Journal Star reporter and columnist Terry Bibo reports today that the Peoria Park Board is flummoxed as to why their plans to convert the Kellar Branch rail line to a trail isn’t moving forward. While they have traditionally pointed fingers at everyone from Pioneer Railcorp to the Surface Transportation Board, they have a new target now: the City of Peoria.
“That sounds like either the city is asleep or the city is in bed with that concept,” said Vice President Jim Cummings.
“That’s an interesting observation,” said President Tim Cassidy.
Oh sure, it’s the city’s fault now. They who have consistently voted in favor of the trail. They who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal counsel to try to get regulatory approval to build the trail. They who signed a 99-year lease at $1 per year with the Park District to use the land for a trail. They’re the ones holding things up, the Park Board says.
I wish. It would be a beautiful thing if the City finally decided to keep the rail line and canceled its contract with the Park District. But I don’t foresee that happening.
If the Park District is looking for someone to blame, it should take a good look at itself. Their all-or-nothing stance on this issue is the obstacle that is standing in the way. If they would try to find a way to build the trail around the rail line, they could have the thing built in a couple of years.
All they need to do is put the trail on the railroad right-of-way next to the tracks where feasible, and then move it adjacent to a parallel street where necessary. It can be done, and they can find grant money to do it, by modifying their ISTEA grant (which they’ve done once already) and/or getting IDNR grants (like they have for the rest of the trail line).
I think I’ve figured out the reason they’re so hard-nosed on this issue, though. The Journal Star article mentions that the Park District is moving their administrative offices to the former IDOT building at Knoxville and Prospect, which is right on the Kellar line. My guess is they want to have the trail going right by their new administrative offices, and that’s the real reason why they’re so unwilling to compromise.
No, that would be logical. They are anything but logical.
The primary reason for the PPD’s insistence on removing the Kellar Branch has emerged during the last year or so: developers.
Local developers have been parroting the idea that they can’t build their multi-million dollar residential, office and retail projects at Peoria Heights and Junction City with the rail line still in use. But with similar development along Peoria’s riverfront(along which runs the Tazewell & Peoria RR), and residential development now encroaching Union Pacific’s north-south mainline, we know that’s not the case, and most Peorians aren’t that snobbish. (Besides, if you’ve ever visited the large cities Peoria seeks to emulate – Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis – you’ll find office, retail and commercial developments mixed among railroads and industry. Memphis even has a trolley system!).
That the PPD wants to move its administrative offices along the line [they hope will become a trail] only confirms what we’ve known for quite some time.
I’m still waiting on all of those great jobs coming down the Kellar Branch. I don’t think it’s gonna happen. How about we forget the railroad and the trail and just put in a series of shuffleboard courts?
Since the original plan of the Park District’s offices to go into the current Lakeview building now appears unlikely, because the move to the IDOT building to a tune of 2.7mil doesn’t look temporary anymore, what becomes of the Lakeview building?
This is assuming that both Lakeview moves out and the IDOT building is truly a permanent move.
Prego,
The railroad MAY have been a factor in Globe Energy’s (600 jobs) plans for Peoria. Phase 1 of their plan (105 jobs) should be complete by fall 2008. We’ll know then if the rail spur in back of their building gets used.
Globe has been typically vague, unfortunately, but their president, when asked las June, did praise railroads for the environmental friendliness.
Then, let’s have him put his money where his globe is, David. All he has to do is say, “Hey, if we don’t have that railroad movin’, then we don’t have no business in Peoria… and we’re heading to Pekin.” Wouldn’t YOU want to make certain that the railroad was up and running if you wanted your business here? The final nail in the trail coffin is what this dude could do, and yet, he doesn’t say anything concrete one way or another?
Again, like most things in the Peoria area, “Promises, Promises.”
The group that is building the ethanol plant near Canton didn’t do their homework when it came to reliable rail transportation, so Globe Energy may not have either (though recent events – i. e., CIRY planning to restore the entire Kellar Branch to operation – probablymakes it a moot issue). A lot of assumptions were made, apparently. It’s a long story but it involves AmerenCILCO, Pioneer Railcorp subsidiary Keokuk Junction Railway, BNSF Railway and the Surface Transportation Board. Enough said 🙂 The issue got started in August 2006 and the Board’s decision is due by December 9, IIRC.
PeoriaIllinoisan: Do not let the $2.7 million price tag lead you to believe it is permanent, money runs like an open faucet from the PPD budget which is three times what it was when I moved here fourteen years ago. If/when the Lakeview Museum building becomes available, look for the PPD admin to move in.
The PPD Board and staff need changes. The way the elections are structured make it difficult to vote out any given individual. I do not think you can run head to head against any one board member, they take the top however many from the cumulative vote. ( C.J. can you clarify the election procedure for me I am a bit hazy on this one? ) It is my feeling that a restructured election process would lead to an easier way to hold individual board members accountable for their votes and perhaps lead to a more responsive park board. This in turn could lead to some positive changes in the administration and ultimately a more conservative and intelligent use of our tax dollars. Until this happens it seems most of our complaints about what happens at Glen Oak in the current Bonnie board are falling on deaf ears.
The Park District should be dissolved and its functions turned over to the COunty. Period. Its the only realistic hope of getting rid of that bunch of clowns and getting the reckless spending under control.
That’s an awful lot of dough for temporary offices.
On the lighter side, I just can’t get the image out of my head of the train blowing it’s horn as it passes by the new Park District offices. 🙂
PI WROTE: “On the lighter side, I just can’t get the image out of my head of the train blowing it’s horn as it passes by the new Park District offices.”
Hmmm, I think that should be a requirement 🙂
They would blow at Northmoor and again at Knoxville. Hmmm wonder how this will go over during one of their Board meetings? Of course they can always apply for a “quiet zone” but that costs an additional one million dollars or so because crossing arms and other things need to be put in place for that and the requesting body has to foot the bill.