Comment EI-21824
Received or sent (printed as 4/7/2016)
I oppose the construction of the GLB railroad. As a mother of 2 young children the health and safety of my growing family will be threatened by this railroad project. Currently the proposed route will be ~ ½ mile south of our house and ~1 mile west. There is only one road going through Clinton in the North/south direction and the tracks will intersect it. This could be a major problem, potentially life threatening, if there happens to be an emergency north of town and emergency responders are delayed by a passing train. There is also increased chances of vehicle or pedestrian accidents. According to Operation Lifesaver a person or vehicles in America, is hit by a train roughly every 3 hours and a motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle. These are statistics that will cross my mind anytime me or my family have to travel over railroad tracks. There's also concerns about railroad trespassing. Children in rural areas are often less supervised and could easily play on nearby railroad tracks and get hit by a train. A new railroad will negatively impact the air quality in our area. The GLB projects that 100 trains per day would use the proposed tracks. That kind of rail traffic will create harmful diesel emissions, poisoning anyone that breathes the air near in the area. A study completed by the Mayo Clinic found that asthma was 40 to 70% more prevalent in children who lived near railroads. Diesel pollution is also linked to increased risks of cancer. The trains will be able to travel at speeds up to 70 miles per hour, increasing the chance of a derailment and exposing nearby communities to soil, drinking water, and air contamination from hazardous materials. The noise caused by 100 trains a day, traveling at 70 miles per hour will be disruptive to the daily lives of everyone in the area, including local wildlife and livestock. To conclude the increased health and safety risks of the proposed GLB railroad is a huge concern for vehicle/train collisions, emergency response times, pedestrian/train collisions, pollution, potential derailment, and noise pollution. These are risks that I do not want to expose my family to. For these reasons, I oppose the GLB railroad.
Submitted by: Sonja Jackson · Clinton, Wisconsin
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-35952/comment/EI-21824 · back to the docket sheet