I see CAHSR as having a flawed conception (yes, thanks to QK and friends) but a good concept. There are in fact lots of problems to plan and engineer around, which is nothing new in CA, but I think in recent years the Authority has tried to deal with them intelligently. They're just hamstrung by the original setup. Of course, I suspect that the original cynical idea was to get some money for transit (BART extension to San Jose), and prevent anything from being done with the rest by setting up conflicting requirements that can't all be met.

As far as the NNNs, which I sometimes come across as but don't intend to be, they are NIMBY writ large, plus a large admixture of the "govt. can't do anything right" view that's common in the U.S. Asking if they have a better idea doesn't work because their only real response is "let the private sector do it - if they won't it's not worth doing." But the private sector has significant limitations when it comes to doing something that won't turn a real profit for 20-30 years at best (counting full cost, not just operating). Among other things, that doesn't turn on stock market investors. Then, of course, they try to kill even private sector projects with some success (Desert Xpress) and still going on (the Florida service FEC is trying to set up).

So CAHSR is really just a really big, easy target; the NNNs are against almost everything, similar to the CAVEmen of planning fame (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). Have you tried building a road (or even a small piece of one) lately?