Lakewood WA Sues to Stop Reroute

[SubwayNut]

No project can ever get done without some sort of lawsuit.

Although I don't think these residents are that close to a station. Sounder has opened its Lakewood Stop, I don't think any other stops are proposed for this corridor.

The usual NIMBYism and BANANAS ("Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything" (or "Anyone"))

 

[Phil S]

A lot of acrimony here in this thread but,frankly, I'm glad to see it. It means the disastrous issues facing this country (i.e., reality) are finally being taken seriously..

Yes, new rail lines will have to be built right across private property. I just hope the land-owners do get properly compensated, not like what happened in many neighborhoods during the heyday of construction of interstate hiways, often through the poorest neighborhoods.

Have a look at Portland OR. The good people of Portland are creating one of the best light-rail systems in the US, which meshes well with a very good bus system. But they (and State DoT) have done zero to build hiways around and through the town in the last 30 (40?) years. As a result it's can take 2-4 hrs for trucks and cars going N or S on I-5 to get through Portland. Seems to me a new bridge across the Columbia was recently voted down.

I'm all for moving freight and people onto rail but there will always be good reasons for using private vehicles. Again, it's best to recognize and try to deal with reality.

As always, just my opinion.

 

[neroden]

What gets to me about this is that Pt. Defiance Bypass isn't even a new line. And it's going to be made QUIETER by the upgrade. (Welded track, "quiet zone" crossings where the horn isn't blown, etc.) But some locals are acting like they're going to see 100-car coal trains clunking across bolted rail. (Which could be done *without public comment* now, but once the passenger trains are on the line, will not happen.)

 

[VentureForth]

Alright - Sounder already uses this route, right? What's the difference? Oh - I see. Sounder STOPS in Lakewood, and doesn't cross Clover Creek.

I did some selective searches on property values on Zillow.com. A property close to the complainers home has increased in price 9% since January 2012. Meanwhile, Zipcode 98499 has seen an increase of 17%. Now, a property close to (and on the "busy" side of Lakewood station has gone up in price by 22% in the same time frame.

Yes - your property value may decrease in the next couple of years during construction. Heck, I may want to buy it when its value is depressed. Then maybe I'll sell it back to ya when the work is done, k?

 

[Guest]

Interestingly, this route south out of Tacoma was the original main line for the Northern Pacific Rwy until the first Point Defiance bypass was build along the water. I believe the stretch between Nisqually and the switch at the north end of Joint Base Lewis McChord (Lakewood) was a connector to Fort Lewis.

 

[Alice]

Moral of the story, do not buy property next to active railroads, even if they are infrequently used. It is lame to try to say that someone else cannot use their property for the purpose that they have owned it, much longer than you, because you made a mistake in your property transaction. Just IMHO of course!

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

Don't limit your advice to active railroads. Inactive railroads turn get turned into bike trails, and are also used for homeless camps.

 

[PaulM]

I sympathize with Guest_D3_*. But a lack of a walking or bike route is a cultural problem, not one caused or affected by the railroad. Building streets and roads without sidewalks or bike lanes is one of the principles of the red-neck school of highway design. In most jurisdictions I'm familiar with, walking or biking for the purpose of transportation is, if not illegal, certainly not politically correct. If you want to blow your nose, you are expected to get into a car. Especially when it comes to children, you have to teach them to suck up to the pump at an early age.

 

[jis]

Moral of the story, do not buy property next to active railroads, even if they are infrequently used. It is lame to try to say that someone else cannot use their property for the purpose that they have owned it, much longer than you, because you made a mistake in your property transaction. Just IMHO of course!

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

Don't limit your advice to active railroads. Inactive railroads turn get turned into bike trails, and are also used for homeless camps.

That may or may not happen depending on how the original property for the railroad was obtained. In many cases the property reverts back to the adjacent land owners from whom it was taken as an easement for the specific purpose of running a railroad. Several Rail to Trail projects are discovering that once the rail service stops on the ROW it cannot be used for any other purpose. So always a bit of detailed research is advisable in those cases. But if it is still an active railroad such is unnecessary. the answer is obvious.