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People Will Finally Be Heard On Plan For Winter Haven Rail Hub

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Updated: 09/18/2007 06:44 pm

Thanks to Tom Pelham, secretary of the state Department of Community Affairs, citizens will finally be heard on the plan by CSX railroad to move its hub from Orlando to Winter Haven.

Pelham, the state's top growth-management official, has agreed to meet with critics who fear the hub will overrun their communities with new trains and truck traffic.

The decision to hold the meeting carries some risk, since Pelham's department must ultimately decide whether the proposal is consistent with the state's growth plans. But since everything about this project has been decided behind closed doors, it is the right thing to do.

If only Stephanie Kopelousos, the Department of Transportation secretary who is overseeing the state's rail-realignment project, would show the same spine.

Pelham may not have the final word on the rail hub, which proponents say will enhance the state's freight distribution system and bring jobs to Polk County. But already he's made a significant mark by blowing the whistle on CSX's attempt to move the project through the review process in piecemeal fashion, trying to avoid the trip wires that trigger state review for 'developments of regional impact.'

This project not only promises to affect the entire region, it would affect the entire state. It deserves the added scrutiny of the DRI-review process.

Pelham's planned appearance also sends a signal that someone in the executive branch is paying attention to citizens who feel they've been excluded from the process.

CSX's proposed hub has never been discussed or debated in the Legislature. With the exception of Winter Haven business and political leaders, few in the region have been part of the conversation. Rather, former Gov. Jeb Bush brokered the surprise deal that calls for the railroad to move its hub to Winter Haven and relinquish 61 miles of Orlando-area track for commuter rail - for $491 million in taxpayer money.

Since the announcement was made last August, CSX has remained mum on the project, showing no capacity for good public relations.

The secrecy leaves the impression that Bush and the railroad failed to consider the negative effects on communities beyond Winter Haven. It's predicted that some 1,000 more tractor-trailer rigs will be added to Polk's highways each day, making traffic unmanageable.

Lakeland, for example, would see a significant increase in rail traffic through downtown. City leaders fear the traffic could damage the integrity of newly restored buildings. The same could be said about Plant City, Auburndale, Dade City and Lake Wales, since each are bisected by tracks.

Their questions deserve answers.

Among them: Why Winter Haven? Why can't the hub be moved farther south, where CSX owns phosphate tracks in a more rural part of Polk? Or why not locate the hub somewhere north of Interstate 4? How will the project's negative impacts be offset? And will the deal shut the door on commuter rail between Orlando and Tampa?

When Pelham comes to Polk County, he should keep in mind what state Sen. Paula Dockery wrote in a letter last month: 'Economic development is important ... but it is not acceptable to promote economic development in one community that causes detriment to another community.'

The state needs a strong rail strategy for moving goods and people, but deals that significantly alter the landscape should not be made in the shadows.

Thanks, Secretary Pelham, for having the courage to shine the light on this enormously important project of regional impact.

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