After reading the details of Pioneer Railcorp’s offer to purchase the Kellar Branch rail line from the city and help the Park District construct a trail next to it, one has to wonder why in the world the city wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. There’s no reasonable explanation for this offer to be rejected.
The offer, detailed in a letter to the city council dated September 24, 2004, can be read in its entirety by clicking here. I’d just like to bullet out a summary of applicable parts of the offer here. Pioneer is offering to:
- Purchase the Kellar Branch and western spur from the City of Peoria for $565,000, or accept a long-term lease on the lines;
- Grant the Park District a 999-year lease on a portion of the right-of-way for the use of a trail;
- Donate up to $100,000 in in-kind services (railcar usage, train service, equipment use, flagging and other labor services) to the Park District to assist in the construction of said trail;
- Work with the Park District to provide for joint use of the right-of-way, including the joint use of existing bridges;
- Provide the labor, materials and equipment to construct a trestle for the trail to traverse the section behind Versailles Garden where the track elevation has caused the Park District the most concern;
- Upgrade the Kellar Branch track to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) “Class I” standards;
- Aggressively seek new business in Pioneer Park and Growth Cell Two;
- Develop a “dinner train” as a tourist attraction for the city (similar to a successful dinner train Pioneer runs on their Gettysburg & Northern Railroad);
- Develop, in cooperation with the city, tourist/commuter service from downtown;
- Pursue the establishment of a “railroad academy” in partnership with Illinois Central College and/or other appropriate partners, to train students in train operation and maintenance, using Pioneer’s equipment and facilities; and
- Give the city right of first refusal to repurchase the line if another entity wants to buy it from Pioneer.
According to Pioneer Railcorp, this offer still stands. Look at those items above again. The city gets $565,000. The rail line gets upgraded to Class I standards at no expense to the city. The trail is built beside the rail line, so the Rock Island and Pimiteoui Trails will be connected. And Pioneer will agressively seek new business along the line, which could bring in more higher-paying manufacturing jobs to Peoria.
Why isn’t the City taking this offer?
Easy Chris, they despise Brinkman, they (PPD, COP and the trailers) have an all or all attitude. I am sure you heard the WMBD interview with David Jordan and David Thurman, and the outright refusal of the morning guys to even try and understand or want anything but a trail. For the greater good, and who cares if Carver would be out of business. Peoria is not a friendly town when it comes to business, unless it’s a Med-Tech idea, which is a pie in the sky dream, that is yet to produce much more then spin. If you ask the common dweeb on the street, the trail is a neat idea, but why remove a railroad to do it.
I blame the Peoria City Clowncil for not asking tougher questions. I mean really, here we have the PPD already involved in some odd behavior with D150. But I digress, they surely have our best interest in mind…
I actually think the Med-Tech (now Renaissance Park) idea is a good one. But I don’t understand why this has to be an either/or proposition. With our size and assets, we should be able to attract both types of businesses to Peoria. It’s short-sighted to put all our eggs in one basket or the other.
As far as the council goes, I’m still hopeful that this new council will undo some of the poorer decisions of past councils.
The City of Peoria is in it too deep to back out now. They’ll have to be forced to back out…if their’s any justice. Pioneer Railcorp apparently plans to spend an awful lot of money on rehabilitating that Kellar Branch at their own expense, but they have the money. the tourist trains will be a draw and would be far more beneficial to the City than a bicycle trail.
And yet, if the city took Pioneer up on its offer, they would help build the bicycle path, too! They could have it all! That’s what makes this so frustrating. What is the real reason the city wants to remove this rail line? If they can have a rail/trail combination plus a half-million dollars, but they’re choosing to pull up the rail anyway, they should explain why to the tax-payers of Peoria. The city is short of funds, is it not? Why are they throwing away this opportunity? There must be another reason.
Railroad tracks are a symbol of the “old economy” and a supposed detriment to development. Of course, development already surrounds these railroad tracks.
