When I was in kindergarten, there was a proposed (Washington) metro station down the street. Metro put up a sign, "Coming soon...". Twenty years later the sign fell down. The station was eventually built. The first time I used it, I took my daughter, who was just about to start kindergarten. Now, I live in northern CA, just a mile from where the proposed bullet train will run. When people talk about the impact, I tell them, that's our children's problem, and reference the above story.