“Results of two public hearings showed overwhelming support for a recreational trail, Mayor Mark Allen said Tuesday,” according to a report in today’s Journal Star. Thus, the Heights will be sending a letter expressing their renewed support for the Park District’s push to eliminate rail service to Carver Lumber and future rail-served businesses in Pioneer Park.
While disappointing, this comes as no surprise. It would be very hard for a small municipal body like the Heights to go against the Park District/RTA (Recreational Trail Advocates) machine. The Kellar Branch topic has become so politically charged and the court of public opinion so tainted by disinformation from the Park District, RTA, and Journal Star that it’s practically impossible to get a fair hearing on it anymore.
That’s why there exists a federal agency called the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
It’s the policy of the U. S. Government, among other things, “to ensure the development and continuation of a sound rail transportation system with effective competition among rail carriers and with other modes, to meet the needs of the public….” So, they want to see shippers continue to be rail served, and they want them to get competitive shipping rates. Rail conserves energy, reduces the number of trucks on the streets (which saves money in highway maintenance), and is better for the environment. The government wants to encourage that.
In this case, Peoria and Peoria Heights are the owners of the railroad, and they want to replace their current carrier (Pioneer), which up until August 2005 had been providing good service at reasonable rates by all accounts, with a new carrier (Central Illinois Railroad), which has proven to provide inadequate service — if any — at exorbitant rates. The service and rates are so bad that it’s actually more economical for Carver to transload their material and truck it to their facility in Pioneer Park.
Why would the Cities want such an inferior rail carrier? Because they’re not interested in providing rail service. They want to rip out the railroad and put in a recreational trail. That flies in the face of the nation’s transportation policy.
It is true that the federal government also supports the creation of recreational trails on abandoned railroad beds. But that’s only if the rail line is not being used, and its primary purpose in many cases is to preserve the rail corridor for possible future use. In other words, it’s the government’s second choice. Its first choice is that rail service continue.
In city council and village board meetings, the fate of railroad service may be decided on the basis of a popularity contest. But it doesn’t work that way on the Surface Transportation Board. They conduct a more objective balancing test to protect shippers from arbitrary and capricious cuts in service by railroad owners.
So who do you think got to him?
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the rail or trail issue. The city of Peoria Heights held two public hearing and listened to their residents. Isn’t that what we want from our officials? One may or may not be disappointed with the results, but the process worked like it was supposed to. Is that really bowing to public pressure or is it doing as public servants what the public wants? I wish the school board would follow the same process. Whether this represents the true view of all the people, who knows, but it represents the opinions of those who bothered to participate in the process. Everyone has the opportunity to do so.
Has it been 25 years since freight has been shipped out of the Heights on rail? It’s hard to defend keeping the line for them if that is the case. Either a trolley or trail seems like a better alternative to nothing. Peoria is a different situation.
It would be nice if a few companies came on board and used the line and put this issue to rest.
Vonster, actually the only thing that “got” to me and the Board of Trustees was a swift and sudden “reality check.” I still believe that a trolley, backed by Rep. LaHood, the City of Peoria, CityLink, and the people of the area would be a slam-dunk. However, there was absolutely no sign of any of the above EVER happening. In the end, from our perspective, the trail is a much more desired piece of property than what we have now. I virtually received NO support or enthusiasm for the rail other than C.J., other bloggers, Sharon Deckard, and Pioneer Rail Corp. That was it- I found it hard to believe, but the facts are the facts.
If we continued to fight this thing: against the local elected officials; against the populace (by a clear majority); all we stood to do was torpedo the trail for a concept (trolley) that we simply did not have the “players” involved to make it a reality. Honestly, I don’t see freight ever being delivered in the Heights again for many, many years (if at all), and honestly I have no interest in the Heights becoming a freight “station” again. The trolley was the “make or break” for us. In the end, there was simply no way for it to ever be made. The trail people put on a very good presentation, while Pioneer and Sharon could only “advise” that we MIGHT be able to get federal grants on this. I contend that would be VERY difficult to do without our U.S. Representative behind the trolley concept.
