Dear Jeff,
Although that sounds like a good idea in theory--that is to have
crossings not needing train whistles, again the little Village of
Brandon is an example of reality. In this Villiage of only about three
parallel streets, we have five RR crossings. To my knowledge in my
time since 1962 no train has struck a person or car. The swingling red
light was replaced by full overheads with gates and everything on the
Main street. But the other four street crossings have wooden Xs.
--possibly upgraded from "Look Out--The Cars!" So, unless we
restricted the entire Village to the Main Street------a lot of whistle
tooting--particularly with the endless switching on the central "Y".
The spur has gained so much traffic the rails are now--all welded
connections! There are houses right in the middle of the "Y." ------ew
Schimpff, Jeff A - DNR wrote:
Personally, I'm glad to see
railroad freight and passenger business increasing. That helps slow
down the pace of destruction of Canada's boreal forest for extracting
"tar sands" oil.
My only observation is that when
a quiet line becomes active and loud, crossings near residences need to
be upgraded to standards that allow the establishment of quiet zones
and do not require train horn soundings. It's scientifically in
disputable the humans need ample uninterrupted sleep to maintain the
ability to operated vehicles, machinery, and their own brains in a safe
and civil manner. It costs only a few cents per person and can prevent
millions in social damage costs.
Jeff Schimpff
Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources
Madison, WI
608-267-7853
"Bus, Bike, Carpool to
Work for Clean Air for Kids"
"Pedestrians and
cyclists are the indicator species of a healthier community"
Dear Jeff,
As I said yesterday to Robbie Webber that I was not informed concerning
the corridor. And your explanation is excellent. Certainly I disagree
with the destruction of neighborhoods for ever expanded roads and added
roads to nowhere, designed for increasing real estate values for
someone--someplace. Again, though, that is what so often happens with
the powerful tool of government confiscation and condemnation. And I
do not have added sympathy for those adjacent to rail lines who
suddenly find nearly moribund railroads coming to life. That should
have been a possibility when they purchased. It is not a governmental
blind-siding cooked up by interests and urban designers with time on
their hands. The rail line in my Village of Brandon has come alive
once again and there is a "Y" switchback and spur in the middle of
town. Houses are a hundred feet from the tracks. But it was not a
blindside. The overall line dates to the early 1850s and the "Y"
spur--1880s. --ew
Schimpff, Jeff A - DNR wrote:
The statement that "people will lose their homes"
is completely false and a product of an apparent complete lack of
information about this project (see DOT environmental review excerpt
below).
No homes will be lost. The planned route is on
existing RR ROW that is an active freight rail corridor. Because the
Pennsylvania Avenue station site at the existing WSOR rail yard was
rejected, no business will need to be relocated, either. Any property
value drop occurred long ago, back in the 1920s and 1930s, when Madison
had 18 passenger trains a day, in addition to much more rail freight
traffic, that has since been drawn away by the heavy subsidies enjoyed
by the energy- and labor-inefficient trucking industry.
If anyone feels housing loss WOULD HAVE been an
important enough concern to reject a rail project, then by that logic
we should haven't any urban highways or roadways, either.
The approved new Beltline-Verona Road interchange
glorification, if my memory serves, WILL destroy about 22 to 30 homes
and businesses. It will apparently ALSO impact the SW bike path.
The Park
East freeway in Milwaukee would
have continued to Lake Michigan from what
is now I-43, where it would have connected with the proposed Stadium
freeway, which would have led to I-894. Property acquisition for the
right of way began in 1965, when there were already 24 miles of
freeways open in the Milwaukee County. Hundreds of houses and
scores of businesses were demolished to clear the right of way.
The 13th Street at Rawson I-94 interchange in Oak
Creek in 1960 destroyed my neighborhood of 60 affordable homes that was
an idyllic location for young families, every one where the dad was a
WWII veteran. Our departure fueled energy-wasting sprawl into Menomonee
Falls and at least as far as rural Kenosha County.
The construction of I-43 caused the the loss of
many more hundreds of homes and business sites, cutting in half a huge
and once-vibrant neighborhood of lovely, functional, well-crafted homes
originally built by a wide range of European immigrants. This highway
construction completed the destruction of what is now arguably among
the most destitute, physically dissected and dysfunctional
neighborhoods of any city in the United States.
Clearly, getting the greatest efficiency out of
our many existing, under-used rail corridors is what people concerned
about loss of housing should advocate.
