State to buy 52-mile rail bed

With the congestion on central florida roads and were spending 40+ million on a bike trail? If there are that many people riding bikes why dont we have bike lanes alongside I-4 so they can ride to work and ease up the traffic a little. I think that spending that amount of money on something that a select group of people will use is offensive to the rest of us none bike riding people. Wake up Charlie we will be voting next election

It's the wave of the future. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Larry wrote:

It's the wave of the future. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

It was already tried in the 1900's, walking, bicycles and horses fell out of favor due to the invention of the automobile. It's the 21st century, don't need bike, walking, and horse trails. Waste of taxpayers money that should go to more important and smarter projects. The politicians are morons.

You may have to park that SUV some day and get your fat butt on a bike. It sure would be nice to have bike trails like most of Europe and not be so dependent on fossil fuel.

Government Incompetence wrote:

<quoted text>
It was already tried in the 1900's, walking, bicycles and horses fell out of favor due to the invention of the automobile. It's the 21st century, don't need bike, walking, and horse trails. Waste of taxpayers money that should go to more important and smarter projects. The politicians are morons.

Said the fat man sitting in his car in traffic.

The $16 million for the acquisition was from Florida Forever funds. This State source is funded by bond proceeds that have to be approved annually by the State Legislature. It is supported through documentary stamp taxes. The concept being that the growth of Florida supports its conservation acquisition efforts. Our legislatures had foresight when they decided that no less than 2.9% of the Florida Forever proceeds would be spent on trails and greenways. This percentage is comprised of the 1.5% available through the Greenways and Trails Program and portions of the Florida Communities Trust. I am happy for Brevard and Volusia Counties for securing this funding for their betterment.
This is being further leveraged with Federal dollars that have been collected on behalf of States, and can only be used for projects such as this. Additionally, Congressman Mica worked hard to assist the strong base of local supporters and secured additional funding for trail development.
Strong partnerships are at the foundation of this effort. Yes, the local governments of Brevard County and Volusia County are and will be investing in planning and facilitating controlled growth and the trail is a strong componet of this effort.
Check out www.railstotrails.org for numerous resources that can be downloaded that support trails as transportation, recreation, health and wellness and economic development.
Long corridors such as this are hard to come by and even more expensive to create from scratch. Our nations's railtroad system has dropped from 300,000 miles to 140,000. However, railroads are trending upward now and I predict Florida will never see another 50 mile corridor abandoned. Power companies, utility providers (as did one in Brevard County), fiber optic companies and private companies such as Miami Corporation all compete for abandoned railways. Kudos to the state for acting, the local governments for leadership and Florida East Coast Railway for the charitable acceptance of an offer substantially under appraised value!

Wasn't the state just screaming about cutting $1 billion from the budget, yet their spending $16 million for bicycle trails? Hopefully someone else sees this as a problem.

But remember....you CAN'T build ANY restrooms on any of these trails ... You don't wanna give ANY more of those Central Florida REPUBLICAN Representatives any more areas to cruise for their own special brand of "Man-Love"...We got them cruisin enough of the restrooms that ALREADY exist! Representative Allen ALREADY seems to have reserved the last stall in all of them!

Trails are a wonderful way to enhance the quality of life in the community! Who in their right mind wants to ride bikes and rollarblade on city streets these days? The more trails the better.

I can't wait to ride my bike to work through Pine Hills!

Stuck in Traffic wrote:

With the congestion on central florida roads and were spending 40+ million on a bike trail? If there are that many people riding bikes why dont we have bike lanes alongside I-4 so they can ride to work and ease up the traffic a little. I think that spending that amount of money on something that a select group of people will use is offensive to the rest of us none bike riding people. Wake up Charlie we will be voting next election

Sounds like another bitter fat-a$$. I bet you need to ride a bike a lot more than most people do.

I say we blow up I-4 and make it a bike trail too.

nuskoold wrote:

<quoted text>
Sounds like another bitter fat-a$$. I bet you need to ride a bike a lot more than most people do.
I say we blow up I-4 and make it a bike trail too.

