Lowell-Nashua Rail Transit and NH RTA
Apr. 22nd, 2009 02:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ionelvWhen we lived in Southern NH, there was an ongoing discussion, bubbling up into the public spotlight from time to time, about extending the Lowell-Boston commuter rail into Nashua. That extension has been in the public eye since Reagan canceled the Nashua rail pilot in 1981. There are commissions, committees, politicians and a lot of wind and no rain. The latest news of which I only learned recently is that a new NH Rail Transit Authority got established in spring 2007 by law. The authority has even managed to adopt its own by-laws earlier this year (I think?) and hired a law firm to split hairs for a few years, pulp some trees in the process and generate more hot air.
First, this authority has no funding, but it can beg for it and it can even print bonds which I am sure plenty of scripophiles will buy. Maybe if they get Goldmand Sachs or Credit Suisse to wrap the bonds a few times into some sort of CDS-like securities and get AIG to insure them for peanuts, the Feds will chip in and buy them at parity without strings attached? Hmmm...
The lack of funding should be enough to qualify it as DOA, but maybe, there will be rain from the Feds since Obama and the Demos are doling out money with a fire hose (see Feb minutes).
Second, its membership is just another cop out to the unbalanced representation in the NH legislature. For example, the mayor of Nashua has one out of 25 representatives on its board having as much power as the representative from Berlin. So, the 85,000+ people of Nashua have as much direct representation as 8,000 people from Coos County^. And since NH can't even get funding for adding 11 miles of rail service, the Berlin rep basically cancels out the Nashua rep. That's democracy at its finest for you.
I was wondering whether it would make sense if Nashua City Hall or Nashua Transit in conjunction with LRTA could run express buses to the Lowell train station? Nah, the Feds will get it going until the GOP comes back to power and pulls the plug again.
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Note: ^ - Nashua citizenry does get some indirect representation through the planning commission reps and other appointees.
First, this authority has no funding, but it can beg for it and it can even print bonds which I am sure plenty of scripophiles will buy. Maybe if they get Goldmand Sachs or Credit Suisse to wrap the bonds a few times into some sort of CDS-like securities and get AIG to insure them for peanuts, the Feds will chip in and buy them at parity without strings attached? Hmmm...
The lack of funding should be enough to qualify it as DOA, but maybe, there will be rain from the Feds since Obama and the Demos are doling out money with a fire hose (see Feb minutes).
Second, its membership is just another cop out to the unbalanced representation in the NH legislature. For example, the mayor of Nashua has one out of 25 representatives on its board having as much power as the representative from Berlin. So, the 85,000+ people of Nashua have as much direct representation as 8,000 people from Coos County^. And since NH can't even get funding for adding 11 miles of rail service, the Berlin rep basically cancels out the Nashua rep. That's democracy at its finest for you.
I was wondering whether it would make sense if Nashua City Hall or Nashua Transit in conjunction with LRTA could run express buses to the Lowell train station? Nah, the Feds will get it going until the GOP comes back to power and pulls the plug again.
---
Note: ^ - Nashua citizenry does get some indirect representation through the planning commission reps and other appointees.
