By Rich Campbell
January 31, 2018
TC Palm
(Excerpt)
Everyone agrees it’s just plain stupid to try and beat the train. That said, it’s easy to envision circumstances in our region where children — or adults with no appreciation for the speed of a rapidly approaching train — will lose their lives on the tracks.
What is needed in our region, among other things, is fencing along the rail line to discourage trespassing, and pedestrian overpasses in places that get a lot of foot traffic. One of those places is the Golden Gate area in Martin County, where pedestrians routinely trek across the Florida East Coast Railway tracks to Walmart and back, according to Wouters.
However, Brightline officials have repeatedly questioned the efficacy of fencing — maybe because they don’t want to pay for it — and Treasure Coast officials have said pedestrian bridges can be constructed in key areas, but taxpayers will need to foot the bill.
“We can try to engineer the greatest whiz-bang thing at all these intersections and crossings (to improve public safety),” said Dylan Reingold, attorney for Indian River County. “But at the end of the day, you’re talking about something that is inherently dangerous and should not be in the place it is going to be at the speeds proposed.”
Agreed.
No train stops are planned for our region. Additionally, we will bear the burden of 110 mph trains. When it comes to Brightline, the Treasure Coast exists solely as a conduit for the passenger rail project.
Tell us again, Brightline proponents, why Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties should support this project.
Please. We’re all ears.
To read the entire column, please click here: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/opinion/columnists/rich-campbell/2018/01/31/treasure-coast-ready-110-mph-trains-not-even-close-rich-campbell/1078077001/