Category Archives: Transportation

Transportation

Sequester could impact air traffic towers in Peoria and Bloomington

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Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood warned of disruption to the nation’s air travel if automatic federal spending cuts are allowed to go through (known as the “sequester”). The Chicago Tribune reports on how such cuts would affect air travel in Illinois (emphasis added):

LaHood said the cuts will also mean the elimination of overnight shifts at 60 air traffic control towers across the country and the closure of more than 100 towers.

Under the plan, local airport towers that would see an end to overnight monitoring include Midway and two smaller airports, Dupage and Peoria International. […]

The closure list includes five Illinois airport towers: Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal, Decatur Airport, Dupage in West Chicago, Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro and Marion County regional in Marion. […]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the main union representing controllers in the U.S., said Friday’s announcement of “draconian” cuts was worse than it anticipated.

“Once towers are closed, the airports they serve may be next,” the union said in a statement. “We believe the delay estimates provided by the FAA are conservative, and the potential for disruptions could be much higher.”

In Missouri, some lawmakers are seeing LaHood’s announcement as a political ploy to pressure Congress. The Springfield, Mo., News-Leader reports:

Steve Stockam, Joplin Regional Airport manager, called the situation “extremely frustrating” and said LaHood’s announcement seemed aimed at ramping up the pressure on Congress to block the $85 billion in cuts.

“It looks like this is a political move . . . trying to get the Congress to move on some of the revenue and taxes that the administration is proposing,” Stockam said.

As for how closing towers will affect air travel at smaller airports in Missouri, the article continued:

“It continues to be extremely frustrating to us,” said Stockam, “because we just don’t understand why these types of cuts are being made that really affect public safety.”

He said the Joplin airport would not have to close even if its tower is unstaffed, because pilots can talk to each other as their planes land and take off. But it would be harder to ensure the safety of passengers without air traffic controllers guiding aircraft.

“It puts people in a greater risk because you don’t have that extra set of eyes directing traffic in and out of the facility,” he said. “You have a pilot, who is also trying to fly an airplane, trying to be a controller.”

My take: I recommend reading these articles in full. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any local reaction from the Journal Star or the Pantagraph, but perhaps they’ll have some information later today. LaHood really comes across in these articles as a tool for the Administration, threatening to administer cuts in the most disruptive way possible in order to pressure Congress. Although he reportedly states that “safety remains the department’s top priority,” it sounds to me like, in reality, politics is the top priority. The sooner he can be replaced, the better.

City of Peoria, Transportation

Spoof shows absurdity of train to Normal

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Outrage. Disbelief. Skepticism. These were all feelings people told me they had while reading my April Fools Day post — a mock news report saying all Peoria flights would be going through Bloomington’s airport.

Everybody recognizes that flying to Bloomington and switching planes would be silly. Those who fly want direct flights to major hub cities, like Chicago.

Yet local leaders are actively pursuing something equally absurd: a passenger train to Normal. Instead of pursuing a direct route to Chicago, local leaders are all too willing to settle for a shuttle to the twin cities where passengers can switch to another train that will then take them to Chicago.

It will never work. People take the train to save time and money. A train into Chicago saves time since gridlock traffic can be averted getting into the city. Money is saved because a round-trip ticket is less than the cost to park in Chicago, let alone the cost of gas to drive there.

But going from Peoria to Chicago via a connecting train in Bloomington will add considerable time and expense — time and expense that can be avoided by simply driving to Bloomington and parking for free. And that’s what people will do.

The city should be pursuing direct passenger rail service to Chicago, not a shuttle to Bloomington-Normal. For additional reasons, see David Jordan’s posts on this topic here and here.

2011 Election, Amtrak, City Council, City of Peoria, Transportation

Quick comments on the news

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Scanning over the Journal Star this morning, there are several interesting articles:

  • Transportation Symposium — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had some words of wisdom for Peoria about the possibility of getting passenger rail service: “Get your act together…. Get your priorities. Put them on a list. Agree on them,” he said. “Make sure your elected representatives know what those priorities are.” Those priorities should be to establish direct passenger rail service between Peoria and Chicago. The Peoria Passenger Rail Coalition advocates for that outcome.

