Being a FACTSHEET and INFO source for the Springfield Railroad Issue
The current plan Union Pacific has is to increase rail traffic along 3rd Street to up to 40 trains per day at an increased rate of 31 mph over the current speed making the new speed 110 mph.
Nine overpasses will have to be built that will stand 30 feet high and four city blocks long, thus blocking traffic from 5th to Spring Streets. This will negatively impact the historic district, the medical district, and the Dana-Thomas House.
Ted Keylon's bLog for updates and info before they arrive on this site by the site's admin.
Steve Combs, Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association President - www.epnia.com (217) 494-6668
FaceBook Group Join up if you're on FaceBook!
NEXT EVENT:
Metro Variety Show
"Enos Park Railroad Issue Part 1 and 2" will air on Sunday, December 6th & 13th, 2009, at 7:00 A.M., 1:00 P.M., and 7:00 P.M. on Comcast Cable Channel 4.
Mario Ingoglia, community producer, Metro Variety Show
POSTPONED UNTIL ACCESS 4 IS BACK ON THE AIR: HTTP://WWW.ACCESS4.TV
To Rail Rally Participants
What a great moment we all experienced last Wednesday! For eight weeks in August and September, you demanded to be heard.When Secretary Hannig signed the enclosed Memorandum of Understanding, it was not to confirm his initial position that 3rd Street was a "done deal" but to acknowledge that a new Environmental Impact Study was needed to determine where the best place would be to construct new tracks through Springfield.
That moment epitomized how we and our fellow Rail Rally friends make our voices heard! How we have positioned ourselves to bring about changes we want for our city, our businesses and our neighborhoods, not those dictated to us by state and national bureaucracies.
As Representative Poe indicated, we, the participants of the Rail Rallies, were the "unknown factor" in every meeting he attended. IDOT and UP questioned what we were going to do next. Some identified us as a "loose cannon" or "those crazy neighborhood groups"!
However, Public Act 93-0545 identifies us as "stakeholders" and legislates that the Department of Transportation shall initiate "early and ongoing collaboration with affected citizens to ensure that the values and needs of the affected communities are identified and carefully considered in the development of transportation projects".
It has taken a while to get back to this point but as Chairman Van Meter has said, "we are now at the end of the beginning". There is much to do but from here on out we will have more input in our own destiny!
Thanks to all of you for your commitment to this cause! Have a Happy Holiday and a safe New Year!
Steve Combs on behalf of the Grassroots Coalition for Consolidation
ELPC - Environmental Law and Policy Center
They ask for comments just like IDOT. Why not tell them that High Speed is fine but you won't let them destroy Springfield to do it, especially for 16 high-...speed (110mph?) and 22 freight!
https://secure3.convio.net/elpc/
site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=
UserAction&id=432Click here for the webinar video/audio (you will have to log in): http://elpc.org/2009/09/01/watch-midwest-high-speed-rail-briefing
Here's some info about the clip:
"ELPC hosted a special webinar on September 1st to highlight what’Äôs at stake in the initial cycle of federal funding for high-speed rail, summarize the proposed Midwest high-speed rail projects and describe what to expect as we move closer to realizing our goal of high-speed rail in the Midwest. The webinar, which ran 30 minutes and included audience questions, featured ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner and Deputy Director Kevin Brubaker."
Doug Nicodemus, FaceBook Group Admin
IDOT Comments
I got an e-vite from Michelle Higgenbotham, but it is in picture form so I couldn't copy and paste it very easily. It asks that you post comments on IDOT's website about the 3rd Street proposal.
You can do that here: http://www.idothsr.org/
Ted Keylon, webmaster/admin
[Thanks to Steve Combs for providing information, Ted Keylon for posting the data, and the Spectra Network for server space.]
A Word From Steve Combs:
I wanted to let all of you know that the Coalition for Consolidation has not conceded to IDOT's position of support for Union Pacific's plans of building a second rail on the 3rd Street corridor using tax payer money. We formed the coalition to educate and motivate the citizens of Springfield to bring civil pressure on our elected and appointed officials. In that effort we have hired an attorney with an extensive back ground in state government and litigation. Up to this point he has acted as a consultant and advisor to our efforts. We had hoped, and felt, that the city and county with their political and financial contacts would ultimately lead any legal action. We are however at a point where we are ready and willing to assume that role.
Our number one priority is Springfield's economic vitality and the preservation of its unique history! Although we have supported the state and national emphasis on the infusion of stimulus money in Illinois through the high speed rail project, we will not sacrifice the city for any state goals or objectives, just as the state should not sacrifice its needs and priorities to the national government.
As we continue to look at the legal issues ahead of us, we call upon your continued support and participation at the Railroad Industry Committee Hearing TBA, at the Capitol Building, Room 114. Go to www.ilga.gov and type in HB4626 to get names of committee members. This is a bill introduced by Speaker Madigan which calls for the state to deny all request of state money for construction of a second rail on the 3rd Street corridor. This bill if passed, and the City Council resolution not to sell city land to UP, are two extremely important parts of the puzzle. Let's all be ready to support this bill. I will keep you up to date!
Remember (9/5/09) "This is the only alternative (Third Street) that's going to work. The other alternative is walking away," Hannig said in a conference call with the editorial board of The State Journal-Register. "We have to ride the horse that we have, and that's Third Street," he said.
And then again (9/9/09) SJ-R summed up Hannig's view from an second conference call in two sentences:
1. This is the only plan we've got so get used to it.
2. Hey, Springfield, shut up about this and don't blow our chance at $2 billion in federal money.
Well the only thing to shut up in Springfield will be the train whistles once we get the tracks consolidated and create a 5 mile quiet zone with a surrounding green way and a bustling multimodal center for travel and commerce.
Steve Combs on behalf of the Grassroots Coalition for Consolidation
494 6668
CONTACT:
Point of Contact: Steve Combs
Site Admin: Ted Keylon