Federal transit honcho praises teamwork on commuter rail, but h...

well...I certainly don't cotton to this guy (or shill, as the case may be)talking about how "we" in CFL dont want a commuter rail system. and wht's with the totally out of context reference to some other case?
To me it's about thinking long term or thinking short term...and defining "our" interests both across income and tax brackets, but also across the full range of public welfare.

The "quality of life" bonuses of commuting by public transit versus I-4 gridlock has a GREAT DEAL of appeal for me.

Whats up with locking the whole process up over some (on the face of it) truly wierd "no-fault" arrangement with rail operators?!Sounds like the same old conservative double standard of tough-love "personal responsibility" for working people versus "socialized" risk for corporations. Bunk.

Another example of someone thinking it's Orlando 1975. Orlando has outgrown any possible lane expansions and like all metropolitan cities of today requires alternate methods of transport besides the bus. It is time to move forward and light rail is just the first step in taking Orlando into the future opening opportunities for business growth and better standards of living for people in the community.

doorworker wrote:

well...I certainly don't cotton to this guy (or shill, as the case may be)talking about how "we" in CFL dont want a commuter rail system. and wht's with the totally out of context reference to some other case?
To me it's about thinking long term or thinking short term...and defining "our" interests both across income and tax brackets, but also across the full range of public welfare.
The "quality of life" bonuses of commuting by public transit versus I-4 gridlock has a GREAT DEAL of appeal for me.
Whats up with locking the whole process up over some (on the face of it) truly wierd "no-fault" arrangement with rail operators?!Sounds like the same old conservative double standard of tough-love "personal responsibility" for working people versus "socialized" risk for corporations. Bunk.

I want the right to vote for this commuter rail deal. Doorworker, do you agree that the people should have the right to vote on this public works project?

RJL wrote:

Another example of someone thinking it's Orlando 1975. Orlando has outgrown any possible lane expansions and like all metropolitan cities of today requires alternate methods of transport besides the bus. It is time to move forward and light rail is just the first step in taking Orlando into the future opening opportunities for business growth and better standards of living for people in the community.

Have you been to downtown Orlando lately? Orlando is a mess thanks to those "progressive" minds like Buddy Dyer and Richard Crotty. "We want to make Orlando a "world class" city". What a bunch of "stuff".

Light rail will only compound the mess "they" have made of this community. How about getting the crime under control first. If we cannot afford law enforcement, how can we afford this billion dollar toy?? Please wake up and get real.

The crime in Orlando is not that much different that comparable size cities across the country. I live in downtown so yes I have been there. Again another 1975 wannabe.

I cannot believe we still dont have a rail system. I'm tired of visiting other cities and taking their rail system, only to come back to the urban sprawl here.

BTW the post on high crime. You've got it wrong. I live right smack downtown. If you stay away from drugs, you will be very safe. A small hint, take a look at the crime statistic map. Also a good sign, the new downtown helpers on segways are awesome! They are a huge step in removing crime.

It is commuter rail, not light rail. Light rail will come much later.

Orlando is a Mess wrote:

<quoted text>
Have you been to downtown Orlando lately? Orlando is a mess thanks to those "progressive" minds like Buddy Dyer and Richard Crotty. "We want to make Orlando a "world class" city". What a bunch of "stuff".
Light rail will only compound the mess "they" have made of this community. How about getting the crime under control first. If we cannot afford law enforcement, how can we afford this billion dollar toy?? Please wake up and get real.

You mean commuter rail. Light rail will hopefully come next.

"Orlando is a Mess", "Voters Should decide", "FTA can stop CSX rail" are all the same person or group of people that come on here every article trying to ruffle feathers. What they don't want you to know is that they are backed by Doug Guetzloe, and he would be commuter rail's biggest proponent if only they had paid him off first and foremost. He is nothing short of political mercenary with his services going to the highest bidder. They have stopped linking directly to his axthetax website because people started to figure out what is going on.

By the way, there were referendums and votes all in FAVOR of this project. This project will be a huge boon, not "boondoggle" (the oppositions favorite catch phrase to use!)to our local economy and transportation efforts.

Axthetax clones, don't try to twist the facts to suit your own agenda. It makes you sound and look more pathetic than you already are.

