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Study supports valley rail service Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Improvements to Central Oregon & Pacific rail lines, like these in Medford, would be at the top of a list of priorities should funding be found for an ambitious commuter rail plan announced recently. Commuter train idea gains steam By JOHN DARLING Local officials soon will begin the hunt for federal money to pay for an ambitious commuter rail service in the Rogue Valley. Depending on who you ask, the first rail car could arrive in two years or 20. With the completion of a six-month, $100,000 study, officials hope to find the money to get the ball rolling so rail service will be online about the time they think that growing sprawl, traffic and parking problems will make trains a vital transportation alternative. Citizens favor rail proposal A group that studied plans for commuter rail service in the Rogue Valley heard no organized opposition to the plan during the six-month study. Citizens attending rail plan open houses in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass overwhelmingly wrote positive comments on unsigned suggestion slips. Said one, "We just need some major lifestyle and attitude adjustments! Those who live in their cars have no idea how great it is to do without - with support." One supporter said, "Absolutely I would use it! In Europe, rail is extensively used. It's efficient, reduces pollution, puts people in contact with others, you can do other things (read, study) while getting from one place to another and it reduces highway congestion." Another noted, "It would boost the economies of communities along the line. Train travel would make it more fun and easier to travel the distances involved. It would be a draw for people in Ashland and Medford to visit Grants Pass and enjoy the area's great sporting opportunities on the Rogue River, such as rafting and fishing. Train travel would be a draw for people in Grants Pass to visit Medford and Ashland to enjoy shopping, theater and music." Some cautioned against high train speeds through the valley and possible noise for those living near tracks. One suggested a spur to White City, another a stop at Rogue Valley Mall and others wanted it to connect with Amtrak in Eugene and Dunsmuir, Calif., which planners said is beyond the scope of the present plan. Many said they would have to be assured of connecting to modern, widespread bus routes in all stops. The Southern Oregon Commuter Rail Study Committee this month recommended upgrading rails, signal systems and crossings, setting up stations and parking, and purchasing trains and rail cars. The project would cost $39 million for initial Ashland to Central Point service. The line later would be extended to Grants Pass, for a total cost of $91 million. Annual operating costs would be another $6-10 million, which would be heavily subsidized with federal funding. Ridership is projected at 475 a day with six round trips daily between Ashland and Central Point, growing to 850 when extended later to Grants Pass. The $100,000 study was requested by the 1999 state Legislature and directed by the Oregon Department of Transportation. The study committee is made up of elected officials and technical staff from Jackson and Josephine counties and the cities on the proposed line: Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Central Point, Rogue River, Gold Hill and Grants Pass, plus the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, Rogue Valley Transportation District and Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, which owns the rails. Rail backers are now seeking endorsement of the Metropolitan Planning Committee, the Rogue Valley Commission on Transportation and the Transportation Advocacy Committee, with hopes of applying by late summer to the Federal Transit Administration for funding of a comprehensive rail study and an environmental assessment, said rail project manager John Morrison of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Morrison and other rail committee members emphasized the study was a brief and opening phase of a long and complex process, requiring years of cooperation among many governmental agencies, meeting federal rules on mass transit and the environment and finding a considerable amount of funding. However, said Morrison, "The plan has no fatal flaws, the rail system is already in place and the conditions are growing that make people want to get out of their cars." Jackson County Commissioner Ric Holt, a longtime backer of passenger train service here, said commuter rail would draw from a dozen federal funding sources, including FTA. And he sees a more ambitious turnaround to get the project going. "It sounded like a pipe dream 10 years ago, but not anymore," Holt said. "I believe we're looking at a demonstration commuter rail system here in two or two-and-a-half years. It doesn't take rocket science to see all the congestion and people moving here and the energy crisis, which is going to get a hell of a lot worse. The money is already available for programs just like ours." Traffic congestion in the Rogue Valley is 10 times worse than 20 years ago, compared to three times for the national average, the study said. The number and use of cars is growing faster than population in the Rogue Valley, Morrison said. Commuter rail in the Rogue Valley is also inviting, he said, because rails and rights-of-way are already established and follow the main business strips, bus lines and Highway 99. Present rails, now rated for travel at only 30 mph, would be upgraded for train traffic at 60 mph, the study said. Project members agreed that while traffic is starting to be congested, there's no immediate crisis and it's still an easy drive from one end of the Rogue Valley to the other, said member Mark Knox, an Ashland planner and member of the rail study. "The time is coming, though. The Rogue Valley will continue to grow in exponential numbers. We all know that. We need to not let it blindside us. We need to figure where that point is (where the need for commuter rail is critical) and start planning for it. It could be 10 or even 20 years out. No one knows yet." ODOT rail planner Ed Immel of Salem agreed, noting the federal government won't fund unlimited freeway expansions forever and is supporting development of commuter rail systems in smaller metropolitan areas such as Madison, Wis., and Burlington, Vt. "The Rogue Valley is one of the fastest growing areas of the state," Immel said. "You're going to have a whole lot more congestion, people and cars. It's like a big wave coming behind you, and it's on everyone's mind." To get people out of cars, the Rogue Valley commuter rail will dedicate itself to matching car speeds and having the same trips leave at the same times every day, Morrison said. The trip from Ashland to Grants Pass, with seven stops, will take 80 minutes, according to the study. Study group members said the FTA funds 50 to 80 percent of commuter rail projects and that the system would likely be administered by the Rogue Valley Transportation District, which now handles only buses. Construction and operating costs were estimated by ODOT from mass transit systems in other areas. With government subsidies, rail riders wouldn't pay the actual cost for their trips, said RVCOG planner Kathy Helmer. RVTD bus fares, for instance cover only 22 percent of operating costs, said Matthew Barnes, RVTD planner. Ridership figures were projected from RVTD bus ridership from 1990-95, with no mass transit data for Central Point to Grants Pass, he added. If FTA funding is obtained for the next phase, those figures for the commuter train will be nailed down more accurately. Though study members predicted a long and challenging planning, funding and development process, they were uniformly optimistic about the eventual birth of commuter rail here. "It's going to attract riders because it's a train and people like trains. They don't feel that way about buses," said rail study member Tom Humphrey, a Central Point planner and rail study member. "It's going to be there for workers who commute from Grants Pass and Rogue River to Medford. It's going to allow college students to live in Central Point or anywhere on the line. What used to be perceived as a 'Dreamworks' concept is now perceived as real, practical and desirable." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.