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STB clears way for rail trail in Washington state
Another town that managed to fill itself full of NIMBY gangs. If the tracks sit unused for a few more years, who exactly is being inconvenienced? Definitely not the bicycle riders. Those complete and total idiots will ignore the newly constructed “for bicycles only” former railroad bed paid for using the highway trust (slush) fund and choose to use the shoulder of the parallel 4 lane US route with the 55 MPH speed limit. This is based on my first hand repeated observations in various locations around the country.
This trails nonsense is really getting out of hand. At least the railroad maintains itself…a trail relies on the taxpayer.
The arrogance of these bicycle riders who think they are equal to a car is amazing. Mr. Guse has it right on.
They’re spending $8.5MM on a sidewalk. That money invested in rail transport of goods and raw materials had the potential to generate how many times more?
I guarantee if the railroad tries to relay the rails the people will all become pissy and it won’t happen. Everybody will go all NIMBY and a lawsuit will be filed which will ultimately prevent rails from EVER being relaid. People are so short-sighted.
The Eastside NMBY elitists don’t want any more freight rails east of Lake Washington – or any reminder of any kind of empoyment where people get their hands dirty. Wait until the next dot.com crash wipes out the high-paying jobs in the software and internet segments.
An active railroad wants to operate mothballed sections of rail , seems like a good thing . 35 years ago Cities/Municipalities were at court trying to stop rail abandonments now are trying to remove the rails . Small industry just can’t win and at the hands of the trucks. No one wants any pollution ,any traffic, just park like utopian cities in which everyone works in an office park , lives in cookie cutter house in a cookie cutter neighborhood . The railroad has to go somewhere and I’d sure like to see less trucks on the road. I like to bike and enjoy trails but to fight for the trail over the rail seems foolish.
I cycle but rail comes first. This area is growing fast and the rail line is more important than the trail. Lots of issues, noise , traffic and lack of recreation are in play
This Rails to Trails land grab is reaching epidemic proportions. When will, it ever stop? These yuppies are getting greedy.
Having lived near several rail to trail conversions it ends up always being the same thing. As soon as the rail is pulled several land owners will claim that it is now their property and will fight it in court. Next multiple land owners will fight the rail trail saying it will depress the value of their property and lessen their saftey because of people cutting through their property on the trail. Next people will argue over who gets to use the trail because ATV users and trail bike users will want full access. After all is said and done the trail will be built years later and then the mention of rails going back in will trigger another fight to block any rail because it will depress the value of property along the route.
We have a rail-to-trail in Texas…Very seldom used…People are asked why they do not use the trail…They go to a gym becaue it is SAFE.No place for a person at night
One word…NIMBY’S!
As usual the Enviro-Nazie crowd in WA state are progressively ruining the state economically and then will complain it is all the fault of business. This is a very unfortunate situation as it would be possible for the two to co-exist.
Perhaps the city will issue bicycle license plates to help defray the trail maintenance cost. What with state governments wanting to track mileage of your fuel efficient vehicles, it’s time the bike riders had to shell out some cash every year for the opportunity to use a trail. Heck, tax the hikers too. Put up toll gates and really show what it costs to use a trail. Might even pay for some bike police patrols to help make the long lonely trail safer! DO the residents know their property tax will have to make up lost revenue from the rail line? I talked to a county representative once who completely lost the fact, once the rail is lifted, the RR has no property tax liability any longer! He was floored, where would they make up the shortfall? Home owners, that’s where. There are many sharp edges to the Rail to Trail mafia.
I actually agree with Jeffery Guse, and also with those who note the short-sighted reaction of the residents. I’m sure they don’t care about more trucks on the road as long as those trucks move in someone else’s neighborhood. And fitness and overall outdoor activity are wonderful but after living in three major metropolitan areas in the last 20 years, I agree that the arrogance of cyclists has reached a disturbing and annoying level.
I Live AbouT 100 Yards From The Trail And The Decision To Pull Th Rails Is Crazy. the line parallels interstate 405 for about 40 miles including going to the Boeing 737 assembly plant in Renton. interstate 405 is consistently grid locked. I guess the Pollyanna women that run kirkland never travel during commute hours