October 27, 2007

Has the train left the station?

For residents of West Central Florida - and ultimately Florida taxpayers - who are the losers in a secret deal between Gov. Jeb Bush and CSX Rail, it's enough to make the blood boil:

LAKELAND - In 2002, an Orlando-based planning group produced a paper titled: "Why Can't We Solve Orlando's Traffic Congestion Problems By Moving the Freight Trains?"

Five years later, the answer is they can and they are - by dumping the problem on Polk, Hillsborough and other counties to the west.

Florida is about to spend half a billion dollars in public money to move freight trains off the rail line running through the Orlando region and onto another rail line running west of it.

The benefits for Orlando are twofold: Easing traffic congestion in the Orlando area's urban core and clearing rail lines now used by CSX to make way for new commuter trains.

Orlando's neighbors lose on both counts.

Read the report . . . Orlando train transfer to impact Bay area counties

2 comments:

Zach said...

I just bought a house in Florida and the whole property tax thing is what is ticking me off...

Aikäne said...

Welcome to Florida - land of unfettered development and inflated property insurance rates!

In a recent visit to your blog, I had noticed that your new house pics looked like Floria. I'm sure you'll enjoy life in the sunshine state, though, despite the negatives.

Which part of Florida are you in?