Monthly Archives: August 2005

Kellar Branch

STB yet to give final say on Kellar Branch service

The Journal Star is giddy this morning about the Surface Transportation Board ruling. But, as usual, they assume facts not in evidence. For instance:

Wednesday the Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that settles railroad disputes, ruled that Pioneer Railcorp must get off the Kellar Branch so the cities that own it can turn it into a hiking and biking trail.

While the STB did in fact rule that Pioneer (PIRY) must get off the Kellar Branch, it wasn’t so the cities that own it can turn it into a hiking and biking trail. It was so that the cities’ replacement carrier, Central Illinois Railway (CIRY), could provide the same service that PIRY was providing. All this ruling did was replace PIRY with CIRY. This is crucial to understanding the ruling.

And the STB hasn’t had its final say on turning the branch into a trail yet: “Moreover, the Cities’ contract with CIRY and the need for CIRY to seek our authority before service on this line can cease assures that granting the Cities’ application will not result in a diminution of service that has a serious adverse impact on shippers or the community.” (emphasis added)

That means that, even though “the park district says it could start pulling up the tracks this fall,” there’s another STB ruling to be made before that can happen — CIRY has to get STB approval to cease servicing the Kellar Branch.

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Ben Franklin Store is closing

I read in the paper today that the Ben Franklin store in Peoria Heights is closing. The owners want to retire and travel. The old store front will be turned into a restaurant when it closes on September 30.

I’m disappointed. Ben Franklin carried a lot of hard-to-find items, and the warm, “general store” atmosphere was a welcome contrast to huge, sterile box stores. I loved going birthday and Christmas shopping for my kids there. And they had a good selection of office supplies; prices on them were cheap without having to buy in bulk. I wish someone could have bought the store and kept it going.

They will be missed, but at least we get a chance to say good-bye and shop there one more time. They didn’t just close down unannounced like Hunt’s Restaurant did.

It’s always sad to see a landmark fade away.

Kellar Branch

City shows their ignorance again

 

Bill Dennis has a copy of the City of Peoria’s press release on his website.  It says, in part:
The long awaited decision clears the way for service to Pioneer Park from the West, and railbanking of the portion between O’Brien Steel and Pioneer Parkway. This railbanking would enable the Park District to proceed with the planning recreational trail.
This press release reveals a profound ignorance of the definition of “railbanking” and of the recent STB ruling itself.
First of all, let’s talk about railbanking.  Railbanking was established under the 1983 revision of the National Trails System Act as an alternative to abandonment.  “Abandonment” means “the discontinuance of service on a rail line segment, with no intention of resuming that service.”  When a line is abandoned, it ceases to be a part of the national transportation system and ownership of the right-of-way reverts to the adjacent landholders.  If rail service were ever needed again, it would be difficult to re-acquire that land.  Railbanking preserves the right-of-way (treats the corridor as if it had not been abandoned), but allows the corridor to be used for a recreational trail or other public use.
The Surface Transportation Board ruled today, in part, that the Kellar Branch was abandoned in 1980 after the liquidation of the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railway Company — and never reactivated.  Even though trains have been running on the line, it has been on a landlord/tenant basis (the city was the landlord, P&PU and later Pioneer were tenants), not on a “common carrier” basis.  In short, since the Kellar Branch has already been abandoned, it cannot be railbanked.  Quoting directly from the STB’s decision today:
…rail banking requests under the Trails Act, and public use requests under 49 U.S.C. 10905 are not appropriate and will not be entertained.
Secondly, the press release from the city erroneously links the STB ruling with the city’s ability to provide rail service from the west, over the new UP rail spur.  The two are separate issues.  The city was always authorized to provide rail service from the west, regardless of the STB ruling. 
Now the question is, what is the next step for rail advocates?  Is there still hope to block this ridiculous trail?  I’m guessing we haven’t seen the end of the fight.

 

Kellar Branch

Trail: 1, Jobs: 0

I have it on good authority that the STB ruled in favor of the city’s adverse discontinuance request this morning.

That means unless there’s a change of heart on the part of the council, Pioneer will have to vacate the tracks and the Kellar Branch will be turned into a trail.

Oh, and any hope of attracting businesses to Pioneer Park has been dashed. In fact, I predict Carver Lumber won’t be there many more years either.

But congratulations, trail advocates. Jobs are overrated anyway. The trail will bring Peoria more prosperity.

Kellar Branch

Homeless, Schmomeless — We Want Our Trail NOW!

