The Gate Arty Blog - CSX Rail Archive

Council approves CSX project

Thursday, August 14, 2008 - By Gate Arty

The Central Florida Regional Planning Council voted 10-1 to approve the controversial development of a proposed 318-acre rail terminal site in southern Winter Haven.  The terminal will be built on a 1,248-acre site. After the terminal is built, the plan is to build a major distribution center and office park Lakeland City Commissioner, Howard Wiggs, who serves on the planning council board, cast the lone dissenting vote. This approval has been forwarded to the City of Winter Haven. The project will be spearheaded by CSX subsidiary, Evansville Western Railway.

Minutes before the vote, Commissioner Wiggs made a motion that the vote be delayed for at least six months.  At that point, the Florida Department of Transportation would have completed a study on rail routes. The hope would be that alternatives to routing trains through downtown Lakeland could be identified. The motion for delay failed.

The Winter Haven Planning Commission will hear the development proposal on Sept. 24 and the City Commission is scheduled to take action Oct. 29.

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Midnight train to . . . . Downtown Lakeland??

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - By Gate Arty

Today, about a stone's throw away from my office window, an anti-CSX demostration was held in Downtown Lakeland at Munn Park. The hotly-contested topic of increased rail traffic through downtown Lakeland is finally gaining increased momentum. The proposed 61-mile CSX commuter rail service east of Polk County will result in more and longer freight trains creeping through downtown - potentially bringing South Florida Avenue to periodic standstills. Although it would appear that local legislators have been out-manuvered at all levels of the legislative process, city officials believe that their fight is not yet over. Many civic leaders are optimistic that an amendment filed to the commuter rail funding bill in the state House by Rep. Seth McKeel. This amendment, an attempt to end piecemeal creation of commuter rail services, would require a statewide study that would include examining the effects of shifted or increased rail traffic, and would require the Orlando commuter rail system to be continued another 80 miles west, to Tampa.

More on this issue to come!

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