GUEST COMMENTARY

Editor’s Note: Daniel Lamson is the Executive Director of the Indian River Neighborhood Association.

DANIEL LAMSON

You’ve probably heard about the high speed rail system, known as All Aboard Florida, which will be blasting through our downtown starting late next year. This is a big deal for our community.

As of now, this train will not be stopping in Vero, or anywhere on the Treasure Coast. It will start in Miami and end in Orlando with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

By the time the train reaches our little town, it will be going upwards of 110 MPH. To put this speed in perspective, the freight trains we have here every day are going around 45-55 MPH.

There are a lot of fears going around right now. The IRNA been doing its best to become informed on this issue, to better know how to mitigate any negative impacts that the train could cause.

Trains will leave both Miami and Orlando every morning starting at 6 AM. There will be 16 trains per day going both north and south. They will be leaving roughly hourly until 9 PM. This means we will have 32 additional trains going through Indian River County from about 7 AM to 11 PM every day.

Some good news, for all of us waiting at the crossings is that each train will only be 700 feet or so long, with 7-8 cars and two locomotives. All Aboard Florida spokespeople say that the wait at the crossing will be about the same as an additional red light, as opposed to the freight trains, which can go on for thousands of feet.

A question we’ve heard many times is “why can’t we just tell them to slow down?” The answer to this question is that the railroad predates many of the municipalities down the east coast of Florida. They own this land and the City has no power over it.

The second most common question we hear is, “What can we do?” The only authority over this proposed high speed rail is the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).  Right now it is compiling a draft of a giant  report, specific to our area, which will identify the impacts to air quality, water quality and ecological systems, traffic, land uses, public health and safety, cultural resources, aesthetics and more.

There will be a chance for the public to comment on this Environmental Impact Study when the draft is complete, most likely within the next two months. When this happens, you NEED to comment on it. Part of the corridor (from Miami to West Palm Beach) has already been completed. In that time, less than 100 people commented on the report.

To have a seat at the table, we need to have our voices heard in this process. From there, we can lessen the impact to our area.

The City of Vero Beach has a High Speed Rail Advisory Commission which meets regularly. Its next meeting is March 26 at 4 p.m. We encourage you to attend these meetings and to stay up to date on this issue.

If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, please email me at dan.lamson@indianriverna.com. The Indian River Neighborhood Association is an Indian River County organization dedicated to preserving our quality of life, protecting our natural resources, and ensuring a sustainable economy for future generations.