52% of Californians Don't Want High Speed Rail

The project months from breaking ground, a majority of Californian voters think the state-wide high speed rail is a bad idea according to a new USC Dornsife/LA Times poll.

Voters in 2008 approved Proposition 1A that issued $9.95 billion in bonds to partially fund the 800-mile rail line supervised by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The proposition passed with 52.7% approval.

According to the USC Dornsife/LA Times poll conducted in September, 70% of responders say they want a re-vote while 51% say the project is a waste of money. In Los Angeles County, 49% oppose the project and 71% want a re-vote while 49% think the project is a waste of money.

Unsurprisingly voters in the Central Valley and in the North Counties strongly oppose the project, however the margin of approval among the liberal hotbeds of San Francisco and Los Angeles counties has shrunk.

One of the reasons support has waned over the years has been the cost overruns. Originally projected to cost $40 billion, the California High-Speed Rail Authority revised the projections to $98.5 billion to as much as $118 billion in 2011.

The raw results can be found here.