By N.M. Rep. Tom Taylor
House Republican Leader
FARMINGTON— Back in 1971 when I was an architecture student at UNM, I had an assignment to design a mass transit system for Albuquerque. The conundrum was "there was no place to go get 'em, and then when we got em, there was no place to take 'em." The West was designed around one's ability to go where ever and whenever they wanted in their own vehicle so people are able to live a long distance from where they work and shop.
Here in the Land of Enchantment we really take that to heart. The best example is Rio Rancho— a great modern, affordable place to live a long distance away from work and where a whole lot of people have done just that. Because of these western ideals, Interstate 25 and Bernalillo are congested with all those folks going to Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Now enter the Rail Runner, a $400 million dream that first took flight in the mid 1980s. The train was envisioned to relieve congestion and transport large numbers of people from where they live to where they work. However, along with plans to add a lane to I-25, we simply make it more convenient for more people to live in Rio Rancho— where there is room for many more thousands of homes— and commute to Albuquerque or Santa Fe to work. These "solutions" will only add to the long term congestion problems in our transportation system, not solve them. I don't mean to pick on Rio Rancho— it is only one example of what is going on all over New Mexico in growing communities, including my own.
I love taking trains in Europe, where they are a basic source of transportation and have grown with the cities and towns. Such a system is a worthy goal here in New Mexico, but it will require the revamping of all of our future planning and a total reversal in the way many people live their lives in the central region of our state, a change many people will not be willing to make. It may take decades to establish a population of public transportation-minded people.
This is not a bad idea; however, we're currently doing it with no regard for the costs.
In 2003 the Legislature passed a $1.6 billion package of road funding projects called GRIP I, which also included the authorization for a possible future commuter rail line. The commuter rail line, now known as the Rail Runner, combined with the already astronomical need for transportation funds, has placed us right where a lot of us predicted— with a broken Department of Transportation piggy bank.
Originally lawmakers were told that the federal government would be kicking in $75 million to help fund the Rail Runner project. However, we found out earlier this year that DOT would no longer seek those funds because the process was too cumbersome to secure the grant. On top of that, GRIP I projects are now under-funded by $466 million.
Is it a coincidence that the Rail Runner program is going to cost $400 million plus and that GRIP I projects are now underfunded by $466 million?
In addition to those problems, DOT is not sure how it is going to cover the operating expenses for the train. Currently officials are using a roughly $8 million Federal Air Quality Grant to pay for the operating expenses of the commuter rail.
However, that grant runs out in 2009 and as of yet, no funding source has been identified. The kicker: Once the rail reaches Santa Fe, the annual operating expenses are expected to reach nearly $20 million a year, if not more, with fares from riders and funds from BNSF Railway currently covering only about $2 million.
So we're now stuck with a $400 million train, growing expenses piling up on other road projects around the state, and no end in sight to the expanding mess that our roads face today. I imagine we can afford to go on as we have been for a couple of years before we hit the proverbial financial wall that will affect virtually every budget in state government, including education and health care.
We've been asking these questions for years, but have been getting changing answers. Why not put the brakes on the train and fully fund the remaining vital GRIP I projects throughout the state, before expanding the Rail Runner to Santa Fe, if at all? We must prioritize what best serves the citizens of New Mexico, not just spend money without well laid out plans.
The Rail Bummer occurred during a time of plenty and simply cannot exist in the future as it does today. Combined with what some want for health care ($6 billion) and what education wants ($4 billion by some projections), even a tax increase won't do it. There just aren't enough of us to pull off these grandiose plans with big budgets as the core of their existence.
Taylor represents a Four-Corners area district.
opinion 
E-mail Story
Print Friendly
