The Right Track

The decision to create a freight super-railway through inland Florida represents a 100-year decision in the heritage of many small-town communities. Because the CSX deal was struck in secret, citizens never got a say about the state’s transportation future. The CSX deal may be the worst deal ever negotiated on behalf of citizens. It should be reconsidered.
Good Idea, Wrong Route
The 2009 Florida Legislature is expected to address the CSX deal in its opening weeks. Lawmakers will be asked to approve the liability provision – the last domino for setting the deal in motion – though they’ve never been heard on the project’s costs or feasibility. Because of the deal’s many problems, here’s what should happen:
- Gov. Charlie Crist should tell lawmakers and citizens that upon closer review, he cannot sign the CSX deal because it creates bad precedent and the state cannot afford it. He should then create a credible mechanism for developing a transportation plan that sets aggressive deadlines for improving the movement of people around Florida by rail, including commuters through urban regions.
- Like Massachusetts, the Florida Legislature should refuse to indemnify a for-profit freight railroad that leases time on state-owned commuter tracks. Furthermore, lawmakers should follow California’s lead and prohibit government bodies from indemnifying the wrongdoing of private companies.
- The Legislature should audit funds dedicated to SunRail, with a special emphasis on the money appropriated by the 2005 growth management law, the delaying of road projects elsewhere in the state, and the influence of railroad executives in determining how taxpayer money got redirected.
- Before applying for state funds to support commuter rail, urban communities should be required to have a dedicated local funding source. In the case of Tri-rail, lawmakers should stop playing politics and allow the agency to ask citizens for a needed new revenue source.
- CSX’s proposed freight super-railway through inland Florida should be rerouted to prevent life-changing disruptions to the state’s smaller towns and cities. And an independent analyst (not involved in negotiating the deal) should re-assess the economic assumptions of the rail-and-truck hub in Winter Haven.
Comments
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#26 Setting Record Straight: from ProCitizen
Dear Visitor,
You're right. I testified in the House yesterday about the $2.66 billion Train To Nowhere.
I find it immensely interesting that Tallahassee cannot grasp the concept of a citizen - in this case, a laid-off journalist - testifying against corporate welfare and an open check on the public's purse.
But you're wrong. From the start, I have been proud to say that after I was laid off, I was briefly hired by the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority to continue to call out the terrible terms of the CSX deal, which among many things, would destroy a charming downtown. However, the small agency felt its funding threatened for having hired a public advocate. Such is the world of big-money politics.
I was asked this week, "Why you are doing this?" The short answer is that I wrote a lot about this issue while editor of The Tampa Tribune's editorial board and want to see it through. Perhaps I can find a sustainable future in giving voice to the voiceless, leveraging a career dedicated to doing exactly that. My friends and family tell me that if I continue to stand up for the side of right, the money will follow. I'm giving myself a year to see if it's true. Wish me luck.
For the record, I paid my own way to Tallahassee, rented a car after my car's radiator sprung a leak, then stayed with a friend, to whom I'll be forever grateful.
Now, will you ask the 100 lobbyists and 5 PR firms on the moneyed side of this issue to put their financials on the table?
Rosemary Goudreau, ProCitizen Media
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