 

At the city council meeting tonight, during “citizen requests to address the council,” a man named John Oliver led off speaking on behalf of the homeless in Peoria.  He said there were so many homeless that it was hard to even find temporary housing at places like the Peoria Rescue Mission for more than 30 days.  He’s a veteran, a father, and has a job that pays low wages.  He spoke of how a lot of people have lost their jobs lately, which is true since companies like L.R. Nelson are outsourcing to China or otherwise cutting back on personnel expenses.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could attract new businesses to Peoria?  Maybe some light industry to, oh, I don’t know, the Pioneer Park area? 
One problem:  businesses/industry like that requires competitive rail service.  It’s just not cost-effective for them to get their raw materials via trucking.  That’s why cities like Davenport, Iowa, are building rail parks to lure new businesses to their cities – they’ve learned the hard way what it means to not have rail service.  The Quad City Times reports:
Among the lost opportunities was a $21 million distribution center for Ferguson Enterprises, a plumbing and heating supply distributor, that had the Davenport industrial park on its final list. But the project went to Waterloo, Iowa, last year because the Eastern Iowa Industrial Park did not have rail service.
Did you catch that?  They lost a $21 million distribution center because they didn’t have rail service.  For all those who think rail service is antiquated or a nuisance, reflect on that number for a while.
But back to John Oliver.  After he finished pleading for help for the homeless, three of the dozen or so trail supporters in attendance spoke of a much more “important” matter:  converting the Kellar Branch to a hiking and biking trail.  Flanked by signs that read, “We want the trail,” “No more delays,” and “Hiking/Biking Trail NOW,” these three concerned citizens expressed their contempt for Pioneer Industrial Railway, their undying support for trail conversion (which would sever Pioneer Park’s neutral access to eight major rail lines), and fretted over the loss of $4 million in taxpayer-funded grants to build the trail.
Four million dollars sounds like a lot until you consider one new business in Growth Cell Two could bring $21 million to town.  And there’s room for lots of light industry in Pioneer Park. 
“But,” trail advocates say, “they’ll still have rail access out there if they can just get that spur connected!”  Yes, they’ll have rail access — just not competitive rail access.  And competitive rates are kinda important to businesses.  You’re not going to attract many (any) companies when they find out they have a choice of Union Pacific or, well, Union Pacific. 
But go ahead, rip out the rail line.  The John Olivers of Peoria will thank you all for the opportunity to walk on a beautiful trail through the heart of town.  Too bad they’ll have to sleep there, too.

 

HOPC

Appreciating the complexity…

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After sitting through a half hour of the Heart of Peoria Commission report to the City Council, I’ve concluded that they are, shall we say, not the most efficient public body. I’m sure they’re getting work done, but it was hard to discern what that work was from their presentation. It mostly consisted of “we’ve had meetings,” and, “we’re planning more meetings.”

But my favorite part of the report was under the heading of “Adoption of Form-Based Code.” I swear to you, one of the four “accomplishments” this subcommittee of the Heart of Peoria Commission turned in read, “appreciating the complexity of the task.”

I have to admit, I broke out laughing right there in the council chambers. I mean, come on — can you imagine yourself putting that “accomplishment” on your next performance evaluation? “But boss, I’ve been hard at work appreciating the complexity of the task!!!” Ha ha ha! Oh, and I went to a lot of meetings….

I wonder if they can quantify how much time they spent “appreciating the complexity of the task.” Was that a whole meeting? I mean, it was the third of the four major accomplishments that made it into the presentation, so they must have spent some time on it.

Can’t you just see them at Panache, sitting thoughtfully on overstuffed couches and wooden stools while the aroma of cappuccino wafts through the air?

“On today’s agenda,” the chairman begins, “I think we need to take some time out to appreciate the complexity of the task.”

Everyone nods in agreement.

“Betty, what do you appreciate most about the complexity of the task?”

“Oooh,” Betty says gravely, “I think the most complex part was changing the name from ‘smart code’ to ‘form-based code.’ I didn’t appreciate the complexity at the time, but now that you mention it….”

And so it goes. I wonder if they can appreciate how ridiculous that point sounded.

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Cardinals leaving KMOX bad news for Peoria fans

The Cardinals have decided to leave KMOX’s 50,000 watt signal that can be heard in 40 states because they weren’t getting enough money (spare me) and have bought puny KTRS-AM in St. Louis that often can’t even be heard in East St. Louis. To help Illinois listeners, they will also be broadcasting on WSMI, an FM station in Litchfield.

However, neither of these stations can be heard in Peoria.

And that’s bad news for Cardinals fans, because when WMBD doesn’t broadcast Cardinals games, we’ll now have no way of listening to the game. WMBD has decided the past couple of years not to preempt Rush Limbaugh for Cardinals day games, forcing fans to listen to KMOX instead. Starting in 2006, that will no longer be an option.

This is a really stupid move on the part of the Cardinals. Many people become fans of a particular team because of TV and radio range — for instance, people all over the country become Cubs fans or Braves fans because of superstations WGN and TBS, respectively. And many people have become Cardinals fans throughout the nation because of the wide reach of KMOX. A smaller-wattage station means a smaller audience any way you look at it. The idea that people are going to run out and sign up for internet streaming of the games or purchase a satellite radio system is unlikely, even for already committed fans.

