Comment EI-13802
Received or sent (printed as 9/29/2008)
STB Board Members: I would like to provide comments on the purposed purchase by CN Rail. I am strongly opposed to this purchase as it will cause severe negative environmental impacts in the areas which surround the railroad route under discussion. I urge you to reject this proposed sale. 1- I believe that the disruption to car and school bus traffic has not been fully considered and is being presented as minor. This railroad route transects many communities, and maintaining the integrity of communities must be properly considered and is of significant value. 2- I believe that the mitigation needs, eg bridges, underpasses, must be understood, planned and have funds allocated before any approval can be made for this purchase by CN. None of that is in place, and with the financial limitation of the STB, and other government agencies including local bodies, it is a dream to think that the mitigation strategies will be addressed in the future. CN Rail certainly won't take responsibility! It is a disservice to the public to approve this proposed sale without having the associated infrastructure plans and monies in place to address the major issues that this purchase presents. You cannot introduce significant delays of access to/by fire departments, schools and hospitals from the residents and business served by these necessary services, and that will happen with the proposed level of traffic, and there will probably be even more traffic than has been presented by CN Rail. Our homes were purchased with services in place and the tax base has supported these services. Taxpayers should not be placed in deep financial stress due to a railroad company needing a alternate route. 3- The loss in property values will be extreme. In this financial climate, further devaluation of properties is not in the best interests of either government or taxpayers. Devaluation should certainly NOT come as a result of a sale of railroad tracks! Don't we have enough to struggle with already in this uncertain economy? 4- The current existing rail routes should be sufficient to handle the rail traffic needs. Instead of opening another high traffic rail corridor which devalues property and increases lawsuits due to limited access to taxpayers by hospitals and fire services, the current rail corridor should be improved, just as we do with interstate highways. When a highway needs improvements, we don't build another interstate overnight - we modernize the existing corridor to handle the needs of the users. Why isn't that being done in this case?? The infrastructure already exists- lets use and upgrade what is there, rather than creating a whole new area of high rail traffic, vehicular traffic congestion, disruption of school, fire and hospital services, and severe degradation of property values. What is being proposed is a HUGE impact on the established communities that border the railroad track, and has not been appropriately evaluated or valued. There is nothing in place to address these impacts. In these times, placing a huge economic burden on the communities, as would happen if this sale is approved, is not to the benefit of the people. This is a sale that would benefit the purchaser only- a profit for a company. There is no benefit to the communities or the taxpayers, only an extreme added financial burden and environmental hardship- which is not smart to do in these times of financial turmoil. There should be an overall regional and national transportation plan made in light of the growing concerns on energy efficiency and environmental degradation. Adding a corridor of high rail traffic in a forested and rural area is not consistent with saving and preserving green areas in our region and country. Please reject this proposed sale. Sincerely submitted, Janis B Sharpless
Submitted by: Janis B Sharpless · Wayne, IL
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35087/comment/EI-13802 · back to the docket sheet