MikeR, on Mar 21 2006, 07:05 AM, said:
Hi all -
Any talk of upgrading the rail line to Newport has been squashed at the local level:
http://www.eastbayri...57067617553.php
There's a number of environmental and NIMBY groups locally that will simply do anything to stop any rail line expansion into Newport County. There is a group on Aquidneck Island that wants to turn the rail line on the island into a bike path as well.
The process to convert the rail right-of-way to a bike path has been going on for some time now...rail line extension has no future in East Bay.
That's ridiculous of them. The advantages of having a (transit) rail connection from Newport to Fall River to Providence to Boston etc would be tremendous.
I assume they worry because they're afraid of loss of property (by eminent domain), loss of historical structures, loss of the character of the community, destruction of neighborhoods, loss of property value, etc. This is the case, correct? Because I doubt they oppose the rail proposal on its own merits. On its own merits, it makes nothing but good sense.
But what if we were to eliminate those concerns? What if we were to do in Newport what we already did in Providence, that is, put the rail lines underground?
In Newport, that is. The existing rail lines in Middletown and Portsmouth would stay.
I mean, what the heck, we've got a gigantic metal mole that just finished burrowing a 3-mile long tunnel under Providence. We have future plans for this metal mole, too: it was mentioned that similar tunnels are planned for Pawtucket & Central Falls. But what do we plan to do with this marvelous tool in the meantime? Why, let it sit rusting, of course.
Today's ProJo ran
this story about the imminent completion of the Providence tunnel. The story included this line, which just happened to catch my eye:
Quote
In recent weeks, crews finished drilling the tunnel: at 3 miles long and 30 feet in diameter, it is bigger than the typical subway tunnel. The crews cut up their 690-ton tunnel-boring machine and hoisted it out of the way. They also installed 16,000 concrete segments to line the tunnel. Each weighed 12,000 pounds.
Well?
They could start the digging in the North End, about a mile from the Gateway Center and the heart of town. The 138 interchange, through which the existing rail line happens to run, has lots of free space. Most highway interchanges do. But the 138 interchange has more than most because it has undergone a couple of (sloppy) re-designs. You can still see the remnants of the old roads today. That land is wasted, under the existing system. Put it to use!
Putting the railroad underground eliminates the need for anyone to live next to a railroad (and to lose property value because of living next to a railroad). It eliminates the need to uproot existing neighborhoods and destroy the historical buildings that give Newport its charm. It keeps the noise & unsightliness of railroads out of sight. Out of sight is out of mind.
Putting the railroad underground also allows us to pick & choose, so to speak, the best spot for the terminal. Put the station somewhere in Brick Market Plaza, and try to do it iceberg-style. The rail lines would be underground, why not try to put the station down there too? Minimize the impact above-ground. And that, once the building was complete, would allow the retail in Long Wharf Mall to continue to operate. It's a great site. It's within a mile of nearly the whole city (geographically) and probably 75% percent of Newport's residents. The only parts of Newport that are more than a mile away from Washington Sq. are the North End, which is mostly commercial and light industrial, and the southern extremities of town, which are basically rural anyway. Rural and gold course, that is. Furthermore, Long Whf Mall/Washington Sq. is the heart of Newport's tourist sector. And it's the center of pedestrian activity in town.
The problem is money. It would be expensive. The city wouldn't be paying for it, obviously, nor would any private corporation. Nor would the state. The money would have to be federal. Then again, stranger things have happened, and last I heard there was still a Chafee in the US Senate. Oh, and a station in Long Whf Mall would be in easy walking distance from Chafee's Newport office.
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