The traffic congestion issue will be 'solved' by the high price of fuel.

Low cost public buses traveling the I-4 would make sense...but there is no one in government that is actually interested in anything that makes sense.

Who will make money on the developement of land at the rail stations??? Ask that to Mr Mica.

I grew up in Orlando for most of my life, and now live in Atlanta. How foolish it would be to kill a commuter rail project for Orlando.

Have you been to Atlanta? The lack of a public transit railway has this city in constant gridlock. A trip that would take less than 30 minutes in normal traffic can take up to two hours.

The old school way of thinking does not work. Orlando hasn't been a sleepy little town since the 70's. Kill a rail project that has taken this long to get off the ground, and it will take another 20 years before it's thought of again.

Maybe a trip to Chicago or New York would show what a benefit public transit can be. Imagine being able to get anywhere in Central Florida without having to deal with traffic and high fuel prices.

GET A LIFE/RJL; Crime not much different? Why are we 11th? Because we don't have enough police? WE don't have enough money to hire more, because we must spend money we don't have on a Commuter Rail to Nowhere.

Why haven't we heard more about the Express Bus system, and the Bus-Hub system that would pick up the commuters near their home? People can leave their cars at home, but not with a Commuter Rail. Why do the greedy rich politicians want to spend money on a Rail system and not develop a rider freindly Bus-Hub system. Don't you think getting people used to commuting would be the first goal.

From the time that Mobility 20/20 was defeated, our Commissioners could have appropriated money to develop a Bus-Hub system. By now all of Central Florida could be commuting by Bus. Then some of these buses could connect to the Commuter Rail or a Monorail system.

Could it be that our elected are getting money from CSX and corporate welfare is the name of the corrupt game.

AUDIT ALL ELECTED OFFICIAL AND THEIR FAMILIES.
Lets find out why they do not communicate other ideas of Mass Transit. Could it be because they are being paid by CSX.

Are you ready to be responsible for CSX addidents? Are you ready to pay for Track repairs?

I CAN SEE IT NOW, TAXPAYERS SUED BY CSX FOR FAILING TO KEEP TRACKS IN GOOD CONDITION.

THE PEOPLE SAID NO 4 TIMES TO A RAIL SYSTEM.

MAYOR CROTTY AND 6 COMMISSIONERS VOTER TO
"OVERTHROW THE TAXPAYING GOVERNMENT OF AMERICA"
"WE THE PEOPLE" WHAT IS THAT CALLED?

Bus Hub? lol

People aren't riding the bus now. How long will it take to get them "used to" the idea of the bus? CFL has had a bus system in place for well over 20 years now. My, how full they are.

Many folks think the bus is "lower class" and will not ride it, period. By the way, a "hub" is just a friendly term for a terminal.

Not to mention, where is all of the property for these "hubs" going to come from? Espescially "near" a neighborhood. I can't wait to hear the folks from Winter Park crying about a bus terminal in their neighborhood. My, how that will destroy property values. We haven't even talked about the parking garage that will be needed for most of the "hubs."

We may as well talk about where this bus lane on I-4 will go. Are we creating an extra lane? Where? Will enough people ride a bus? Probably not. Certainly not enough to take away from road congestion.

Atlanta Georga, has a rail system that doesn't stop traffic. Central Florida's will, at every
road crossing.

Atlanta is not as spread out as Central Florida is and people will have to drive to the terminals.

Florida needs a better bus system before we even consider a Commuter rail. Unfortunately, the Elected, who rely on campaign donations, are putting the "Cart before the Horse".

Probably because they are friends with the builders. I can just see the taxpayers paying for more rain sewers, because of the break the elected will give the builders.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK FOR THE GOOD OF THE RICH

SEAN R: The Bus-Hub system can provide jobs for the many Car manufactors in America. Thus putting Americans back to work.

People don't ride the bus because they have to walk a long distance to get one. So the Bus-Hub brings the bus near their home.

The central park in Winter Park will be cut down by the Commuter Rail, not the Bus transfer point.
Any side street could be the transfer point, or any Mall or Grocery store lot, etc.

People won't ride the Commuter Rail because they have to drive to it and then arrange for a car at the other end. The Bus-Hub brings them closer to their destination.