Oh yes, anyone who opposes this is fat... give me a break!

Go Dolphins.

jsbach wrote:

Wasn't the state just screaming about cutting $1 billion from the budget, yet their spending $16 million for bicycle trails? Hopefully someone else sees this as a problem.

Maybe someone else sees it as a problem if they, too, do not understand how budgets work.

The money for the purchase does not come from any general funds or money that can be used for ANY other purpose. It's not like the decided "We don't need to pay any more employees, let's buy a railway".
The money came from the Florida Forever fund that BY LAW can only be used for land purchasing.

Stuck in Traffic wrote:

I think that spending that amount of money on something that a select group of people will use is offensive to the rest of us none bike riding people.

Lets see.

By "select group of people" you mean anyone who walks, jogs, hikes, runs, rollerskates, uses a wheelchair, rides a horse, walks their dog, pushes a baby carriage/stroller, bicycles, or generally enjoys the outdoors.

Yep, narrowed down to the privileged few.

CMM wrote:

I can't wait to ride my bike to work through Pine Hills!

I hope for your co-workers sake that you have access to a shower when you get there. On the other hand I am for anything that will save land for recreation rather than having it fall into the hands of developers.

We are not happy about this. How would you like a trail of people, bicyles, horses, etc in your backyard. Our parcels are split by the railroad, now we have to worry about people messing with our livestock on both sides and what about at night if people are hanging out on the trails. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HOMEOWNERS??????????What a joke!

Crazy Woman Ranch wrote:

We are not happy about this. How would you like a trail of people, bicyles, horses, etc in your backyard. Our parcels are split by the railroad, now we have to worry about people messing with our livestock on both sides and what about at night if people are hanging out on the trails. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HOMEOWNERS??????????What a joke!

I understand your concern, but there is no need to panic. There is usually a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on most trails. Crime rates on converted trails is incredibly low. Out of 372 nationwide trails, including 7,000 total miles and 45 million estimated users, only 3% of trails had experienced major crime.

Four separate studies conducted between 1979 and 1997 concluded that rail-trails do not increase crime. The Rails to Trails Conservancy reports that 'all four studies found that while some residents were apprehensive about rail-trail projects, most did not experience problems after the trail’s opening'.

You obviously were not that worried by train traffic or people trespassing down rail lines. The West Orange trail goes through rural areas with livestock and horse farms and they have no issues with crime.

Not everyone using the rail-trails is a troublemaker or miscreant. Take some time this weekend and go to one of the local trails, like the West Orange trail. Then stop by during the week. The weekends are the highest traffic times, so you can compare the number and type of users.

Hopefully this will reduce your concerns.

Well now we will have a 3% crime instead of a 0% crime rate and as for studies, they never tell you the complete truth.....As for train traffic and people we do not have any because the tracks have not been used for at least 25 years. So there is concern...We have had no one near us and we are not going to be totally protected by the curfew. Do think that there will be police out there all night making sure that the homeowners and their livestocks are safe? NOT!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T THINK SO! I will definitley not support Pat Northerly again. All she is looking is MONEY for the city...

PGZ wrote:

<quoted text>
I understand your concern, but there is no need to panic. There is usually a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on most trails. Crime rates on converted trails is incredibly low. Out of 372 nationwide trails, including 7,000 total miles and 45 million estimated users, only 3% of trails had experienced major crime.
Four separate studies conducted between 1979 and 1997 concluded that rail-trails do not increase crime. The Rails to Trails Conservancy reports that 'all four studies found that while some residents were apprehensive about rail-trail projects, most did not experience problems after the trail’s opening'.
You obviously were not that worried by train traffic or people trespassing down rail lines. The West Orange trail goes through rural areas with livestock and horse farms and they have no issues with crime.
Not everyone using the rail-trails is a troublemaker or miscreant. Take some time this weekend and go to one of the local trails, like the West Orange trail. Then stop by during the week. The weekends are the highest traffic times, so you can compare the number and type of users.
Hopefully this will reduce your concerns.

CMM wrote:

I can't wait to ride my bike to work through Pine Hills!

you'll be a moving target.