AAF pays for the quiet zones

[spuwho]

While Martin and Indian River Counties are vehemently fighting the new Brightline service, their highway departments were in a little bit of a bind.

The county governments refused to apply for a quiet zone because by law it would have required local funding to help pay for the upgraded crossings. They are refusing to pay for anything. Gov. Scott vetoed the state funding.

However, if the highway department didn't sign off on the proposed crossing modifications, by federal law, Florida East Coast could close the crossing permanently.  Clearly not ideal for FEC or the municipalities involved.

Quietly, behind the scenes, AAF has been working to resolve this. So while the new crossing design will exceed "Quiet Zone" standards, they in fact will not be official Quiet Zones.

Who is paying for all of this? All Aboard Florida.   They weren't obligated to, but they did and designed them to exceed the requirement.

Per TC Palm:

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/shaping-our-future/all-aboard-florida/all-aboard-finalizes-plans-for-the-treasure-coast-reveals-changes-to-roads-crossings-2faa836a-4191-4-374508441.html

All Aboard finalizes plans for Martin, St. Lucie, reveals changes to roads, crossings

All Aboard Florida has finalized the changes it will make to railway crossings in Martin and St. Lucie counties in preparation for its Miami-to-Orlando Brightline passenger rail service. All Aboard likely will finalize Indian River County's plans later this month, according to the company.

The long-awaited crossing and track designs — as well as a letter of approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, the overseeing agency — will be made available to local governments on Monday, according to All Aboard Florida.

In delivering the documents, All Aboard Florida fulfills a promise more than two years in the making, according to Michael Reininger, president.

"It's as safe as we always represented it would be," Reininger said, noting that the company made safety improvements to the existing Florida East Coast Railway tracks beyond government requirements. "The reality of that is pretty clearly evident in the completed documents and affirmation from the FRA."

The completed plans position All Aboard Florida to quickly begin work on the Treasure Coast once it obtains several needed permits. The company, though, has yet to secure nearly $2 billion of financing, a key part of completing the $3.1 billion railroad.

MORE | 1 state permit rejection could shut down All Aboard Florida

Work already has begun on the tracks south of Martin County and on stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and at Orlando International Airport.

Hundreds of pages of maps reveal that all track crossings in Martin and St. Lucie will be left open, including Seaward Street in Port Salerno, which had been under consideration for closure. It's likely all crossings in Indian River — including 21st Street and U.S. 1 and 14th Avenue and U.S. 1 in Vero Beach — also will remain open, according to All Aboard Florida.

Plans also show that All Aboard Florida has taken a safety precaution much desired by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council: extending all planned highway medians from the required 65 feet to 100 feet.

Lengthening the highway medians is meant to increase safety by making it more difficult for drivers to use the opposing lane to skirt the railroad traffic arm.

Proposed engineering changes in downtown Stuart could make the notorious seven-road traffic circle known as Confusion Corner safer, and less confusing. The plans show no unexpected changes to the St. Lucie River bridge.

A guide to making it easier for local governments to request quiet zones accompanies the 100 percent plans.

All Aboard Florida said it hopes the guide will encourage local governments to request railroad administration approval for the stretches of track where safety infrastructure meets a federal standard for eliminating the need for a train to sound its horn.

"We've heard all long people are most bothered by the sound of the horns. We ourselves can't fix that problem, but we've tried to evidence our willingness to be a good neighbor," Reininger said about quiet zones, which can be requested only by local governments. "This is one very tangible way to evidence that. We've done everything we can possibly do to make this a reality."

The guide is the latest in a series of efforts by All Aboard Florida to make it easier for the Treasure Coast to obtain quiet zones.

Nearly two years ago, the company promised to help cover the cost of quiet zones, an offer accepted in all regions along the rail corridor, except on the Treasure Coast, a hotbed of opposition to the project.

Here, government officials have not applied for quiet zones, even though all of the required infrastructure will be in place — whether or not governments seek it — and would be virtually free.

Brightline passenger service is to begin between Miami and West Palm Beach in mid-2017, with Miami-to-Orlando service beginning in late 2017.

[Brian_Tampa]

To add to this, the Orlando station won't be ready until mid or late 2018 according to sources. Also, it's been reported that construction on phase 2 won't start until first quarter 2017 at the earliest. I believe AAF has previously said it would take 18-24 months to complete that section north of WPB. They are saying they have stopped trying to sell their bonds until the market improves. There was an article in the WPB Post today about that.

I've been told that the quiet zone funding that Scott vetoed was meant for Sunrail in Orlando, not AAF.

[spuwho]

http://www.palmbeachmpo.org/news/local-quiet-zone-funding-not-impacted-by-governors-veto

Apparently since Martin and Indian River counties refused to apply for the funding, it was entered into the state budget by the transportation committee at the behest of the local representatives, on behalf of AAF.

Since Scott vetoed it, AAF paid for it out of their own pocket.