Many in Sacramento and California's Central Valley are concerned that they aren't being prioritized in the process to get high-speed rail moving.
"Right now, the California High Speed Rail Authority plans to connect Sacramento sometime after the more lucrative Anaheim-to-San Francisco line is up and running. The authority says it can start construction in 2012, start testing the system in 2015 and open the system to the public in 2020. Along that first leg, towns like Fresno, Bakersfield and Gilroy will get high-speed rail service long before Sacramento does. A Merced-to-Sacramento route and another connection between the Central Valley and the coast would follow possibly a decade or more later, depending on funding.
That has chafed a few Sacramento leaders. Back in March, Mayor Kevin Johnson told The Sacramento Bee that he was 'disappointed' at Sacramento's second-tier status.
'I'm very interested in how we can expedite Sacramento being a part of the high-speed train,' Johnson said Tuesday. 'We want to be a part of that first leg.'"
FULL STORY: Train in vain

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service