  • Another City Council candidate announces — Andre Williams is going to run for the Council, joining Chuck Weaver and Chuck Grayeb who have already announced. I imagine there will be more surprise candidates next week. If more than 10 people run, there will be a primary in February to narrow the field to 10; the general election is in April. Williams is a strategic planner who wants to see the City clarify its vision and compete against larger cities like St. Louis for economic development instead of East Peoria. It will be interesting to hear how he thinks we ought to do that.

  • Carnegie’s closed –Not to be nitpicky, but I believe the restaurant is actually called Carnegie’s 501 now, a shadow of its former glory when it was known simply as Carnegie’s. This comment from hotel manager Bill Carter was telling: “We’re temporarily closing to make some improvements. Depending on what happens with the new hotel [emphasis added], it could reopen as a remade restaurant or it could just reopen with some improvements.” Wait, I thought Mr. Matthews had all his plans finalized and all his funding secured? That’s what he told the council months ago. Why all the uncertainty?
Public Services - General, Transportation

Tribune Poll: Suburbia puts public transit ahead of road expansion

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Here’s a positive sign that the tide is shifting in America toward more sustainable methods of transit. From the Chicago Tribune:

Reflecting the increasing strain of gridlocked traffic, a majority of Chicago-area residents think improving bus and train service is so important to the region that repairing and expanding expressways and toll roads should take a back seat, a Tribune/WGN poll shows.

Most suburbanites support investing more in mass transit than roads, sharing the long-held stance of a large majority of city residents, the poll found. Suburban residents also said they are driving less and taking more advantage of expanded suburban train and bus service in communities where the automobile has been king.

Drivers who said they would back spending more on mass transit cited the growing stress associated with congestion; high gasoline prices; and, to a lesser degree, the environmental and financial benefits of riding transit instead of inhaling belching emissions from cars.

Ray LaHood, Transportation

LaHood: “I’ve never been passionate about any particular issue”

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Ray LaHoodAn interview with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was published by the New York Times about a week and a half ago. I guess you have to admire the guy’s candor, but it’s a little disconcerting to read that our transportation secretary admittedly knows little about transportation and only got the job because (a) he’s a Republican, and (b) he’s good buddies with Rahm Emanuel.

It also makes me uncomfortable to read passages like this:

Mr. LaHood talks regularly on the phone with Mr. Emanuel and eats dinner with him once a week. And he unabashedly plays his Rahm card when it suits his infighting purposes.

A few weeks ago, for example, Mr. LaHood was in Arizona to announce a $36 million light-rail train project when someone from the White House Office of Management and Budget called and tried to halt the event, saying the project might not be eligible for stimulus money. Mr. LaHood called the budget director, Peter R. Orszag, to complain, but the matter only dragged on.

“That’s when I called Rahm,” Mr. LaHood said. “And that took care of it.”

Took care of… what? You mean, he magically made the project eligible for stimulus money? Huh. That’s handy. Here I thought there was some kind of objective criteria for that money. I should have known better.

When LaHood was a congressman, he was often derisively labeled a RINO (Republican In Name Only), meaning his “political actions, policies, positions on certain issues or voting records are considered to be at variance with core Republican beliefs.” Perhaps his acquisition of that moniker can be explained by this:

When asked if he could foresee disagreeing with the administration on anything, Mr. LaHood shrugged, and eventually shook his head. “I’ve never been passionate about any particular issue,” he said. [emphasis added] “I’m not going to sit around agonizing. The answer is, probably not.”

Well, that explains a lot. I always have found LaHood to be wishy-washy. Now I know why: he is wishy-washy. Maybe some people find indifference to be an admirable quality for a politician. I don’t. I find it blatantly opportunistic.

