DAVENPORT, Iowa — While three of the affected cities have already reached agreement with the railroad, an Iowa group is trying to organize opposition to Canadian Pacific’s merger with Kansas City Southern over the projected impact on community’s along the CP route following the Mississippi River.
KWQC-TV reports a Tuesday press conference organized by the individual who launched a “Stop The Train” Facebook page is asking residents, local governments, and community organizations to voice their opposition to the Surface Transportation Board against the merger.
The two railroads merger application projects freight traffic on the line will grow from eight to 22 trains daily. City governments in Davenport, Bettendorf, and Muscatine have agreed to deals worth as much as $16 million to mitigate impacts from the traffic growth [see “Davenport, Iowa, reaches agreement …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 3, 2022].
Davenport Aldeman Marion Meginnis told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that her approach to the agreement was “pragmatic … If we hadn’t done this, we would be sitting here today with maybe nothing — probably nothing.”
Opponents say the increased rail traffic has the potential to bring additional air, water, and noise pollution, and will disrupt access to riverfront attractions. John Gardner, former president of the Quad Cities Development Group, said civic groups should be asked why they are or are not “being important players in trying to rescue or save the riverfront from what would be a real significant barrier.”
CP spokesman Andy Cummings told the station the railroad was continuing to hold discussions with a number of communities. He noted that the draft environmental impact statement from the STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis concluded that “apart from train noise,” the merger would have little adverse environmental impact [see “STB draft review finds …,” News Wire, Aug. 5, 2022].
A similar opposition group formed in a group of Chicago suburbs, the Coalition to stop CPKC, is seeking up to $9.5 billion to mitigate merger impacts. CP and KCS have called that group’s conditions “untenable,” “overreaching,” and “infeasible” [see “CP, KCS dispute Metra merger contentions …,” News Wire, July 14, 2022.]
The STB has scheduled four public meetings on the environmental document, including one in Itasca, Ill., on Sept. 12, and one in Davenport on Sept. 13.
John Gardner, former president of the Quad Cities Development Group, said civic groups should be asked why they are or are not “being important players in trying to rescue or save the riverfront from what would be a real significant barrier.”
All this for what is essentially an organized flood plain for the Mississippi River. People have forgotten that the area he is all up in a twit about also serves another civic purpose, a place for the water to go when the river is at flood stage.
The only alternative would be to elevate the rails yet further. This would be doable if the architecture of the rail bridge was something of a unique design and pleasing to the eye as opposed to a standard concrete pylon and 2 plate girders.
So Mr Gardner, you want to save your riverfront? Start saving some dough!
*Sigh*
As a lifelong Iowa resident, I weep for these NIMBYs lack of historical remembrance. At one point in Iowa’s history, no point was more than 9 miles from a rail line. This was probably a hundred years ago after the race to get to Council Bluffs and the eastern terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, and it was overbuilt, but Iowa has a long history of being an important railroad state. Several major, heavily-trafficked lines still run through. What’s one more?
Gotta love NIMBY’s. Don’t make me suffer to the benefit of others.
Laurence: Good point, …..see below
Charles: Very good point. In that, I was going to ask Daniel, who the “looters” were in his comment. You answered that question. endmrw0901221838
Ever read Atlas Shrugged?
My thoughts exactly Mr. Carbonetti! And if they did voice any opposition to a road/hwy plan they’d be promptly silenced by the rest of the citizenry!
I wonder if the same folks organize opposition when traffic increases on local roads and highways.
Maybe “blackmail” is too strong a term for paying off these communities. When you pay “blackmail” it never ends, they just keep jacking up the price until they own your grandchildren’s grandchildren. You pay off one community, the next community wants more, then more, then more …. and the list of communities with railroad tracks just keeps getting longer and longer and longer. There’s lots of towns between Calgary or Montreal down to southwestern Mexico. If all of them have you up against the wall, that’s more money than the railroad will ever see.
Go to any Chicago suburb. Lots of trains (freight and passenger), lots of grade crossings, no sound walls. Doesn’t seem to bother the people who live or shop or go to restaurants in those places. I have scheduled my third trip of this year to my own favorite spot — LaGrange on the Burlington — unless there’s to be a rail strike. More people walking about the streets than in some central cities like Milwaukee. Can’t all be railfans like me, most of them probably are not.
LaGrange is one of my favorite places to watch trains, eat and shop. Sometime I hop on a commuter train to Union Station and spend some time in the Loop and along Michigan Ave.
Just ignore all the naysayers and approve as is with no conditions…it’s probably the last merger we’ll see in a few decades anyways.
That’s their impetus: this is the looters last chance to extract any tribute from the railroads so they are going all in…and will most likely come up empty.