Changes are being made to the first in a series of agreements that will lead to the abandonment of the middle portion of the Kellar Branch rail line. The city council on Tuesday voted to defer the item until their July 28 meeting.
Changes are being made to the first in a series of agreements that will lead to the abandonment of the middle portion of the Kellar Branch rail line. The city council on Tuesday voted to defer the item until their July 28 meeting.
They’ll defer until no one is looking.
The city of Peoria is too busy building hotels and things like that to concentrate on building any industry in this town, so the railroads had to make business decisions they didn’t want to make. The city has made no effort whatsoever to encourage industry to Pioneer Industrial Park and has in fact hampered many who might be interested. So the railroads have no choice but to go along with the agreement now being proposed. But mark my words we will pay the price for this in the future, and it will not be pretty.
Peoria is already paying the price for its warped view of “economic development” – saturation with more hotels, shopping centers, offices and the ever-dependent-on-taxpayer-support biotech firms that get nowhere. Fortunately, Peoria suburbs such as Mapleton and Pekin can and do attract logistics and manufacturing jobs.
Just noticed a “Build The Trail” sign popped up at University & Northmoor. I doubt it’s the only one resurfacing.
If asked, of course they’ll jump on the chance to say no new business has began using rail service in the past year or so since the line re-opened, but I would remind that we’re in the middle of a severe recession. Pioneer Park is a ghost town.
The fix was in. Too bad no one will see any jail time for it.