When it comes to the site of a proposed high speed rail station in Polk County, we’ve heard from the Florida Department of Transportation, the City of Lakeland, the University of South Florida Polytechnic and now a landowner on the corridor. Below is the full text of a press release from the WIlliams Acquisition Holding [...]
"A letter sent Thursday to DOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos puts Florida on notice that Amtrak is terminating the 2008 memorandum of understanding with the state. Without the agreement, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman writes that Florida likely couldn't tap federal high-speed rail money." Get the rest of the story at the Miami Herald. It looks like Amtrak wants the same deal CSX cut with the state.
For two decades, the Center for Urban Transportation Research has advised Florida policymakers on how to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to improve the state's overwhelmed transportation system. The University of South Florida think tank says every transportation option it examines undergoes a rigorous and objective analysis. It says it plays no favorites. But a St. Petersburg Times analysis shows CUTR has often criticized one type of travel — passenger rail — while promoting alternatives it is paid millions to study. -- One of rail's biggest critics gets millions to study and promote alternatives A question unasked is why DOT believes that CUTR can do better studies than DOT can in-house? If they want opinions and studies from different sources, are they spreading around the wealth to other "think tanks?" • Hit tip to Sticks of Fire - cutr’s anti-rail stance questioned
Bio: The short line? Father, husband, writer. My online presence is primarily through as the editor, writer, and occasional photographer for the news sites, Lakeland Local, a sampling of the news, concerns, and events for Lakeland, Florida, and Metro i4 News, which covers the Interstate 4 corridor in Central Florida. Both sites feature the work of myself and other contributors. As a hobby, I manage a forum and some web sites that feature a pulp fiction series written by Lester Dent -- Doc Savage Organized, Doc Savage Info, and Flearun.