Sad Day For Florida Transportation

[colaboy29]

Governor Rick Scott killed the high-speed rail project today in an effort to cut costs. Sadly, this means fewer jobs and more traffic on the highways.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-rejects-rail-money-20110216,0,2863027.story

 

[phorsenuf]

Governor Rick Scott killed the high-speed rail project today in an effort to cut costs. Sadly, this means fewer jobs and more traffic on the highways.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-rejects-rail-money-20110216,0,2863027.story

That's a bummer. I was looking forward to it.

 

[perdidochas]

Governor Rick Scott killed the high-speed rail project today in an effort to cut costs. Sadly, this means fewer jobs and more traffic on the highways.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-rejects-rail-money-20110216,0,2863027.story

It would have been a money sink. I'm glad that he killed that (unlike how I feel about his education cuts). High speed rail is just not needed in that area.

 

[joviroxx]

It would have been a money sink. I'm glad that he killed that (unlike how I feel about his education cuts). High speed rail is just not needed in that area.

Absolutely no need for a high speed rail, waste of money.

 

[Hoodie]

It would have been a money sink. I'm glad that he killed that (unlike how I feel about his education cuts). High speed rail is just not needed in that area.

Yup. He basically stopped decades of taxpayer paid subsidies.

 

[Hannathy]

Yup. He basically stopped decades of taxpayer paid subsidies.

Good for him! These money pit projects have got to stop. If there was areal need for it and it would make money someone in the private sector would be doing it.

 

[Poohbear123]

Absolutely no need for a high speed rail, waste of money.

Someone was telling me about this a few weeks back, and I said to them:"NO WAY would I want to pay for that!" I knew it wasn't going to fly...or rail! LOL

 

[FINFAN]

not high speed, but the monorail is the best one in Fl!
(just adding a little humor, transportation programs are getting hit all over the country)

 

[momrek06]

Governor Rick Scott killed the high-speed rail project today in an effort to cut costs. Sadly, this means fewer jobs and more traffic on the highways.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-rejects-rail-money-20110216,0,2863027.story

Ohhh, that really is a shame. My DH is Chief of all Rail in San Diego County and he knows that FL has been looking at rail service. My parents live in FL and they have followed all of the proposed FL rail plans, seeing as my DH is heavily involved in rail. But this news is sad.

Here in SD alone, 15,000 people ride DH's trains daily. It takes allot of cars off the highways and bi ways. Not to mention, when gas prices go up, the rail fares stay the same. DH just lowered the fares on 2 of his rail lines and has perks for all his college students and seniors; if you hold a rail pass, you can jump on any of the city bus lines for free.

 

[Acklander]

I'm not sure how many people travel daily between Tampa and Orlando but it would have to be a huge amount to justify that kind of expense. Though, I wish they had better public transportation in Florida. You really can't live there without having a car, which is such a waste of resources.

 

[OhMari]

Same thing happened in Wisconsin.
Makes you wonder if the car industry has anything to do with it.

 

[hiwaygal]

Any mode of transportation is costly...and some modes work better in some areas than others (like the Metro or BART in their respective areas). But at some point, something HAS to be done. Whether we expand our current systems or add others, traffic is not going to go away.

Transportation funding in general is in a weird state right now. Congress has not yet really signed a new Transportation bill (they keep "renewing" the old one...and only as temporary stop-gaps). The "current" bill was developed in August 2005 and essentially expired in September 2009.

I expect a lot of state agencies are hesitant to start any major federally funded projects until Congress has finalized the new bill.

Most states are struggling with finding resources for this stuff anyway, and the feds have been pulling the purse strings just a little tighter.

 

[okeydokey]

We'll all just continue to burn $3 or $4 a gallons of gas and pollute the environment to boot. Think Exxon Mobile had any say in this decision?

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm not sure how many people travel daily between Tampa and Orlando but it would have to be a huge amount to justify that kind of expense. Though, I wish they had better public transportation in Florida. You really can't live there without having a car, which is such a waste of resources.

A lot of people travel between the Tampa area and Orlando on a daily basis for work at WDW alone. Taking some of the load off I-4 would have been great. It would have also encouraged a lot of tourists who visit Orlando to take a day trip to Tampa to visit Busch Gardens. People who visiting this area without a car would be more likely to take a side trip with easy transportation available.

Disney was also interested in the project. Having light rail from the airport to Disney property would be a terrific way to phase out ME. More buses off the roads would be wonderful for the environment. Faster, safer transportation would be a plus for tourists.

I'm sorry to see this project die. If Orlando wants to compete with other large metropolitan areas, eventually, we need better forms of mass transportation. Temporarily, due to the economy, the influx of people moving to the area has slowed. That won't last. Before the economy tanked, they were predicting mass growth for this area. How many cars can we put on the highways here before we reach gridlock? One way or another, those who live in the area will eventually feel the financial pain of transportation issues in this area whether it be through taxes to finance road improvements, tolls or the implementation of a new form of mass transportation.

 

[lillygator]

I just wonder how the heck he is in office, everyone I know didn't vote for him, he is a crook plain and simple. (or else no one wants to admit it)

He's also getting rid of the state plane, because he has his own and because on his private planes all his buisness will be considered private. Talk about shady.......

 

[61292cna]

It's like Nixon, he had the most votes of any man that no one voted for!!!

 

[phorsenuf]

I was also looking forward to it eventually linking to Miami.

 

[snowywhite89]

We are far too short-sighted in this country. We need to stop relying on gas guzzling cars and use more efficientass transit. This project shod be built with a bond.

 

[klj27]

I hope the same thing happens in Ohio. And I hope they get rid of the streetcars idea in Cincinnati. We already are running at a deficit and they want to add in programs that are tax payer subsidized. No way!

 

[LukenDC]

People opposed to mass-transit will be singing a different tune in a few years when the price of gasoline is routinely over $5 a gallon.