Amtrak, Transportation

President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary LaHood Call for U.S. High Speed Passenger Trains

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It looks like the United States is finally going to get serious about modernizing its train system. Here’s a press release I received yesterday:

Vision for a New Era in Rail Entails Clean, Energy-Efficient Option for Travelers

Thursday, April 16, 2009 (Washington, DC) — President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Biden and Secretary LaHood, announced a new U.S. push today to transform travel in America, creating high-speed rail lines from city to city, reducing dependence on cars and planes and spurring economic development.

The President released a strategic plan outlining his vision for high speed rail in America. The plan identifies $8 billion provided in the ARRA and $1 billion a year for five years requested in the federal budget as a down payment to jump-start a potential world-class passenger rail system and sets the direction of transportation policy for the future. The strategic plan will be followed by detailed guidance for state and local applicants. By late summer, the Federal Railroad Administration will begin awarding the first round of grants.

Additional funding for long-term planning and development is expected from legislation authorizing federal surface transportation programs.

The report formalizes the identification of ten high-speed rail corridors as potential recipients of federal funding. Those lines are: California, Pacific Northwest, South Central, Gulf Coast, Chicago Hub Network, Florida, Southeast, Keystone, Empire and Northern New England. Also, opportunities exist for the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston to compete for funds to improve the nation’s only existing high-speed rail service.

Continue reading President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary LaHood Call for U.S. High Speed Passenger Trains →

Transportation

The future of transportation

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Richard Gilbert and Anthony Perl have a book out called “Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight Without Oil.” I haven’t read the book, but I heard an interview with Perl on this week’s Smart City radio show. It sounds like he and his co-author have an interesting prescription for our transportation systems.

There are lots of different energy forms out there: gasoline, ethanol (corn-based, switchgrass-based, etc.), hydrogen, solar, nuclear, wind, hydroelectric, coal, natural gas, etc. Many of these forms of energy simply aren’t feasible for vehicles (e.g., solar, wind). The ones that are feasible for vehicles would require engines to be modified or changed completely. For instance, if the country wanted to take advantage of hydrogen power, a whole new line of cars would have to be produced that could take that kind of fuel, and fueling stations would have to be built throughout the country. It’s a very expensive proposition.

Perl and Gilbert think the answer is electric motors. They point out that electricity is not a source of energy, but a carrier of energy. By going to electric motors, you move energy production to centralized power plants, which can make use of several different sources of energy. Electricity can be generated at the plant by coal, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear power, solar, etc., or a combination of methods – the point being, it could all be generated domestically, without having to import oil. And it could adapt quickly to new sources of energy – more quickly than changing everyone’s car in America over to some alternative fuel.

Electricity could be delivered to cars through batteries. It could be delivered to trains and even buses through catenary. But whenever the source of fuel changes, it wouldn’t result in having to change vehicles and delivery systems, etc., because they would all run on electricity, so it would be a seamless transition.

Perl and Gilbert had quite a bit to say about trains in particular. Trains are already a very efficient way to transport people and freight. By running the nation’s trains on electricity, Perl & Gilbert believe they can be even more efficient, and serve a larger purpose as well – electricity delivery. If the rail corridors were electrified, they could not only provide power to trains, the excess power could also be distributed throughout the nation for other purposes as well. Rail corridors crisscross the nation, setting up a pretty efficient grid that could be utilized to distribute power between cities and even states.

Hence, the authors think Obama’s infrastructure stimulus should go toward improving and electrifying the nation’s rail system rather than building more highways or airport runways.

What’s funny about this whole discussion is that many cities including Peoria used to have electric trains serving them about a century ago. Peoria had electric streetcars up until the 1940s. And there used to be interurban electric trains that would serve central Illinois called the Illinois Traction System. All those systems have long been dismantled, and it would take a lot of money to recreate them.

This is why I hate seeing infrastructure — for instance, the Kellar Branch rail line — destroyed for no good reason. That corridor could be used for more efficient movement of people and freight through the heart of the city, and such a system will undoubtedly be needed in the future. Pulling it out for a walking path (especially when a walking path and rail corridor can coexist peacefully) is a waste of resources.

On the positive side, work is continuing on a feasibility study of returning Amtrak service to the area. Hopefully we’ll hear the results early in 2009.