Some Bus-Hub routes can be privitized and go directly from a transfer point to the work place.
Thus creating jobs for Americans, while making it possible for all Citizens to save on gas.

You don't need a special lane on I-4 and the bus won't stop traffic at the Rail-Road Crossings.

The Bus-Hub system is a flexible plan where the Commuter Rail is a fixed route and cannot be changed. We can add or remove a Bus on any route.

The Bus-Hub system makes it possible for the Physically Challenged to be able to board a bus in front of their homes.

The Bus-Hub could get you to work within 45 minutes or less of your starting time. That all depends on you work location.

The Bus-Hub saves dollars on Parking, Gas, and Wear and Tear on the cars. And time.

So, Winter Garden, Daytona Beach, Coco Beahc, Titusville, Mims, Haines City, and points in and out can be serviced with a Bus-Hub and Express Bus system.

SAVINGS OF MILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS AND THAT SAVINGS CAN BE USED FOR SCHOOLS, AND POLICE AND FIRE.

get a life wrote:

"Orlando is a Mess", "Voters Should decide", "FTA can stop CSX rail" are all the same person or group of people that come on here every article trying to ruffle feathers. What they don't want you to know is that they are backed by Doug Guetzloe, and he would be commuter rail's biggest proponent if only they had paid him off first and foremost. He is nothing short of political mercenary with his services going to the highest bidder. They have stopped linking directly to his axthetax website because people started to figure out what is going on.
By the way, there were referendums and votes all in FAVOR of this project. This project will be a huge boon, not "boondoggle" (the oppositions favorite catch phrase to use!)to our local economy and transportation efforts.
Axthetax clones, don't try to twist the facts to suit your own agenda. It makes you sound and look more pathetic than you already are.

Not sure who you think this is, but I can assure you it is not an "axthetax clone".

I am a taxpayer with a brain who has done the math on this deal. The only winners are CSX and Congressman John Mica. The rest of us (honest taxpayers)will BE still be stuck in traffic.

BTW - are you related to Congressman John Mica? Do you work for Mica or CSX? You must have some personal or financial motive for supporting this massive waste of tax dollars. No reasonable person that has done the math on this deal, could support it.

Yes. I have contacted the FTA and requested that they take a closer look at the proposed CSX-CFL Commuter Rail project that is strongly proposed and promoted by Congressman John Mica. Without Mica, this rail deal would have died a long time ago.

Mica claims to be a "conservative" but the CSX-CFL Commuter Rail deal is anything but conservative. At the same time, as a senior member of the Transportation Committe, Mica has done nothing to stop the sale of our Interstate infrastructure (which includes the NAFTA Super Highway deal) to Cintra - a NON-AMERICAN corporation. My review of the job Congressman Mica has done results in total distrust and dissatisfaction. You can rest assured that I will not vote for Mica and I am "conservative".

To other taxpayers that have done the math, please contact FTA Administrator James Simpson and let him know that the people of this community have voted down commuter rail on more than one occassion and the facts all show that it will not improve transportation in CFL.

Thank you.
NOT A GUETZLOE - AXTHETAX CLONE

Sean R wrote:

I grew up in Orlando for most of my life, and now live in Atlanta. How foolish it would be to kill a commuter rail project for Orlando.
Have you been to Atlanta? The lack of a public transit railway has this city in constant gridlock. A trip that would take less than 30 minutes in normal traffic can take up to two hours.
The old school way of thinking does not work. Orlando hasn't been a sleepy little town since the 70's. Kill a rail project that has taken this long to get off the ground, and it will take another 20 years before it's thought of again.
Maybe a trip to Chicago or New York would show what a benefit public transit can be. Imagine being able to get anywhere in Central Florida without having to deal with traffic and high fuel prices.

Implementing commuter rail in Orlando would be FOOLISH. Anyone that believes this commuter rail will work in Orlando is totally CLUELESS!

I have worked in NYC, St Louis, Chicago Area and Atlanta. If you are from Atlanta, then you should know what MARTA really stands for - right? And you should also know that MARTA did not end the traffic jam on I-75/85.

