Rick Scott's Argument Pitful and Untrue, Legislature to Sue over High Speed Rail

[yapp1850]

i predict the court will honor part of the money 1.6 fed, 130 mil. state if it goes that way they would have to redesign it like with i-4 and csx combine

[thelakelander]

The Governors response to the lawsuit filed by the FL State Senators.

https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=*z**poB5L*wlEer5BQZfug

To tell the truth, I still don't understand Rick Scott's line of thinking on this.  Where is he getting the idea that the $2.4 billion federal HSR grant can be used for ports in Jacksonville and Miami and widening I-95, I-4, I-395 and I-275?  None of this is revelent because the grant is specifically dedicated to HSR projects.  I also find it funny that someone could mention highway widening as being more sustainable.

Anyway, from looking at the 29 page response, it appears on day one he had all intentions to kill the project and no amount of logic from the opposite side would change his mind.

[tufsu1]

i predict the court will honor part of the money 1.6 fed, 130 mil. state if it goes that way they would have to redesign it like with i-4 and csx combine

nice try....but the Court isn't going to force anyone to do a redesign

I expect them to rule only on whether the Governor has violated the separation of powers and constitutional authority....

that said, but they might throw a zinger in there regarding "his protection of the taxpayers of Florida"...I think I figured out his semantics are a veiled way of saying he is protecting Florida taxpayers from the Federal government....but that isn't his responsibility.

[fsujax]

Now Mica speaks again.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2011-03-02/mica-high-speed-rail-im-referee-food-fight

[iMarvin]

The only major city not agressively making plans to improve their local transit options is Jacksonville (although JTA is pushing for BRT).  Tampa and Orlando both plan to have local mass transit spines connected with their HSR terminals by the time HSR is operational in 2015.  Miami is already extending metrorail to connect with their terminal (already under construction) and the airport.

I agree with you to some extent, but I think Jacksonville is not doing things agressively because Jacksonville won't be getting high speed rail for at least 15 years. I would love to see light rail in Jacksonville before then but that might be the driving force for us to get it.

[JeffreyS]

Marvin HSR is not where Jacksonville should be aggressive. Commuter rail and streetcar are taylor made for this city and it's existing rail infrastructure.

[thelakelander]

If Rick Scott continues down this path of his, commuter rail and streetcar are going to be more financially difficult to pull off, since they may have to end up being 100% locally funded.

[urbaknight]

I just hope we can get DT bustling before I'm too old to enjoy it.

[iMarvin]

Marvin HSR is not where Jacksonville should be aggressive. Commuter rail and streetcar are taylor made for this city and it's existing rail infrastructure.

I know I was saying we weren't being agressive with light rail beacuse that's what lake said. But I agree with you. Even though I would love streetcars in the urban core, I don't undertsand why we would not try to extend the skyway. I think if streetcars came , the skyway would kind of be a waste.

[JeffreyS]

Listen to Mica's interview and he mentions the FEC line as well as Sunrail.
http://daytonasun.com/index2.php?option=com_k2&view=item&task=download&id=117

[JeffreyS]

Marvin HSR is not where Jacksonville should be aggressive. Commuter rail and streetcar are taylor made for this city and it's existing rail infrastructure.

I know I was saying we weren't being agressive with light rail beacuse that's what lake said. But I agree with you. Even though I would love streetcars in the urban core, I don't undertsand why we would not try to extend the skyway. I think if streetcars came , the skyway would kind of be a waste.

Riverside or Springfeild streetcar could compliment the Skyway and help drive the skyway's logical expansion to SanMarco. Muti-Model is the ticket.

[iMarvin]

Marvin HSR is not where Jacksonville should be aggressive. Commuter rail and streetcar are taylor made for this city and it's existing rail infrastructure.

I know I was saying we weren't being agressive with light rail beacuse that's what lake said. But I agree with you. Even though I would love streetcars in the urban core, I don't undertsand why we would not try to extend the skyway. I think if streetcars came , the skyway would kind of be a waste.

Riverside or Springfeild streetcar could compliment the Skyway and help drive the skyway's logical expansion to SanMarco. Muti-Model is the ticket.

I guess that makes sense.

[tufsu1]

Now Mica speaks again.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2011-03-02/mica-high-speed-rail-im-referee-food-fight

and as crazy as ever!

[Gators312]

Now Mica speaks again.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2011-03-02/mica-high-speed-rail-im-referee-food-fight


He said that he always thought the plan to do high-speed rail from Tampa to Orlando was a "dog." Last week Mica pushed a plan to just build high-speed rail from the Orlando airport to that city's tourist areas

and as crazy as ever!

Ummm.....maybe I am missing something, but Mica's alternate plan is just dumb.

[Ocklawaha]

Now Mica speaks again.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2011-03-02/mica-high-speed-rail-im-referee-food-fight

and as crazy as ever!

So which part of his statement is "crazy" TU? The warning that Congress could (AND SHOULD) yank some of the funds and give it to projects that actually make sense for the residents living along the routes of those projects?

Maybe it is the part where he said Orlando-Tampa is a dog of a route for High Speed Rail, a route which BTW didn't even rank in the top 100 potential HSR proposals?

I think you might even be referring to the bone he is tossing the completely insane Florida Plan, and offering to hand out some money for an Orlando Airport - Tourist Trap - Mickey Route, which in 30 miles or so, will serve everyone they claim they are building HSR for in the first place? Is that crazy?

Wouldn't it be crazier if he would have said, "Don't worry, I'm making sure that Florida gets all the money it can waste on this project." Crazy because he really believes, "it is going to take traffic off of I-4, stop sprawl, clean up our air, and make Florida more attractive to millions of people who if they move here, couldn't use the train for anything anyway!"

Crazier if he told President Obama, and Congress, and Rick Scott that this is the best darn rail project in the nation, and deserves to be built end to end because lots of those airplanes and pine trees at OIA need a better way to get to Fantasy Land!

Really crazy if he told the House that the keen relationship between students at USF in Polk County, have a dire need to get to Disney, and that EVERYONE going from Tampa or Lakeland to Orlando takes the Beach Line over to the Airport in Orlando to park... so they can WALK to downtown.

I do disagree with Mica one one thing though, this plan is not a "dog," it's worse then that. Just remember this should all of you get your wish that somehow, by hook or crook, we go over or around Scott and build this railroad. It will be the first AND LAST high speed rail line built in the USA in our lifetimes... but hey, it's free money!

Why should we care... remember private industry wants to go broke over this thing and now we're complaining that they won't even have the chance. Two big things wrong with this picture:

One the loophole is already in place to allow ANY private company to bail and leave Florida holding the bag, that loophole is found in the application, EIS and other doccuments pretaining to the proposal which are chock full of half truths and outright lies.

So what if they DID get to build it right along the plan Florida has laid out and it fails so big that they are looking for a way out? Tell me people, what is this going to do to further High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail, Commuter Rail, Amtrak or for that matter Streetcars in this country?

OCKLAWAHA