It will boil down to the STB decision, as you are well aware of. But, between having a line of weeds and old railroad ties against the trail as outlined, the trail wins rather handily.
Thanks to all of you who gave the information over the last several weeks (particularly to you, C.J.).
Peoria Heights did a better job of allowing both sides to present their case, however, the issue involves interstate commerce (and really, international commerce, as most of Carver Lumber’s shipments are from Canada) so a local government should not have the final say in what happens to transportation infrastructure that passes through their city, town or village. That may sound harsh, but that’s the way it should be.
As for Clayton’s comments, Cohen’s Furniture used rail for some furniture shipments coming from the east and south from 1989 until the mid-1990’s, so it was maybe 12 years ago that Peoria Heights had an active rail user. Refer to my comments above about interstate commerce.
Forgot to mention that there are at least two, maybe three, businesses interested in using the Kellar Branch. The western connection is a failure so the Kellar Branch needs to be restored as a rail freight corridor.
David,
How was the Village’s process different than the City’s? Other than having the pro- position on one night and the anti-position on another, both seemed fairly equal.
Peoria doesn’t allow for audience questions.
my only comment is that the mayor of the Heights wanted a feasibility study done and when I found a way to do it at no cost they ignored it and went ahead with their decision. He repeatedly mentioned a feasibility study need in both meetings and then ignored it. Very disappointing.
Something else smells fishy……
David, do you mean at the Heights meeting audience members asked the Trustees questions? Or did they ask staff? Not sure about the Village, but while in the City the Council meeting isn’t set up as a dialog between Council and citizen (though that happens sometime), our Councilpeople are pretty reachable outside of Chambers. Still don’t understand why the Heights is getting all the muted anger while the COP was getting the open hostility.
It’s called political pressure from the nut cases that run this town. Frankly, it’s just sad. This community is turning its back on energy-efficient public transportation in favor of – what? A RECREATIONAL trail. It will have almost zero use for commuters, never mind public mass transit or freight, regardless of the nonsense put out by the Rabid Trail Advocates. If these people succeed, and I pray they do not, it won’t be very long before the vast majority of citizens of this area will regret they didn’t speak up and try to save this line (you might read the recent PJS editorial on the stilt village on the riverfront about laughable promises unfufilled and substitute the Kellar Branch). Moreover, it is not just this rail line, (or the mismanagement of the riverfront). These are indicative of the unrealistic attitudes that are driving this city to ruin. They raise fines on ordinance violations and boot overparked cars, while ignoring a serious crime wave. PJS tells voters that what is on a candidate’s resume is more important than substantive issues in a school district that, to any reasonable observer, is failing. They want to raise taxes for zoos, libararies, airports, civic centers, and every other thing you can think of (except a railroad, of course). Now, before someone screams, I think libraries are great, but there is only so much money out there, and we can always find more worthy causes than there is money. I’d like to go buy a lot of very nice, useful things that I need, right now, but my bank doesn’t appreciate NSF checks. Every dollar taken by government in taxes is a dollar a citizen does not get to spend. The chickens are going to come home to roost for this City, and it’s not going to be pretty.
Just Some Guy,
The City of Peoria’s desire to please everyone back in 1997 and come up with a “win-win” situation led to this fiasco. Peoria Heights only followed along. Peoria has done similar things with the downtown ballpark, the RiverPlex and other things. It thought it had to have these things…like it thinks it has to have the trail.
To Sharon: A feasibility study was, in effect, completed when virtually NO ONE jumped on board for having the trolley line. Do you think for a moment that ANY feasibility study would have made Rep. LaHood change his mind? Do you think that ANY feasibility study would have made the public change its mind? No. All it would have done was drag things out longer and longer and longer. In the end, the trolley line was impossible because the people we needed to join us on it simply did not step up.
