Dave Pittman of the Recreational Trail Advocates is planning a trip to Washington, DC, to talk with Senator Dick Durbin about the Kellar Branch. Here’s a portion of an e-mail from Mr. Pittman that made its way to my inbox (I took the liberty of correcting some spelling errors):
On Friday, November 2, at 0900 in Washington DC I will set down with members of Senator Durbin’s Staff to make a citizen’s plea for the Kellar Rail into Trail. I confirmed my appointment today with Tom Katari, a Senior Staff Member. Tom told me he is very familiar with the issue, has had repeated conversations with Peoria Mayor Ardis and has read the recent PJS editorial that asked Senator Durbin for assistance.
I will also visit the STB offices and submit a letter asking for closure of the Kellar Rail. So far no one there has agreed to meet with me. […]
I am inclined to ask the Senator’s staff for help in crafting legislation that will fundamentally alter the STB decision making process for rail to trail. The excessive STB emphasis on maintaining rail lines in the face of such broad community and property owner opposition ( of which the Kellar is merely one of hundreds of examples across the country), is part of the root problem of our long struggle for trail creation. The Senator’s staff has told me they are not allowed to directly intervene on specific cases. So let’s change the whole damn STB process.
“…our long struggle for trail creation.” Good lord. You’d think the Kellar Branch was the Holy Land, the way he talks about it. And he calls the STB “excessive.”
For people who advocate walking and biking on paved “trails,” they sure have picked the roughest, most futile path (metaphorically speaking) to get their trail built. Trying to get legislation passed through Congress that will fundamentally change the way the Surface Transportation Board makes decisions regarding rail service? Keep tilting at windmills, RTA.
The answer is simple, yet consistently rejected by the all-or-nothing, my-way-or-the-highway Park District and RTA. All they need to do is build the trail parallel to the railroad line. It can be on the railroad right-of-way where feasible, then move adjacent to a nearby street where necessary. The Park District has proven this can be done at other points along the trail.
Then everybody would be happy. RTA has a trail, Carver Lumber and other shippers have competitive rail service, and we can all beat our swords into plowshares and live in peace and harmony. The goal is to have a trail, isn’t it? Or is the goal to destroy the rail line? I’m not quite sure anymore.
Maybe RTA stands for Railroad Tear-out Advocates.
Why can’t the STB just say, once and for all, that the line CANNOT be vacated? If they would just do that, I think it would go a long way in putting this matter to rest. To date, I’m not aware of their having ever put a statement out as such.
Of course, I’m wrong 66.786% of the time.
“I took the liberty of correcting some spelling errors”
I see you left the grammatical errors though 😉
Yep.
“Maybe RTA stands for Railroad Tear-out Advocates.”
They’ve spent more time trying to tear out the Kellar Branch than figuring out how to cost-effectively build a parallel trail (I can guarantee it doesn’t have to cost $30 million).
Prego Man — The short answer is that they’re a reactive agency, not a proactive one. They respond to requests; they don’t hand down unsolicited rulings.
Central Illinois Railroad had originally requested that the STB authorize the discontinuance of service on a portion of the Kellar Branch, but later withdrew it. So now there’s no discontinuance request before the board for them to rule on. That’s why they haven’t just said the line can’t be vacated. As far as the board is concerned, no one is asking for it to be vacated.
C.J., then why on Earth is all this trail stuff still going on? If there is no request to vacate the line before the STB, what the hell is the point of beating the dead horse? So that it can be pulverized and wash away in the next big rain?
Regardless of how many times we explain it to the RTA and the PPD they just can’t get it through their heads that the issue before STB is not whether it will be a trail or rail. The only issue is who will run the railroad line, CIRY or PIRY. We tell them and tell them and they just don’t get it. All the trips to Washington DC isn’t going to change that. And if they think that the RTA wanting the Kellar Branch for a trail is going to get the federal government to change the way STB runs its part of things they are living in a fantasy world. These people are obsessed with destroying a railroad in order to get their own way regardless of consequences to the future of Peoria. All this time and money could certainly be spent in much better efforts for this community.
The trail-only folks thought from the beginning their ideas were unassailable. When opposition arose they were dumbfounded. How could people oppose our ideas? They believe the STB’s mission should be to follow whatever whims local politicians and developers have.
Their vision is of only minimum wage ice cream shops and convenience stores along the branch, not well-paying light industrial jobs. Those are too icky for them, I suppose. The trail-only cause is now based predominantly on personal grudges and spite. Peace and harmony are not on their radar — defeating those who dare disagree with them is.
The appeal to Dick Durbin is useless as his focus is on national issues. He has no desire to dirty his hands with the Kellar Branch. If he does turn his head toward local issues he should knock Blagojevich around.
Some trail advocates have kind of a conflicting agenda given the new bike lanes they pushed for and got, which, in my opinion, has made a confusing and dangerous mess of Monroe St. Why do we need both, or will this street change back if the trail goes forward?
Remember last week, when it was dark and wet and nasty about 6:00, like it is much of late Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan., and Feb. in Peoria? Well, on a night like that, which sounds better to you:
(a) Riding your bike up the hill in a cold rain and getting a sore throat, or maybe pneumonia?
(b) Fighting traffic and road construction while burning high-priced gas and maybe getting in an accident?
(c) Relaxing in a nice, comfortable, dry trolley car?
If you picked (a) you belong in the Rabid Trail Advocate group.
If you picked (b) you are the typical Peorian, living in the 1960’s when cars were king. Hugo Chavez, OPEC, and the oil companies love you.
If you picked (c), you don’t belong in this crazy town, move somewhere else.
You people are ridiculous. I can tell you how to handle this…”Keller Branch” problem.
1. You waste years trying to plan the damn thing.
2. You finally hire some ridiculous ‘trail building’ consulting firm for more money then you actually have to spend.
3. You send a bunch of doofus-well-to-do know nothings all over the country looking at similar, yet ‘completely different’ trail projects.
4. You have a ‘name the trail’ contest!
5. You radically alter the original trail building plans [make it shorter, fewer benches, fewer trees, little or no wildlife, etc]………………
Personally, I hope Mister Pittman STAYS in Washington; we’ve had enough of him and his ilk around here. Everyone interested in a biking/hiking trail should go over to Bloomington and visit their wonderful trail right next to the NS tracks. Maybe this would open some firmly closed minds like Pittman’s as to the wonderful prospect of having a trail next to the tracks on the Kellar Branch. This would be a good thing for railfans too.
Works for me.
Ed,
After seeing that Norfolk Southern train loaded with wind turbine tower sections rolling through downtown Bloomington Saturday, I can say that I’m fully in agreement that railfans will benefit from a side-by-side railroad and trail.
I would like to see a shorter fence, though (and the slow speed at which these trains pass through downtown Bloomington, I would say there may be no reason for a fence.
Turban will help. He likes to tear things down