Comment EI-20790
Received or sent (printed as 12/18/2014)
The decision to add a rail line for the sole purpose of expanding the cargo container traffic in and out of Port Canaveral will negatively impact the tourism industry in this area of Florida. Presently, the cruise ship business accounts for a huge influx of dollars and jobs. Part of the attraction to this part of Florida, is the quaint old-time" feel to the area. ( Cocoa Beach, The Kennedy Space Center) and the un-crowded nature of this part of the Central Florida East Coast. Attached are several photos to illustrate this point: The beauty and awe of the big cruise ships vs the ugly, rusty, industrial look of the Container Port. There are 3 other major Container Ports in the area: Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, and the Jacksonville area ones. They are all undergoing expansion, as needed, to keep up with the larger ships expected when the Panama Canal widening/ deepening project is completed. We do NOT need this area to jump on that bandwagon! The ruse that it will save the environment by reducing over-land trucking traffic is just that: a smokescreen to divert attention away from the fact that this proposed rail extension will be an even worse negative environmental condition. The Banana River North of the highway 528 is the last wetland to have the ability to grow seagrass, a plant on which many natural species in this area depend on for life. A causeway will seriously change the flow of water, and alter the pristine state it is in by accumulations of mud and algae blooms. There are too many other negative impacts that a rail system in the MERRITT ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ( note the word "Refuge") will have, that I cannot list them all. To preserve the Cruise ship and Tourism industry, to save the many endangered wildlife species that need this area protected, and to support alternative proposals, I urge you and the fellow STB members to vote AGAINST this proposal. Thank You, Sincerely."
Submitted by: Ruth Nelligan · Merritt Island, FL
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.
Port-Canaveral-Cruise-Ship-Aerial-650x275.jpeg ↓ Tampas-container-terminal.-Image-Tampa-Port-Authority.-Florida.jpg ↓ aerial106.jpg ↓
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35852/comment/EI-20790
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