CHOO! CHOO!
’TIS THE SEASON
Ashland Train Day set for Nov. 4
Ashland/ Hanover Holiday Parade applications are due
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Vol. 3 No. 14 | Richmond Suburban News | October 18, 2017
Rail hearing has emotions running high
Supervisors endorse 3-2-3 rail alternative By Jim Ridolphi for The H anover Local
By Jim Ridolphi for The H anover Local
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SHLAND -- Ashland area residents packed the auditorium at Patrick Henry High School last Wednesday to take full advantage of a public hearing regarding a proposed high speed rail project from Washington, D.C., to Richmond. The Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) has scheduled a series of public hearings to gather public input on its issuance of a draft Environmental Impact Study outlining the project. Following the review and public hearings, the analysis will move forward to the Federal Railway Administration for final review and approval. Officials estimate the project’s construction could be decades down the road. The DRPT issued the draft EIS minus a recommendation for the Ashland portion of the project as the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CBT) considers options for that stretch of track. They must choose between a western bypass alternative that requires the condemnation of more than 20 homes, a third rail trench that allows trains to travel through Ashland in a partially covered arrangement, or a third rail both above and below Ashland on the route but maintaining two rails through the town. Hours before the hearing began, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors drafted and passed a resolution stating
Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local
Wayne Hazzard, South Anna District representative on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, addressed a packed house at Patrick Henry High School last Wednesday and expressed support for the 3-2-3 alternative for a proposed RVA2DC high speed rail project.
the county’s position favoring the 3-2-3 approach, citing its lessened impacts on the community. While the other two options will impact businesses and landowners almost immediately, the 3-2-3 alternative leaves time for further consideration and builds portions of the project based on need. Many are hoping that need never comes. South Anna District Supervisor Wayne Hazzard noted that technological advances like the installation of positive train control could increase efficiency along the corridor, making it impossible to judge when and if improvements would be needed in the Ashland sector. Most speakers said none of the options were acceptable, but acknowledged just the discussion of the issue has divided the community pitting neighbor against neighbor. Ashland mayor Jim Foley relayed his consistent message of opposition to a third rail through Ashland, and said a last-
minute third rail trench through town would cause “generational” destruction to its business community. He expressed support for the western bypass option, a position that many speakers took issue, especially those in the path of the proposed western bypass alternative. Speakers who live in the proposed eight-mile stretch of the western bypass expressed betrayal at the town’s willingness to endorse a route that disrupts their lives and leaves the town untouched. Many also expressed displeasure with the town’s effort to rally support for the western bypass with a website called Save Downtown Ashland, http://www.savedowntownashland.org/. “Tonight I want to address the Ashland community,” said Ellen Papoulakos. “What you are trying to do to your neighbor is immoral. Instead of taking the heat and finding solutions … you turn to your neighbors who never wanted to live near the tracks, who never wanted to take the see DRPT, pg. 5 }
HANOVER -- The Hanover County Board of Supervisors’ cards are on the table regarding its position on a high-speed rail project from Washington, D.C., to Richmond. At its regular meeting last Wednesday, the board passed a resolution endorsing a plan that, for now, leaves two tracks in place through the Town of Ashland, and allows three tracks both north and south of the municipality. A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) recently included the 3-2-3 option in its list of “least objectionable” alternatives regarding routing of the proposed and yet unfunded project. The CAC also listed a western bypass and three-track trench option in its recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board that will make the final decision on alternative routes through the Ashland sector of the project. County Attorney Sterling Rives presented the resolution. The document notes the following factors:
• Acknowledges the severe impact that a western bypass would have on the 81 properties and 21 homes it would affect. • Notes the severe impact that building an at grade third track would have on the Town of Ashland and its businesses. • Tunnel options discussed appear too expensive to be viable. • The impact of a three-track trench and its effects on local businesses and residences due to long construction times (three years.) • The Federal Railroad Administration adopted a plan in 2002 that endorsed an incremental approach to rail enhancements, making improvements along the corridor as needed. “One of the challenges is, given changing technology and transportation methods, it’s very difficult to predict when and if specific improvements in any sector of this corridor will be needed and even more difficult to predict when they may ever be funded,” Rives said. “Of all the alternatives that were presented and dissee BOARD, pg. 12 }