Locally, the owners of WMBD and WIRL should reconsider their preemption policy. My suggestion: go for the win-win; put the Cardinals’ day games on WIRL so they don’t conflict with Rush, but local fans can still hear them. And if there’s a Cubs game on at the same time, preempt the Cubs — we can still hear them crystal clear from Chicago’s WGN-AM.

Kellar Branch

More deception from Journal Star on Kellar Branch dispute

If you’re a casual reader of the Journal Star and skimmed their story on the Kellar Branch today (“Parked locomotive may derail trail“), you would have to get the impression that Pioneer is holding things up. Check out the first three paragraphs:

The deadline for Pioneer Railcorp to remove train cars from a section of Kellar Branch track has passed, again delaying the embattled Rock Island Trail extension.

The city, however, appears poised to take legal action early next week if the project does not progress by Friday.

A Pioneer Industrial locomotive sat on the track Tuesday near where a new industrial rail spur is to tie into the existing track, preventing city contractor Metroplex Corp. from completing the job.

Antagonist: Pioneer. Who is the antecedent for “delaying” and “preventing”? Against whom are you led to believe the city will take legal action? Answer to all three questions: Pioneer.

Ah, but not so fast. Buried in the middle of the article is this important piece of info:

Last month, the city appeared to have reached an agreement with Pioneer Railcorp chairman Guy Brenkman in which the train cars and engines that had blocked construction since December would be moved by Monday.

But part of the deal required Metroplex to sign a liability waiver with Pioneer Railcorp before the short-line operator would budge and allow construction to proceed. That term of the agreement has not yet been resolved.

So, Pioneer had agreed to move the locomotive if a liability waiver were signed. Metroplex didn’t sign the waiver, so Pioneer didn’t move the locomotive. I think any rational person would conclude that Metroplex is holding up the job, but the Journal Star doesn’t let the facts get in the way. They’ll just keep putting all the blame on Pioneer, hence the headline.

And the city does the same:

City Manager Randy Oliver said Tuesday the city would file legal action against one or both companies next week if the problem is not resolved by 5 p.m. Friday.

Asked which company would most likely face a lawsuit, Oliver said, “History tells me one thing, but I don’t know yet.”

What is that supposed to mean, Mr. Oliver? What case do you have against Pioneer in this matter? Why grounds do you have for filing suit against Pioneer when it was Metroplex which didn’t fulfill its obligation?

All this vilification of Pioneer makes me believe that, at heart, this is a personal vendetta against Guy Brenkman on the part of the city and the newspaper. It’s understandable that people may not like him. I’ve never met the man, but he sounds like a guy that isn’t very likeable. But that shouldn’t get in the way of the merits of the dispute. The Journal Star has an obligation to the citizens to report accurately and fairly what’s going on and they’re not doing it.

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I’m here, but do it yourself

You know how Kroger and other stores have those “U-Scan” lanes?  The ones where the stores sucker you into doing the cashiers’ work but don’t give you any discount for the overhead (wages, benefits) they’re saving?  I hate those.
 
But there’s something I hate worse:  places that have cashiers standing right in front of you, but still expect you to perform the transaction yourself.
 
I ran into this today at Best Buy.  I’m buying a DVD and walk up to the cashier.  She scans the item and tells me the total.  I try to hand her my credit card.  She points to a small card reader off to the left and deadpans, “just swipe it there.”  Uh, okay.  So I swipe it, and it says to enter my PIN.  I say, “I don’t want to enter my PIN — I want it to be a credit transaction.”  She answers, exasperated with my one and only question of the transaction, “Just hit ‘cancel.'”  Oh, well, that’s intuitive.  Why didn’t I think of that?  Fine.  I hit cancel, sign my name in the little box, and put my card away.  At which point she says, “Can I see your card?” 
 
There’s a short, befuddled pause as my mind screams, “What??!!”
 
“That’s what I tried to do in the first place and you didn’t want it,” I actually told her with a smile to thinly veil my contempt.  As she takes my card and enters the last four digits into the computer for some undisclosed reason, she mutters something about not knowing it was going to be a credit transaction.  She was clearly aware that debit cards can be used as credit cards since she knew the “cancel” routine, yet she apparently still assumed that I was going to use the debit function.  I thought to myself, “You know what happens when you assume,” as she printed out a foot-and-a-half-long receipt for my solitary item.
 
So, what exactly is this chick getting paid for?  Putting my DVD in a bag?  Training customers to do her job?  Developing an attitude?  Too bad I wasn’t paying cash.  Perhaps a cash drawer would have shot open toward me from under the counter and I would have been instructed to make my own change.  That would have been entertaining.

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Worst Segue of the Month

The award for worst segue of the month goes to Amy Paul of WMBD from tonight’s newscast:
You can say “Bye Bye Bye” to the 90s as our weather gets back “N’Sync” this weekend.
I realize Amy’s probably not writing these, but in general WMBD has some of the worst segues I’ve ever heard.  But I mean that in a good way.  They’re bad in a “Plan 9 from Outer Space” vein.  So bad, they’re funny.