanized neighbors to plan and seek funding for transportation options that will allow more commuters and destination tourists to move to and from the Sierra without automobiles.” While expanding rail transportation options is not the whole answer, it is certainly should be part of the solution. And the creation of rail station stops can certainly help us steer development into existing towns.

There is strong support in our community for expanded rail options. A recent survey found that 63% of Placer County voters said that we need to invest in expanding or adding commuter and/or tourist rail service. Last year, on the Capitol Corridor run from Auburn to San Jose, ridership at the three Placer County stations (Auburn, Rocklin, Roseville) has grown 440%, 814%, and 98% respectively. That is a total of 90,000 “CC Riders” who made the trip between Auburn and Sacramento in 2001.

In my review of the 2022 Regional Transportation Plan, written by the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency, it is clear to me that we do not yet have a comprehensive vision for how to maximize rail options as an alternative mode of transportation. It’s good, for a start, that the agency’s “Rail Action Plan” seeks funding for additional Capitol Corridor trains and to “encourage expansion of the Capitol Corridor service to Colfax, Soda Springs, Truckee, and Reno/Sparks.” But is that all that we can expect in the next twenty years? A few more trains? There is nothing in the “Rail Action Plan” that outlines the need to obtain increasingly expensive right-of-ways for future rail construction when we need it here in Placer County. Should we, as Placer County residents, forever assume that all roads lead to Sacramento?

Helen Keller was once asked, “is there anything worse than not having your sight?” She said, “oh yes, it would be much worse to have your sight but not to have vision.” We can see the challenging transportation, land use, and housing problems that lie ahead. Will we have the vision and will to address these problems before it’s too late?

Copyright 2002 The Auburn Sentinel