Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council

HIGH SPEED RAIL UPDATE -

HELPFUL TIPS FOR COMMENTS DUE TO HIGH SPEED TRAIN AUTHORITY BY 5 PM MONDAY
Please take a few minutes today to submit comments on the 2016 high speed train Business Plan. Comments are due by 5 pm Monday, April 25. The public was given just a few days to read extensive documents and to submit comments. Following are "messages" drafted by informed SAFE leaders that you may use as is or adapt to fit your thinking and style. Use any of the messages you desire. This will only take you a few minutes. For the first time, you may even submit comments by voice message. Please make sure to submit your comments by 5 pm Monday, April 25.
There are three methods to submit comments:
1. Online comment form through the Draft 2016 Business Plan website at:
http://hsr.ca.gov/…/…/Draft_2016_Business_Plan_Comments.html
2. By email at: [email protected]
3. Voice mail comment at: (916) 384-9516
Thank you for helping us fight the high speed train project. We are making significant progress but our job is not done. We must get the above ground routes/segments eliminated immediately from further consideration. Every comment and contribution you make helps!
Please stay tuned for big news related to a local protest rally being planned related to the above ground routes/elements of the high speed train project which would destroy both the Big Tujunga Wash and our community's character. For now, please save Saturday, May 21, for that event. Details are being worked on now. Save the date and plan to join us with your friends and family! Stay informed by visiting our website: www.dontrailroad.us



HIGH SPEED RAIL UPDATE - "PERMIT TO ENTER" CALLS AND LETTERS

We've been advised that people in the Sylmar, Shadow Hills, Sun Valley and Sunland-Tujunga area are receiving phone calls from California High Speed Rail Authority indicating "permit-to-enter" (PTE) letters are being mailed to them. This is similar to what took place about a year ago in December 2014. For information about PTE letters, please click here:
 https://www.dontrailroad.us/faq/.

According to an Authority spokesperson, about 100 letters are being sent to people in this area, as was done a few weeks ago in the Acton area, seeking permission to conduct "noise" studies at their property to assist in evaluating noise impacts posed by high speed trains which would run as often as every 10-12 minutes when fully operational. No permission for excavation or drilling is sought for in these letters/studies.

As we informed you last year, if you receive such a letter, the decision is up to you. You can let CHSRA enter your property to test, you can deny them access, or you can do nothing. Access to your property can only occur with your permission. 

We've also been advised that, similar to last year, the nature of these calls and letters was supposed to have been communicated to community leaders in the area, but CHSRA failed to do that. Their apologies at this point mean little. They are a very inept, dysfunctional and desperate organization that is running out of time, money and public and elected official support.

This incident serves as a stark reminder, that the high speed train threat remains very real. There have recently been rumors on local social media that the threat is over or that high speed trains will be built in northern California and not southern California. These rumors are 100% false. As we've said before, if you do not hear the information directly from the S.A.F.E. Coalition, do not believe or trust it. We are working day and night to both obtain and validate any developments related to the high speed train project, and you need to stay in touch with your leaders or our website to be properly informed.

Additional funding and volunteer support is needed to fight the high speed train project. Please do what you can today to help our communities defeat this terrible project! Visit our website (https://www.dontrailroad.us/donate/) and help us in any way possible. Thank you.