What is the percentage of daily commuters that use MARTA? What is the percentage of daily commuters that use St Louis rail? National average only 5% of daily commuters use any mass transit. Mass transit it the most expensive transportation system per passager mile and is only effective in very high density cities. Did you know that?

Orlando is not like NYC, Atlanta, Chicago or Boston. Thanks to the mis-management of downtown construction and construction/growth throughout Orange County, it will never be like NYC, Atlanta, Chicago or Boston. If Orlando cannot handle today's population, what would happen if it ever did become another Atlanta or NYC or Chicago or Boston?

BUS-HUB IS A DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE.

COMMUTER IS A FIXED ROUTE SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES PEOPLE TO DRIVE TO THE TERMINAL.

BUS-HUB IS A FLEXIBLE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR THE PEOPLE.

RAIL SYSTEM IS A CSX AND PORK PROJECT OF THE ELECTED.

AUDIT ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEIR FAMILIES. No elected official should be getting rich at taxpayers expense. The Commuter Rail seems to be putting money in the electeds pockets, CSX is after welfare at the taxpayes expense.

CITIZENS PAY ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES.

SO WHO IS GOING TO SUFFER, THE HARD WORKING AMERICAN your friends who want a better life, will be paying for a Commuter Rail to nowhere.

Get a LIfe: You said there were referendums on the Commuter rail and many voted for it. When was that?
The only vote on the Commuter Rail was Crotty and the commissioners.

Was the vote secret? 4 times we said to a rail system. Now, maybe the builders and their employees are all for this Mass Transit Rail boondoggle. Smart Taxpayers are not for spending money on it.

GUETZLOE, you said a lot of us post in the blogs as directed by doug.

Well, I post in the blog to get feedback from those who are not fully informed, and to find out who is for taxpayer dollar waste.

I do not work for Guetzloe, therefore, I don't do what he says, I do what I think is right. If Doug is involved, thats fine with me, because it is because of the greedy elected/appointed officials that our taxdollars are being wasted. Not because of Doug.

Crotty made $112,000.00 profit on a land deal with a builder, who gets approval for his projects from the Commissioners. How much money, if any, did Carters projects cost the taxpayers. Did we have to pay for storm drains, a catch basin?

Guetzloe at least is trying to keep an eye on corruption and let the citizens know about it.
Honesty would be so much nicer to have in our representative government, but, unfortunately all we see is violations of the Constitution of the United States by the lawyers that we trusted to represent us.

Thanks to dishonesty, violations of the Constitution, corruption, and bribery thru campaign donations, America will soon be a Third World country, with no rights for the people.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR TROOPS.

get a life wrote:

"Orlando is a Mess", "Voters Should decide", "FTA can stop CSX rail" are all the same person or group of people that come on here every article trying to ruffle feathers. What they don't want you to know is that they are backed by Doug Guetzloe, and he would be commuter rail's biggest proponent if only they had paid him off first and foremost. He is nothing short of political mercenary with his services going to the highest bidder. They have stopped linking directly to his axthetax website because people started to figure out what is going on.
By the way, there were referendums and votes all in FAVOR of this project. This project will be a huge boon, not "boondoggle" (the oppositions favorite catch phrase to use!)to our local economy and transportation efforts.
Axthetax clones, don't try to twist the facts to suit your own agenda. It makes you sound and look more pathetic than you already are.

It appears to most folks that the only "clones" around are the ones promoting this boondoggle.
Commuter rail does nothing for transporation alternatives nor the taxpayers.
Doug Guetzloe is the only one who has actually led the fight, very successfully, to oppose light rail and commuter rail.
The Ax the Tax website www.axthetax.org is the only truly opposition website around that outlines the opposition viewpoints.
None of the rail opponents are afraid to be seen with Doug or supporting Doug.
Laughable that the pro-rail clones like yourself try to attack Doug and the opposition when he's won every battle and has consistently opposed rail for 12 years.
Doug has not, nor would he ever, sell out the opposition and there has never been any evidence to suggest that-even after two years of countless, prosecutorial misconduct and investigations that show that Doug Guetzloe is the most honest man in Florida!
Ax the commuter rail tax!
A dozen ax the tax volunteers were there the other day to oppose commuter rail in Winter Park.
Join the battle - www.axthetax.org !