by Jane Aitken
Was this an innocent error or another attempt to fool the public? So far, it has gone uncorrected.
Many of us cannot believe that almost a month has passed since Dan Innis wrote his June 16 Union Leader opinion piece insisting on “strong support” for commuter rail expansion, based on the false assumption that “75% of all NH” wants it.
Worse yet, no one has pointed out the error of his outrageous assertion of a projected “weekday ridership of nearly 670,000”!
The correct numbers are 668,000 riders per year, not 670,000 per weekday. Innis conveniently exaggerated by a factor of 365 to one!
Some say, what’s the harm in using federal tax dollars for a study? Innis claims it would help the legislature “to make a determination if it makes sense to move forward”. However, previous studies have already determined that commuter rail expansion from Mass to Concord would serve few NH residents, while the burden of the expense would be borne by the other 99%.
Several hundred people have already sent petitions to the Governor to ask him to veto SB 241 to stop what would be the first steps in embarking on what most agree would be the most massive “boondoggle” (the Governor’s own word) in the history of New Hampshire. The Governor does know that it would be a losing proposition and would likely cause the need for an income tax, sales tax, or BOTH!
Call the Governor 271-2121 and tell him NO to commuter rail expansion.