I totally agree with you. The problem is, how do you undo a half century of city planning, especially when McMansions and subdivisions continue to sprawl to this day?
Realistically, you can’t - not quickly at least, and furthermore you’ve got a whole population of people that is used to this lifestyle.
So I’m just evaluating (in my opinion) the prospects of high speed rail based on what we have right now. I think if it was a slam-dunk no brainer economic activity and tax revenue generator, it would have been done already.
I respect your opinion, I think that it's something that takes investment before economic activity is seen. Like many startups spending venture capital to build a network that doesn't turn a profit until it's scaled to a certain size, rail builds economies around it where it is. A lot of boom towns in the early 20th century were a result of a railway moving through the town. Hotels, restaurants, shops, etc were built by rail towns. It provides a physical conduit of currency and importantly freight moving around the country (but until I have sources up, this is my opinion).
Realistically, you can’t - not quickly at least, and furthermore you’ve got a whole population of people that is used to this lifestyle.
So I’m just evaluating (in my opinion) the prospects of high speed rail based on what we have right now. I think if it was a slam-dunk no brainer economic activity and tax revenue generator, it would have been done already.