[SustainableTompkins] Rail transportation and trash

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Unless I'm wrong, railroads never did own the road beds. They were granted 
long-term rights-of-way (99 years). When routes were abandoned, the 
underlying land reverted to the owners at the time of the grants.

At any rate, I agree that the railroads will want to control the land 
before making much of an investment. Public ownership does not preclude 
long-term lease. Neither does it necessarily rule out shared use. I know of 
no precedent, but wouldn't it make sense to divide the right-of-way, 
perhaps with a fence, with the track on one side and a 
transportation/recreation trail on the other? In fact, in exchange for 
access to the public's roadway, perhaps the public could secure use of the 
tracks for commuter rail, with freight traffic scheduled during 
non-commuter hours. Alternatively, if the private sector isn't interested, 
wouldn't it make sense to have the public put the rails in, with the 
freight traffic helping to pay for the development of commuter rail and a 
bicycle/recreation way on the same divided roadbed?

Joel

Joel

At 05:53 PM 3/3/08 -0500, you wrote:
>  > There are no rails there now; the graded route will still be there
>  > should we need it for rail.  And ownership of it will be clear.
>
>Seems to me that it would work the other way around.  I don't know
>of any railroads on public land.  Rail companies have to own the
>road bed before they'll invest anything in it.
>
>I doubt that people around here are going to be willing to sell
>that land back to a rail company before we run out of the
>resources to put the rails back.
>
>Jon
>
>
>Gail Blake wrote:
> > I used to be ambivalent about the creation of rail trails also. As a
> > someone who bicycles for transportation, I know that they are not
> > just "recreational" as George says, but rather provide safe
> > transportation corridors for non-motorized movement. But I had
> > concerns that the rail beds would someday be needed for rail and that
> > this possibility would be lost if they became trails. What I have
> > come to realize, however, is that a trail is still a publicly owned
> > right of way and is a much better way to protect these corridors for
> > public use than allowing the neighboring landowners to treat them as
> > private property, putting up fences and blockages, as has occurred
> > along the route of the Black Diamond Trail. There are no rails there
> > now; the graded route will still be there should we need it for rail.
> > And ownership of it will be clear.
> >
> > Gail Blake
> >
> > At 12:43 PM 3/3/2008, you wrote:
> >>   The most direct rail link between NYC and Seneca Meadows would
> >> actually be through Ithaca.  The railbed is even still
> >> intact.  Unfortunately it's reserved for a higher priority - the
> >> Black Diamond Trail recreational bikeway.
> >>
> >
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