Notice these discussions rarely, if ever, get any comments from trail proponents anymore?
Because I was in favor of the offer.
If that’s te case Gary, then why are we not getting both sides of the story from the PJ Star? Why is every editorial about the poor PPD and the possible loss of the grant money? Even their Carver pieces are so anti-rail in their tone, one has to wonder what is being covered up?
Even the WMBD morning show, which you have their ears, doesn’t care about the rail, it’s trail or it’s the trail. No compromise allowed.
Med-Tech, if successful, is a good thing but if the City and JSEB seem to have the attitude that those highly-educated persons they are trying to attract will be turned off by attracting heavy industry. So my question is, are we then supposed to run existing heavy industry out of town?
Fact of the matter is, some of this Med-Tech initiative and heavy industry can be one in the same. The “tech” part of it, in particular, because Firefly Energy, if it ever becomes a major player in the advanced battery market, is going to have to ship graphite and carbon in some quantity from distant locations (graphite occurs in New York, Texas and Mexico in N. America) to a manufacturing plant in the Peoria area (that is the whole point of the Med-Tech Initiative, no?). How will such raw materials arrive the area? Rail? Truck? Possibly the former if Firefly gains a large portion of the $15 billion lead-acid battery market. Do we want them in Peoria proper or will they find Pekin or another location?
What about zuChem? They use bacterium strains to grow glycochemicals (which are sugar and carbohydrate-like molecules according to google searches). The finished product has food, chemical and pharmaceutical applications and perhaps could be produced in great enough quantity, hopefully in the Peoria area, that rail transportation will be required. Again, do we want them in Peoria proper or will they find Pekin or another location?
Cruise Control,
Perhaps because the U J E B stopped being my publisist about 18 years ago
U J E B = “Urine Jar Editorial Board?”
CJ: Have you heard? “The Dean of Peoria Bloggers” is not only censoring but DE-linking AS WELL! Seems kinda shallow, eh?
This offer sounds incredible! We would get both! And as I posted on another thread, light rail is a huge boon (having lived in Seattle where the battle to build tracks through neighborhoods is worse even than Peoria’s militant neighborhoods can imagine).
I think the idea of light/commuter rail would be a huge draw to the kinds of professionals the Renaissance Park Commission (f.k.a. Med/Tech) would go gaga over. They could build some McMansions in the Northeast part of the county and still work for Cat minus the driving commute and high gas prices for their hummers. (Note: I in no way advocate for McMansions or Hummers. I am a New Urbanism advocate, for sure).
See also Kevin Carrigan’s letter to the UJEB in Saturday’s paper.
Is there a local group working for this option? I’m all for forming one. Email me if you are interested. cara@grope.com
Vonster, I don’t know what you’re talking about — who’s censoring whom?
Cara, Carrigan’s letter was excellent, although there is some debate over whether rail transit would be profitable in Peoria where we don’t have major traffic delays or parking shortages like larger cities. The main reason for the tracks to stay in place is for freight traffic for Pioneer Park and Growth Cell 2. Other uses would just be icing on the cake.
You are right, CJ. We don’t have major traffic delays or parking shortages, but light rail is an environmentally friendly thing, getting greenhouse gas emitting cars off the road – and we all know how polluted our air is already. Plus, with gas prices the way they are now – with no end in sight short of impeaching W – I can’t imagine the idea being entirely unpopular right now (especially from someone who lives out by Mossville, namely me, and commutes to BU to work). Also, there’s a crapload of construction out at the end of this branch. It would allow lower income folks to move out that way too, and have it become a bit less of a waspy enclave. So, no, it’s not “needed” but it’s still a good idea. Hell, maybe it could lead to a train all the way to Chicago and/or St. Louis.
Cara,
even more environmentally friendly commuting would be this: move closer to your job at BU. There are lots of great places to live within walking distance. Screw the light rail — hoof it!