There is nothing fishy here. I truly thought that by getting the facts about the trolley out into the public, that sooner or later (and it had to be sooner) the City of Peoria, Rep. LaHood, and most importantly the PUBLIC would back the plan. Let me make this clear- in the two or three months that the thought was out there, I had ONE phone call in favor of the trolley. ONE. Outside of you, C.J., Gomaco, and a few other bloggers, NO ONE called me or wrote me to say “let’s do that trolley.” Without the PUBLIC support, it was never going to happen. THAT is all of the feasiblity study that we needed. If the public is not with you, then it simply won’t occur. Without Rep. LaHood with us, exactly how many federal grants do you think we would have received? Can you say “none”?
Am I disappointed? Of course. I’m disappointed that the trolley line did not capture the imagination of virtually anyone. But, you know what that tells me? It tells me that it’s very possible, that if it was put on the tracks, maybe ridership WOULD be very low. Boy, that would have been grand. The trail people gave a much more believable presentation, and that is what in the end made the final decision clear. We don’t want the line to remain what it is. The trail clearly was the only feasible option we had to rectify the situation.
I like Mike Carr a lot, but Pioneer, rightly or wrongly, does not have the reputation locally for maintaining the line. That was a hard sell to Peoria Heights people who still see track ties lying near their back fences that have been there since the mid 80s.
We presented the information in order, mainly, to see if others would join us. They did not. In fact, it was just the opposite. Sharon, to you and me and a handful of others, the trolley seemed like a great idea that would WORK. But, you cannot build a home out of just a few bricks. We listened to the public, and it was clear what could and could not happen. Now, it’s up to the STB, and we’ll take it from there. I appreciate all of information you provided, and it certainly was not ignored by me. But, in the end, it was ignored by the public.
David, I wasn’t referring to the history, but your your comment that “Peoria Heights did a better job of allowing both sides to present their case.” I just find it weird that the Village isn’t getting near the scrutiny that the City has gotten, nor near the amount of outrage. I’d argue that “just following along” is a greater abuse than actively trying to do something, even if that something is something you don’t agree with.
Peoria Heights just let Peoria speak for them from 1997 until recently. History is important. The Peoria City Council just ensured a continuing stalement with its Feb. 20 vote, save for STB action. I heard veteran members of the council repeat mindless cliches about the trail, ignoring the fiasco caused by their narrow-minded agenda, proving once again that they are puppets of local developers and “quality-of-life” schemes. At least Peoria Heights attempted to take a fresh look at the issue. For that, they are to be commended.
Not sure it’s fair to be condemning the supporters of the trail as supporting “quality of life schemes”. I hardly think a trail is a “scheme”. They are great attributes to a community.
The question is whether it is worth the elimination of the Kellar Branch. Period.
I think the trolley idea is as much a “scheme” and diversionary tactic as anything else that’s been put out there.
When that rail line is gone forever, some day we’ll be sorry and very angry at the politicians who sold us out to powerful local developers.
You’re right, Vonster. If the tracks are destroyed I’m guessing that in 10-12 years our political leaders will regret having torn up valuable infrastructure. Then we’ll spend several hundred grand on consultants to study how to revive rail in Peoria.
I appreciate Mayor Allen’s comments and I believe he did what he thinks is right. Of course the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but when Amtrak gets to Peoria and all of those who live out in the burbs want to get on board they will have to drive to the station. The trolley would have been much easier to get to downtown and Amtrak. Also it would bring more tourism dollars from those coming to town on Amtrak from other locations around the state. But we won’t know that until its too late and the tracks are gone. The whole big picture was not just a short line run of a trolley but a connection to a much bigger picture for the future of the Peoria area.
I am afraid this is going to go down much like the western connection that is a huge expensive failure.
We still have to await STB’s decision and that will be the be all end all of it.
In the meantime I thank all those that helped gather information and to the Heights for allowing us to present our proposal. They did it fairly having both sides at different times.
