Fact is, if you want to build a megaproject (highway, HSR, whatever), you have to step on someone's toes. In the past, America did this by stepping on the toes of people with no political power, resulting in the excesses of 1960s destroying of historic areas in favor of unfortunate highway interchanges.
Now, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction -- no project can be built because no one is willing to step on anyone's toes.
Now, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction -- no project can be built because no one is willing to step on anyone's toes.