Summary of DOT environmental review of HSP:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d1/hsrail/docs/ea-execsum.pdf
Property Values
Local property owners have raised concerns that
noise, safety and increased train traffic
may potentially lower property values of
residences adjacent to the proposed corridor.
The FRA recently completed a related study that
included a review of the effect of
proximity to rail corridors on property values.
The study concluded that after taking
housing and neighborhood characteristics into
consideration, proximity to rail lines has a
negative influence on housing values within 1,000
feet of a rail line. Thus, existing
property values along the corridor would likely
already reflect proximity effects.
However, a conclusion for the potential impact on
property values in this project corridor
study cannot be readily made since the FRA study
does not distinguish between rail lines
with relatively low activity and those with high
or changing levels of activity.
Relocations
One active business would be relocated if the
Pennsylvania Avenue station site in
Madison were selected. A second property at the
proposed station site is used for
construction equipment storage. The equipment
would also require relocation. A review
of current real estate listings shows that
adequate replacement sites are available within
the city.
Some
summary overall and economic information (though not adequately
supported):
This is a project that needs to be done NOW,
while construction costs are their lowest point in many years.
Jeff Schimpff
Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources
Madison, WI
608-267-7853
"Bus, Bike, Carpool
to Work for Clean Air for Kids"
"Pedestrians and
cyclists are the indicator species of a healthier community"
But aren't the estimates of cost for the trip to Madison for a
person--without the cost of parking a car in Milwaukee, over $70. round
trip----with all the subsidies? Just how many people will take such a
train? Don't they still have hourly bus service between Milwaukee and
Madison, Mitchell? At least they used to have Badger coaches by the
hour. And if that is discontinued, that would say something about
ridership?
Mitchell Nussbaum wrote:
| Highways and roads are even more heavily subsidized. And
cars cause serious pollution, a concern especially for bicyclists and
others who are exercising. The train would cut back on the number of
cars.
And the pollution fear is real. There is now an
Air Quality Alert for 17 counties, including Dane. They are asking
people not to drive cars, if possible...
http://host.madison.com/app/news/weather/severeweatheralerts.php?alertid=1666--WI20101111140600MKXAirQualityAlertMKX20101112050000WI
--- On Thu, 11/11/10, Eric Westhagen <[email protected]>
wrote:
From: Eric Westhagen <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Bikies] Call Gov & Gov-elect to support rail
To: "Eric Sundquist" <[email protected]>,
"BikiesSubmissions" <[email protected]>
Date: Thursday, November 11, 2010, 10:08 AM
Group:
I have always ridden trains over airplanes. I regularly take the
Empire Builder to the West and even rode in the Engine of the Capitol
Limited once. But I am not for trains where they make no sense and are
totally subsidized by people never intending to ride. (And yes, I know
Amtrak is subsidized--but another story.) Also, people will lose their
homes making some corridor into Madison--unless you want old "right of
ways" taken back from-------say, bicycle paths? So, I am using your
lists and urgings to call in support of Walker's pledge to kill the
railroad-----a pledge I am sure he will keep. Instead make sure there
is bus service to Columbus to take a train in either direction.
Eric Sundquist wrote:
Legislators are also hearing an outcry, and
that could help put pressure on Walker. I've attached a list of the
incoming senators and reps -- hope it makes the trip through the
listserv.
From:
Bryan Fay <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent:
Thu, November 11, 2010 9:46:58 AM
Subject:
Re: [Bikies] Call Gov & Gov-elect to support rail
I was able to get through to Walker's office this morning, and, unlike
Doyle's office, they didn't ask for my name or address. The phone
answerer's response was just "okay, thank you". I wonder if they are
keeping track of the calls in any way.
Yesterday hen I called Walker's office I got a voicemail message saying
the voice-mailbox was full.
On 11/10/2010 12:23 PM, Steve Arnold wrote:
On 11/10/2010 10:25 AM,
Mitchell Nussbaum wrote:
I guess they got tired of
taking phone calls. (:
The nice live person that took my call for Walker said she's getting
three calls a minute.
Regards,
Steve Arnold, Fitchburg Alder, District 4, Seat 7
2530 Targhee Street, Fitchburg, Wisconsin 53711-5491
Telephone +1 608 278 7700 · Facsimile +1 608 278 7701
[email protected]
· http://Arnold.US
Become a supporter: like http://facebook.com/ArnoldforAlder.
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