Let us be honest. Road trips are an integral part of the college experience. Some of the craziest memories and greatest friendships are developed while we sleep in cheap motel beds or crash on a stranger’s floor.
For ASU students, one of the most popular destinations is Southern California. With beaches, excellent weather and plenty of places to blow what should be a rent check, Southern California is always a good place to spend the weekend.
But the travel time irks many students. If the commute is six hours each way, people waste a lot of time in the car. Much of that time could be spent making memories that we can use to blackmail each other in the future. This notion, once a dream, could become reality.
Phoenix is making its case to be included in the nation’s high-speed train route. An Oct. 8 Arizona Republic article revealed that the Valley of the Sun is not currently on the map as a stop.
However, the executive director of Maricopa Association of Governments, Dennis Smith, is leading the charge to correct this. On Oct. 7, he met with regional planners from the cities of Denver, Salt Lake City and Reno Nev. who also missed the train.
This coalition of cities will face obstacle after obstacle — there is little funding for these projects.
However, Smith receives firepower from several studies. According to The Arizona Republic, one study, conducted by an independent group, America 2050, rated 27,000 city commute pairs. The commute from Phoenix to Los Angeles was ranked 15.
This past July, 40 states, Arizona included, applied for high-speed rail funds; the combined costs top $100 billion. The idea of trains running at speeds more than 100 miles per hour might seem futuristic, but the need is there. The demand and desire for advanced transportation is real.
Our planet is in need of a progressive agenda — a high-speed rail system, similar to those found in Europe and Asia, could help save it.
It would reduce carbon emission from automobiles and airplanes.
President Barack Obama pointed out it will also curb our dependence on foreign oil. We will no longer be at the whims of overseas oil executives. We will rely less on fuel and more on the innovation of the human mind.
These policy concerns may be trivial for ASU students, but the idea of a weekend in Southern California is not. Students are not the only one’s who would see benefits — many business executives take day trips, and family vacations would be much easier, as well. Traveling would be less of a headache and more enjoyable.
Politically and practically, it is a win-win situation. It will be an investment, but a smart one. One of the fastest growing cities in the country deserves a seat on the train.
Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.
