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City sues to stop Washington’s Point Defiance bypass project
I suppose the “good” citizens of Lakewood won’t mind if the State of Washington would allow more road constuction through their “precious” community. Metrolink in Southern California is facing the same type of BS from the residents around the University of California at Riverside in the comstruction of the Perris Valley Line.
“Closed temporarily” means a matter of seconds. Under a minute. Hard to get my sympathy here.
From the article “The lawsuit also charges that WSDOT didn’t account for Lakewood’s policies for rail traffic running through its community during the environmental review”
I didn’t realize local communities were in charge of setting rail policies. Gee, I guess we can eliminate the FRA and WSDOT as unnecesssary!
BNSF probably wouldn’t object to the upstanding NIMBYs opening ther purses to pay for a grade crossing elimination project for the 7 crossings, all the costs.
This track was the original NP Ry access to Tacoma…am I right? The recollection goes back to a Railroad Mag answer to a 1950’s question about a nearby station’s name; Why was the station named “Tenino”?
Ans: after having named stations from where they started planting mile posts (poles) to where they were, one thousand and ninety miles later, all they could come up with was ten, nine, oh. 1090.
Socialist NIMBY gangs fighting a socialist funded train. When 2 socialists disagree, even more provider class money gets wasted on the recipient class. Of course, the lawyer class gets rich no matter who wins, as it is entitled to skim off the top, bottom, middle, and any other place it sees fit to skim.
Classic “Not In My Backyard” mentality. Another progressive
move, file a lawsuit.
People are for the most part uninformed about trains and do knee jerk actions making no sense.
With a population of 58,163, Lakewood, Washington could become a new stop for Amtrak trains. A lot of cities would welcome Amtrak routed through their communites for passenger train service. Perhaps if Lakewood is designated a new stop, its opposition would change. Its population alone certainly warrants designation as a train stop, not to mention local attractions.
BUT, this would move the passenger trains [especially the Coast Starlight] from some of the most scenic track on the SEA to PDX route. The edge-of sound route is the visual high point for those riding the trains from Tacoma to Olympia
One of the main reasons people ride the train is the senic wiew. Keep the original waterfront route!
If you got on the Starlight in LA, what are you going to want to look at after nearly 30 hours? Pawnshops, backyards, warehouses and graffiti? Or Puget Sound and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? People remember that view.
If you got on the Starlight in LA, what are you going to want to look at after nearly 30 hours? Pawnshops, backyards, warehouses and graffiti? Or Puget Sound and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? People remember that view.
NIMBY arguments aside, moving the Cascades and especially moving the Starlight away from Puget Sound removes a major sightseeing attraction. Sure, BSNF wants to get rid of the passenger trains frin its freight route (there is a bottleneck at the single-track Nelson Bennett tunnel). But there is nothing scenic about the Prairie Line other than single family homes and pawn shops catering to soldiers at Joint Base Lewis McChord,
NIMBY arguments aside, moving the Cascades and especially moving the Starlight away from Puget Sound removes a major sightseeing attraction. Sure, BSNF wants to get passenger trains off its water level freight route (there is a bottleneck at the single-track Nelson Bennett tunnel). But there is nothing scenic about the Prairie Line other than single family homes and pawn shops catering to soldiers at Joint Base Lewis McChord.
“NIMBY” as demonstrated by Lakewood, WA. The results should be a hoot.
Just more billable hours for our “distinguished” legal community. Forget it Lakewood.
More politics in the State of Washington, just what we need. Let the trains run. How long does it take to wait at a grade crossing for a passenger train doing 79 mph. maybe a minute.
And if people are worried about people getting hurt near or on the tracks. Stay off of them.
Sound like the major problem is too many not in my backyard types living there!
I wonder why they BNSF doesn’t widen the Nelson Bennett tunnel? Im sure the cost factor is in there but heck, they built a second Narrows bridge they could add a shipping tax to passenger and freight trains. No just kidding.