As the promise of commuter rail closes in on the anticipated start-up date of April 2 — if all goes well — Santa Barbara has hosted several meetings to finalize "last mile" destination and subsidy arrangements. Up in her Sacramento state senator's office, Hannah-Beth Jackson is enjoying some long-awaited rays of cheer.
"It did seem hopeless at times," Jackson said of the years-long effort to bring a train to serve Santa Barbara commuters. For more than 20 years, she'd stared at railroad tracks sitting unused — "with one of the best views in California!" — while she fumed on the 101, stuck in traffic along with everyone else. The turning point was a state budget committee meeting.
"I sit on the subcommittee that reviews transportation funding," Jackson said. It became clear that Governor Jerry Brown's funding priority was high-speed rail while inter-city and commuter rail were being given "short shrift," the senator said. "Until more equality was given on funding distribution," she said, "I was not prepared to support additional high speed rail funding." Then, after multiple meetings, "I extracted a promise from the administration to make this happen."