AAF Public Hearings

[spuwho]

First press reports are out on the first set of public hearing held on the new All Aboard Florida services

Per the Palm Beach Post

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/business/all-aboard-florida-rail-project-draws-crowd-for-pu/nXj7z/?icmp=pbp_internallink_textlink_apr2013_pbpstubtomypbp_launch

WEST PALM BEACH â€" Noise and traffic flow were key issues Tuesday at the open house for All Aboard Florida, an express passenger rail line proposed to run from Miami to Orlando with stops in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
The open house by AAF representatives and the Federal Railroad Administration provided a forum for questions and comments. Residents, local governments and businesses can use Environmental Impact Study process to point out the pros and cons of running 16 trains a day for the project.

The $1.5 billion All Aboard Florida, a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, will spend on the project as well as new jobs and increased foot traffic around the stations have been put forward as benefits. Tourism leaders and many business leaders support the project.

Project leaders heard the other side Tuesday, as several residents showed up to lodge concerns.

“I’m concerned about my house being rattled to death,” said Gloria April, who has lived 13 years a block from the tracks on Monroe Drive.

The noise and vibration of additional trains was a repeated concern Tuesday. Residents were also concerned about street closures â€" technically grade crossing closures because it closes the track crossing, not the roadway.

April said she taught her grandson how to count by ticking off the 120 cars going by on the freight trains. The usual four freight trains a day are invasive enough.

“It’s not just this train, it’s the beginning of a whole lot of train traffic,” said Ruth Kurtz, a CityPlace South resident whose home is on the railroad track side of the condo building.

And she’s right.

Not only is All Aboard Florida planning express passenger service, but that project has spurred regional transportation officials to pursue Tri-Rail service for the Florida East Coast corridor, an idea that has been around for years.

If local governments coordinate with All Aboard Florida developers to do the upgrades at the same time, the work would be cheaper and the construction less disruptive to residents, said Kim DeLaney, strategic development coordinator for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.

But the noise issue is a complex one.

Local governments up and down the rail line want quiet zones, DeLaney said. So they are working together to speed up the process.

All Aboard Florida is not the entity to design or fund the required infrastructure for quiet zones, as those who worked through the process on the Tri-Rail tracks know. The work and cost is up to the local government.

West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio said the project needs to account for quiet zones from the beginning. And city Planning Director Rick Greene said his department has worked with FECI Executive Vice President of Corporate Development Jose Gonzalez and others for months.

“None of these things are insurmountable,” Muoio said. “They’re just things to be attentive to.”

Gonzalez said the railroad wants to minimize the disruptions of construction, so it working with local entities to jointly plan for quiet zones and possible Tri-Rail service. But he also sought to reassure residents concerned about the noise and inconvenience of All Aboard Florida trains.

“These trains are lighter, quieter, quicker” than freight or even Tri-Rail trains, he said.

Concerned residents as well as businesses or government entities can submit comments for the EIS until May 15.

[Noone]

I had an opportunity to meet and listen to Kim Delaney when she was here in Jacksonville. She gave a fantastic presentation on rail. I recall how for example if the Bike Guys wanted to do an event Amtrack could add a car that could just be full of bikes. Same could be said for kayaks. try to bring that stuff on the plane.

Hey Bike guys, In the meantime what about a bike rack next to the Public Floating dock at Shipyards that nobody can use? Or a bike rack next to the Mayor Brown Kayak logo at the Marina?

[Ocklawaha]

“I’m concerned about my house being rattled to death,” said Gloria April, who has lived 13 years a block from the tracks on Monroe Drive."

"Well lets see lady, um, you've been in your house, a block from the tracks since 2000 and the railroad has been up that block since 1894; 119 years ago. Did you really think there would be less train service to the most populous corridor in Florida when you moved in?

IDIOT!"

LOVE OCK.