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Re: Restoring Passenger Rail Service To Monterey
Author: Eddie Elkins
Date: 08-09-2013 - 17:05
Carol L. Voss Wrote:
> NIMBY or no NIMBY, the reality of it is that the
> ROW ends in the parking lot at Costco in Sand City
> and the ROW from there to Cannery Row and Pacific
> Grove is a recreational trail used by residents
> and visitors alike to the Monterey Bay area and
> said residents and visitors would never agree to
> it being returned to its original use as railroad.
I think you're forgetting that the whole intent of the rails-to-trails program was to preserve the ROW for possible re-use as a railroad. And, as the following newspaper article bears out, it CAN be done:
1.9 miles of recreational trails to be converted back to rail in MI Upper Peninsula
July 30, 2013
By Kathleen Gray
Detroit Free Press Lansing
Michigan leads the nation in the miles of recreational trails converted from abandoned railroad tracks.
But come August, the 2,653 miles of trails will shrink by almost two miles when a stretch of trail between Ishpeming and Republic is converted back to rail.
It’s the first such conversion — called reactivation — in Michigan. And it is one of only about nine nationwide that have happened since the federal Rails to Trails law was signed in 1976.
Full article:
[www.freep.com]
> Assuming that the existing ROW from the switch at
> Castroville to the Costco parking lot would be
> funded to be totally rebuilt, then what to do with
> the people getting off the train at "the end of
> the line"?? Put them on buses/shuttles/etc???
The proposal would only "work" if the line was restored to Monterey. Like many other commuter rail stations across the land, you could build a big parking structure near the station. Build it underground if that would help in keeping the NIMBYs tranquilized. Uh Oh. Did I use the word "commuter"? Shame on me. Them's fightin' words!
It would "work" even better if it was restored along Cannery Row as far as the aquarium. I never mentioned restoring it to Pacific Grove. That's unrealistic. The hikers and bikers and dog-walkers and daisy pickers can sleep well at night, knowing that they will forever be victorious in keeping trains off that particular segment (i.e., David Avenue to Pacific Grove)
You could have a park-and-ride lot at/near the Costco parking lot.
> As to more people moving to the Monterey Peninsula,
> they need to have lots and lots of money . . .
And they may. Shall we have the NSA set up roadblocks and inspect their IRS Form W-2s? Remember, people coming in with lots of money will stimulate the local economy. Maybe they can borrow a chapter from Beverly Hills and even allow rich foreigners from, say, Iran to move in. "Diversity" is such the buzz-word these days!
> and right now there are very serious problems with the water
> supply being cut off in 2016 and new water sources to be found
> before any more "growth" can take place.
Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!
Santa Barbara tried reining in growth and they weren't too successful. If you can stop growth, you'll be the first.
Uh, Carol, I think your NIMBYism is showing! NIMBYs need a special permit to lurk here at Altamont Press! Didn't you see the memo?
> And whoever said it was stressful to drive to Monterey in the first place?
> only when the AT&T is in town!! :-) C.
Summer weekends can be a little busy. The train to the Aquarium, loaded with tourists from San Francisco and San Jose would be real popular on weekends! How soon can we start laying track!?
I can hear the merchants along Cannery Row getting excited already! Maybe we can make this part of an Obama Economic Stimulus Package! Laying track and ordering more rail passenger cars and locomotives puts people to work!
> NIMBY or no NIMBY, the reality of it is that the
> ROW ends in the parking lot at Costco in Sand City
> and the ROW from there to Cannery Row and Pacific
> Grove is a recreational trail used by residents
> and visitors alike to the Monterey Bay area and
> said residents and visitors would never agree to
> it being returned to its original use as railroad.
I think you're forgetting that the whole intent of the rails-to-trails program was to preserve the ROW for possible re-use as a railroad. And, as the following newspaper article bears out, it CAN be done:
1.9 miles of recreational trails to be converted back to rail in MI Upper Peninsula
July 30, 2013
By Kathleen Gray
Detroit Free Press Lansing
Michigan leads the nation in the miles of recreational trails converted from abandoned railroad tracks.
But come August, the 2,653 miles of trails will shrink by almost two miles when a stretch of trail between Ishpeming and Republic is converted back to rail.
It’s the first such conversion — called reactivation — in Michigan. And it is one of only about nine nationwide that have happened since the federal Rails to Trails law was signed in 1976.
Full article:
[www.freep.com]
> Assuming that the existing ROW from the switch at
> Castroville to the Costco parking lot would be
> funded to be totally rebuilt, then what to do with
> the people getting off the train at "the end of
> the line"?? Put them on buses/shuttles/etc???
The proposal would only "work" if the line was restored to Monterey. Like many other commuter rail stations across the land, you could build a big parking structure near the station. Build it underground if that would help in keeping the NIMBYs tranquilized. Uh Oh. Did I use the word "commuter"? Shame on me. Them's fightin' words!
It would "work" even better if it was restored along Cannery Row as far as the aquarium. I never mentioned restoring it to Pacific Grove. That's unrealistic. The hikers and bikers and dog-walkers and daisy pickers can sleep well at night, knowing that they will forever be victorious in keeping trains off that particular segment (i.e., David Avenue to Pacific Grove)
You could have a park-and-ride lot at/near the Costco parking lot.
> As to more people moving to the Monterey Peninsula,
> they need to have lots and lots of money . . .
And they may. Shall we have the NSA set up roadblocks and inspect their IRS Form W-2s? Remember, people coming in with lots of money will stimulate the local economy. Maybe they can borrow a chapter from Beverly Hills and even allow rich foreigners from, say, Iran to move in. "Diversity" is such the buzz-word these days!
> and right now there are very serious problems with the water
> supply being cut off in 2016 and new water sources to be found
> before any more "growth" can take place.
Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!
Santa Barbara tried reining in growth and they weren't too successful. If you can stop growth, you'll be the first.
Uh, Carol, I think your NIMBYism is showing! NIMBYs need a special permit to lurk here at Altamont Press! Didn't you see the memo?
> And whoever said it was stressful to drive to Monterey in the first place?
> only when the AT&T is in town!! :-) C.
Summer weekends can be a little busy. The train to the Aquarium, loaded with tourists from San Francisco and San Jose would be real popular on weekends! How soon can we start laying track!?
I can hear the merchants along Cannery Row getting excited already! Maybe we can make this part of an Obama Economic Stimulus Package! Laying track and ordering more rail passenger cars and locomotives puts people to work!
