I’ve been badmouthing proposed commuter rail projects for New Hampshire for fifteen years. There’s no benefit. It will never make money, meaning it will cost all of us (equity) to have something few will use. But they keep trying.
Related: Did Dems Rain on Their Own Commuter Rail Parade
Commuter rail is on the progs bucket list, and cost is never an issue for Democrats. There is no amount of your money that they are not willing to spend. Thankfully, three of our five executive councilors were not railroaded by the “free federal money” BS and ended the latest effort at leaping into this bottomless pit.
The Republican-controlled council voted 3-2 on Wednesday not to approve an amendment to the nearly $5.5 million contract with an engineering firm, which is conducting a federally funded analysis of the project feasibility.
Council members who opposed the extension argued the project isn’t financially viable, and argued it would result in higher taxes for the state’s inflation-wary residents.
“I think it is time to stop the bleeding in this project,” Councilor David Wheeler, a Milford Republican, said ahead of the vote. “I don’t think this is going anywhere.”
NH DOT was seeking an extension so the consultants could get buy-in or details from cities like Manchester and Nashua, which is ridiculous. Both are run by choo-choo Dems. Donchess, in Nashua, frequently trips over himself in his rush to waste money on boondoggles. Manchester’s Joyce Craig is not much different, though I’m not as familiar with her thoughts on commuter rail. It could help her with her growing homeless problem. She could put them on a train and send them to Massachusetts, where the welfare is better. It’d be a kindness, really.
Or how about a commuter flight to Martha’s Vineyard? They are incredibly efficient at relocating people with no home.
It’s not like she’s managed a better idea, though it’s no reason to embrace the rail fail. Commuter rail in New Hampshire would never be more than a budget line item eating resources put to better use – like leaving them in the hands of the people who earned that money in the first place.
Crazy idea, right?