Tuesday, March 23, 2010
We Been Workin' on the Railroad ...
Today's prose belongs to Lakewood Deputy Mayor Don Anderson, who fired off a pithy but potent note to the feds about the Point Defiance Bypass which would dramatically increase rail traffic in town. I asked Don what motivated him today, and he said it was two things: the death of someone by railroad in Steilacoom, the current route of the train; and a news article in a Tacoma paper that illustrates state government's continued pursuit of the program.
Don's letter:
Office of Railroad Development
Federal Railroad Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE- Mail Stop 20
Washington, DC 20590
I am writing to relay the serious concerns of the City of Lakewood, Washington concerning the allocation of ARRA funding to the Point Defiance Bypass project. I understand that the particular project allocations have not yet been approved by FRA. A more detailed discussion of the City of Lakewood's opposition to this project as proposed can be found at the link below and in the attached resolution of the City Council.
As proposed, this project would create a new passenger rail corridor through our densely populated urban area where none currently exists. This is proposed without grade crossings on major arterials, some of which intersect with freeway off ramps which exit directly adjacent to the proposed rail route. It would also seriously impact some of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in our city.
This project has been pursued without normal NEPA safeguards. Impacts on our community were unduly minimized or ignored, especially the environmental justice aspect of the project. A Declaration of Categorical Exclusion was issued to expedite this project, apparently in an attempt to avoid the costly mitigation a true environmental evaluation would indicate is necessary. An honest completion of the FRA's Categorical Exclusion Checklist would clearly indicate a DCE was inappropriate.
The Washington State Department of Transportation can certainly use the ARRA funds available without extending the passenger rail line in Lakewood south of the existing Sound Transit rail station. Funds should not be approved for use within the City of Lakewood until the concerns addressed in the attachment are met. Additional information on the impacts and required mitigation is available on request.
Don Anderson
Deputy Mayor, City of Lakewood
http://www.cityoflakewood.us/news-and-events/635-lakewood-objects-to-amtrak-plan.html
Good letter. This is going to be a tough one. Even if every voter in Lakewood voted against every incumbent state and federal official, it wouldn't create enough votes to change a state and federal program at this stage in the normal political game.
It's human nature in politics - well, really any sort of public stage - that if you portray someone as wrong, you can justify bypassing normal processes. There's no real evidence that anyone outside our area cares about safety, traffic or the legal process for Lakewood. It's really the same button in human nature that made lynch mobs ok: if you think the rules are being violated, it becomes more OK to violate more rules. When folks from outside our area even know about these concerns, Lakewood is portrayed as against transportation alternatives and taking a NIMBY attitude. As a result, a lot of folks outside the community think it is fine to bypass normal analysis of railroad traffic effects and safety.
Here's another way of putting it: If you portray Lakewood as being obstructionist, you make it seem almost appropriate that the state is giving Lakewood its just desserts by bypassing the normal legal safety process. The situation is both sad and unfortunate - and horribly unfair.
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Don's letter:
Office of Railroad Development
Federal Railroad Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE- Mail Stop 20
Washington, DC 20590
I am writing to relay the serious concerns of the City of Lakewood, Washington concerning the allocation of ARRA funding to the Point Defiance Bypass project. I understand that the particular project allocations have not yet been approved by FRA. A more detailed discussion of the City of Lakewood's opposition to this project as proposed can be found at the link below and in the attached resolution of the City Council.
As proposed, this project would create a new passenger rail corridor through our densely populated urban area where none currently exists. This is proposed without grade crossings on major arterials, some of which intersect with freeway off ramps which exit directly adjacent to the proposed rail route. It would also seriously impact some of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in our city.
This project has been pursued without normal NEPA safeguards. Impacts on our community were unduly minimized or ignored, especially the environmental justice aspect of the project. A Declaration of Categorical Exclusion was issued to expedite this project, apparently in an attempt to avoid the costly mitigation a true environmental evaluation would indicate is necessary. An honest completion of the FRA's Categorical Exclusion Checklist would clearly indicate a DCE was inappropriate.
The Washington State Department of Transportation can certainly use the ARRA funds available without extending the passenger rail line in Lakewood south of the existing Sound Transit rail station. Funds should not be approved for use within the City of Lakewood until the concerns addressed in the attachment are met. Additional information on the impacts and required mitigation is available on request.
Don Anderson
Deputy Mayor, City of Lakewood
http://www.cityoflakewood.us/news-and-events/635-lakewood-objects-to-amtrak-plan.html
Good letter. This is going to be a tough one. Even if every voter in Lakewood voted against every incumbent state and federal official, it wouldn't create enough votes to change a state and federal program at this stage in the normal political game.
It's human nature in politics - well, really any sort of public stage - that if you portray someone as wrong, you can justify bypassing normal processes. There's no real evidence that anyone outside our area cares about safety, traffic or the legal process for Lakewood. It's really the same button in human nature that made lynch mobs ok: if you think the rules are being violated, it becomes more OK to violate more rules. When folks from outside our area even know about these concerns, Lakewood is portrayed as against transportation alternatives and taking a NIMBY attitude. As a result, a lot of folks outside the community think it is fine to bypass normal analysis of railroad traffic effects and safety.
Here's another way of putting it: If you portray Lakewood as being obstructionist, you make it seem almost appropriate that the state is giving Lakewood its just desserts by bypassing the normal legal safety process. The situation is both sad and unfortunate - and horribly unfair.
