PHOTO: WTSP.com
The Tampa-to-Orlando line would run on dedicated tracks with fewer constraints and road crossings, allowing for faster and more-frequent service. The ridership projections are based on traffic congestion on I-4 and Central Florida as a unique tourist destination with 50 million tourists per year. It is interesting to note another conclusion of the Reason Foundation report that, if the Tampa-to-Orlando project were to move forward, the state should ensure that the builder and operator would be financially responsible for all cost overruns and revenue shortages. The business consortiums vying for the project were prepared to do just that, ensuring that Florida taxpayers would not be liable for any future costs for building and operating the system. Scott canceled the project before fielding business proposals and dealt a major setback to what would have been the nation’s first true high-speed rail line. Today’s headlines illustrate the importance of reducing our dependence on unstable foreign oil supplies, with oil prices at about $100 per barrel and forecasts of $5 per gallon for gasoline in the near future. Under that scenario, the Tampato-Orlando high-speed rail line would be a great alternative to driving on I-4 and would provide a model for America of energy-efficient transportation for the 21st century. Florida Sierra Club Gov. Scott’s rejection of federal high speed rail funding is a tragic loss for our state’s economy, especially our tourism industry, and our environment, but a win for Big Oil. Sierra Club Florida regrets that Governor Scott has said “no” to bringing 21st century transportation alternatives to our state. This decision maintains Florida’s addiction to oil and sends jobs to other states that will gladly accept our share of high-speed rail funds. Floridians lack transportation choices leaving us to drive our cars and burn oil and pollute our air. Currently we have congested highways, dirty air and a need to
protect our coasts from oil drilling. Sierra Club Florida believes that now is the time to invest in and build the foundation for a transportation system that helps move us beyond oil. High Speed Rail would have created jobs and provided Florida with an oil free transportation option. Governor Scott’s “NO” today means no jobs, no growth, and no movement away from our state’s addiction to oil. While Governor Scott expresses a concern for the operating expenses of High Speed Rail, this decision ignores the on-going boondoggle of spending billions of our tax dollars on ever-expanding roads. In some parts of our state, roads cannot be expanded any further to accommodate growth and seasonal tourism traffic. Despite this tremendous disappointment, Sierra Club Florida will continue the fight for the clean transportation choices that our state needs. Governor Scott has just done all in his power to take away an important choice that would have put FL in the lead. It’s now up to Floridians to work together at the local and regional level to rise to this challenge.
Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig Excerpts of press release, December 2010 about the signing of a public-private partnership agreement on high-speed rail development to bring Illinois “one giant step closer to achieving high-speed passenger service between Chicago and St. Louis by 2014.” “Clearly, the leadership, perseverance and commitment of Governor Quinn, Senator Durbin, and our private sector partners, has vaulted Illinois into the lead on the development of high-speed rail,” Secretary Hannig said. “This announcement is about more than just an historic achievement for Illinois and the Midwest. It is a celebration of the kind of partnership and vision that is creating jobs now and providing needed access to a crucial regional transportation alternative.” In September 2010, Governor Quinn announced that Illinois had become the first state in the nation to begin high-speed rail construction through an initial agreement to upgrade 90 miles of track between Alton and Lincoln. With the full Cooperative Agreement now in place, construction will continue in early spring from just south of Lincoln to Dwight. This phase of work is expected to conclude next fall. The next step would then be the installation of new, enhanced grade crossing warning protection. The public can expect to enjoy its first taste of 110 mile-per-hour train service when a 20-mile segment between Dwight and Pontiac is completed in 2012. Procurement of new cars and locomotives, as well as station upgrades, will be other facets of the project completed under the Cooperative Agreement.
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March/April 2011 • Sustainable Communities
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