There are two letters to the editor in today’s paper that are supportive of converting the Kellar Branch rail line to a recreational trail. They are full of inaccuracies and misleading statements. Let’s take a look.
First up is a letter from Janice Atkinson. She writes:
A trolley would be cute but an incredible waste of funds, and be used by far fewer people than a recreational trail. The trolley would block traffic and cause accidents at road crossings. It would operate on fossil fuels.
A few things:
- I don’t believe this would be a waste of funds, but even if it were, it would be private funds that would be wasted instead of public funds. No one is asking the city to foot the bill for a trolley — it’s a business venture. You know, the kind of businesses that pay taxes. Turning the line into a trail, on the other hand, would be an incredible waste of funds on which we would never see a return on investment.
- The number of people a trolley versus a trail would draw is irrelevant. The rail line would not only be used for trolley service, but also freight. The businesses that could be lured to the industrial sites along the line would provide a much bigger return on investment in taxes and jobs than a trail ever would.
- “The trolley would block traffic and cause accidents at road crossings”? This is the weakest argument I’ve heard yet. Yes, it would have to cross streets, so there would be a delay while the trolley passed, but considering it would be a single car and not a 100-car freight train, this “delay” would be no longer than a regular stoplight cycle. As far as it “causing accidents,” prove it. Show me the accident records for historic trolleys. I’ll bet you the number of people injured is less than the number of walkers who have been attacked on urban recreational trails.
- “It would operate on fossil fuels.” Wrong. It would operate on battery technology. If Ms. Atkinson drives a car, she will be putting far more pollutants in the air in one day than a trolley ever will.
She further says:
When the Kellar branch was in use, the train held up traffic at various points. The rails were not properly or regularly maintained. They remain an eyesore. […] Maintenance for a trail would be minimal in comparison to what a trolley route would require.
The track belongs to the city right now, which is responsible for its upkeep. Since they’ve been trying to shut it down and tear it out for a trail, obviously it’s poorly maintained. If the line were sold to Pioneer, they would upgrade the rail line and keep it in good working condition. Again, private dollars would be maintaining it, whereas a trail would be maintained with public dollars. And in any case, it would take far less maintenance to fix the rails than to tear them out for a trail.
Let’s move along to Joyce Blumenshine’s letter:
Any City Council member who follows Sandberg should consider the 82,000 users on the Rock Island Trail, and about $3 million in trail grants the Peoria Park District has waiting.
Whoa! Wait a minute! Did she say the Park District only has $3 million in trail grants? I have a quote here that says it will cost the Park District over $6 million to convert the rail line to a trail. Where is the extra $3+ million going to come from? Short of finding a matching grant, I guess the funds will come from the taxpayers in the form of a tax hike. Are higher property taxes a big draw for people to buy homes next to a trail?
The Kellar branch line belongs to the city and people of Peoria.
Yes, all of the people, not just trail advocates. And it was purchased by the city in 1984 to provide competitive rail service to Pioneer Park, not to make a linear park.
The city needs to renew its lease with Central Illinois Rail on the Kellar branch line. Any consideration of the city dealing with Pioneer Railcorp should be dead in the water. Pioneer has a proven track record of flagrant obstructions, blatant abuse of contract terms and broken promises. It is a company totally unworthy of consideration.
Ms. Blumenshine is wrong. The record-holder for obstructions, abuse of contract terms, and broken promises goes to Central Illinois Railroad Company (CIRY), which never fulfilled its contractual obligation to provide service to Carver Lumber while the western spur was being built, endangered the lives of Peoria citizens with a runaway train, and withdrew their petition to discontinue service on the Kellar Branch so they could serve new customers along the Kellar Branch. It is CIRY that has doublecrossed the RTA and Ms. Blumenshine, not Pioneer. Pioneer wants to help build a trail next to the rail line, an option that is constantly rejected:
Sandberg must know resurrection of the dual rail line and trail is a death sentence for the trail due to high cost and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The “high cost” to which she refers is the park district’s estimate that it would cost over $29 million to build the trail side-by-side with the rail line. That estimate is a joke. What engineering firm provided the estimate? How did they determine the cost per square foot? How did they determine whether a trestle was needed or if the trail could follow the natural topography of the land?
On that last point, you’ll notice on the estimate that about $20.3 million of it is in trestles alone (not including the one at Versailles Gardens, which to my knowledge is undisputed) — 8,065 feet of trestles. Over a mile and a half of trestles. Apparently the park district believes (a) the trail must be perfectly flat or it won’t meet ADA requirements (which makes one wonder what they’re going to do with the steep grade where the rail goes up the bluff), and (b) the only way to bridge such gaps is to build a $180/ft² trestle. I’ll bet a real engineering study would uncover a much different solution.
Finally, I’d like to make just two comments about the Journal Star’s editorial today:
Pioneer may be a local business, but it also has helped ensure that the truly railroaded here have been local taxpayers.
Yes, the railroaded here have been local taxpayers, but not because of Pioneer. Rather, it has been because of the Peoria Park District. A district that, although it has nearlly 9,000 acres of park land and a number of existing trails, covets a little rail line through the center of town. They’re like Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the Kellar Branch is the lonely old Building and Loan that, try as they might, the park district just can’t get control of and it’s galling them.
Any boost a sale would give the city’s operating budget shouldn’t be relevant, as it’s a one-time revenue source, not an ongoing revenue stream.
That’s right, Peoria. $565,000 for city coffers is irrelevant. But putting that aside, the Journal Star should do their homework. Pioneer’s offer to the city included the option of a long-term lease — and that would, in fact, provide a revenue stream to the city. Nevertheless, I believe it would be in the city’s best interest to get out of the railroad business altogether and sell the line. They could still retain the right of first refusal if Pioneer ever decided to sell or abandon it.
The City Council should do the right thing and sell the line to Pioneer. But most likely this will be deferred for another week. So, go to the meeting, but be prepared to have to wait another week.