I just wanted to commend Mayor Allen for how he handled this issue in the face of such political pressure. Mayor Allen has proven that he represents the people’s opinion in the heights and we are all greatful for our opinions being heard. In the end, the peoples voices were heard and the right decision was made. Obviously, some are happy, and other are not, as is always the case when there are 2 debating sides, but it is my personal view that the trail will better serve Peoria in the short and long term. HAppy holidays to everyone.
I am trying to stay out of this debate until the STB has ruled, but…. In the spirit of fairness and honesty, how many years has the trail idea been out there to gain support? And how many weeks has the trolley idea been out there to gain support? Just an observation that I haven’t seen made yet.
You make a good point, Brad.
I’ll be darned if I know why this issue is so politically charged. It’s really taken on a life of its own and is at the point of absurdity. Hopefully the STB will make the right decision and put the kibosh on the trail replacing the rail line. That trail can easily exist without removing the Kellar Branch. The RTA, Park District, et. al., are not pro-trail as much as they are anti-rail. I don’t understand why. You would think those tasked with or interested in preserving the environment would be in favor of freight and passenger rail. I think this is nothing more than a personal vendetta against Pioneer at this point, and Carver Lumber is just collateral damage.
Unless the STB steps in, we’re poised to flush away two local businesses (Carver, Pioneer) who provide jobs and tax revenue to the city in favor of the park district that costs us money in property taxes and doesn’t adequately care for what it already owns (Glen Oak Park).
That’s progress? That’s the “right decision”? That will “better serve Peoria in the short and long term”?
Alexis, you’re a businessman. How would you feel if you were in Carver Lumber’s shoes? Suppose you’d been in Peoria for 60 years and built up your businesses, had a good business model, found a way to compete with big box stores by leveraging cost-efficient rail service, and the city came in and ruined that for you so they could put in a recreational trail, and they were going to use your tax dollars to do it on top of everything. Would you feel that was the “right decision”?
Good Point, Brad. You should also consider that the trail nuts are backed by hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars. Who pays Bonnie Noble’s exorbitant salary? WE DO. And how many other taxpayer-employee hours (PPD, City, etc., etc.) have been wasted on this project? I shutter to estimate.
The growth area for Peoria is in it’s northwest quadrant. This is where the the Kellar branch terminates. The price of gasoline is now close to $3 and likely to go higher, perhaps much higher in the next decade. Even if public train transportation is not needed today, it is likely to be needed in a few years or a decade. A trolley today for tourists is a starter to get folks used to train travel in Peoria and ready to accept daily train transport in the future when it will be more of a necessity. I can envision the rail tracks extending over the UP tracks and Route 6 and to the Grande Prairie shops. Sometimes folks need to be pulled kicking and screaming into the reality of the future. Pulling out the Kellar Branch rails will severely hurt Peoria’s future transportation needs.
Bonnie Noble and the PPD need a serious reality check. Maybe these priorities explain why they don’t seem to care about some of our older parks and PPD facilities? The PPD is so focused on the ZOO and the trail, it appears they neglect to maintain or improve our existing PPD property. I say “our” because the PPD should enhance our neighborhoods, as well as our property values.
She really needs to go…
The PPD can’t even maintain Glen Oak Park. It continues into decline. And you want them to maintain this trail? Hope you are all happy when they ask to increase your property taxes to fund this trail’s upkeep. You can pay my share. Sell the line to Pioneer, let them maintain the tracks and assist in putting a trail next to it. Duh. It is a no brainer and everyone is reasonably happy.
In reply to Chef Kevin; I predict that in the beginning, the PPD would do a jim-dandy job of maintaining the trail. But as time ( 10-15 years?) they would jump on another front burner pet project and then the decline (visit Glen Oak or Bradley Parks) would be in full force. There is way too much tunnel vision at the PPD for the long haul. Its all “look what we are doing now”.