Reverse engines! Reluctantly but prudently, All Aboard Florida wises-up and agrees to have a Fort Laudedale scoping meeting after all, on May 29th; 5 weeks later, still no response from SFRTA Executive Director Joseph Giulietti about whether or not Hallandale Beach will have a station as part of their proposed Tri-Rail Coastal plan

Fresh from my email Inbox and into your transportation stream of consciousness...


---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: All Aboard Florida
Date: Thu, May 16, 2013 at 10:18 AM
Subject: AAF to host additional open house in Fort Lauderdale for EIS process

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.

May 16, 2013 All Aboard Florida and the Federal Railroad Administration announce an additional public scoping meeting/open house in Fort Lauderdale as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental and related impacts of constructing and operating an intercity passenger rail service between Orlando and Miami with intermediate stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The public scoping meeting/open house will be held on Wednesday, May 29, between 3:30 and 7 p.m., at the Holiday Park Social Center, 1150 G. Harold Martin Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. We invite you to attend and share your comments on the project. There will not be a formal presentation or comment period. Information from previous public scoping sessions will be shown at this venue. If you cannot attend but wish to submit a comment, they must be mailed or emailed to Catherine Dobbs, Transportation Industry Analyst, Office of Railroad Policy and Development, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590, or catherine.dobbs@dot.gov. For more information on the meetings, please contact Public Affairs Manager Ali Soule, 305-520-2105, or eis@allaboardflorida.com. Thank you, All Aboard Florida Team Please visit our website for more information and share this email with interested parties so they can receive updates from All Aboard Florida. Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

-----

My May 6th blog post, below, about my perspective on the public outreach efforts of All Aboard Florida and SFRTA/Tri-Rail, left no stone un-turned -or thrown if it deserved it

For those of you who are curious, I have still never received a response to my April 12th email to SFRTA Executive Director Joseph Giulietti about whether or not Hallandale Beach will have a commuter train station as part of their proposed Tri-Rail Coastal plan, which currently shows no proposed station here in their released plans.

Tomorrow will make five weeks and counting since I wrote it, which itself, was the second effort to get an honest answer from SFRTA/TRi-Rail, with my previous email never getting a response, either.

More Transit Policy Woes in South Florida: With stealthy and self-sabotaging friends like All Aboard Florida and SFRTA/Tri-Rail, pro-transit advocates in South Florida don't need any more enemies; 'All Aboard Florida' fails to schedule a single public scoping meeting in Broward County this Spring despite Fort Lauderdale being a proposed station, while SFRTA chief refuses to answer a simple question -Will Hallandale Beach have a station under the proposed Coastal line plan?; Just because you're pro-transit doesn't mean you have to ignore displays of transit incompetency or mismanagement when you see it!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/more-transit-policy-woes-in-south.html 

More Transit Policy Woes in South Florida: With stealthy and self-sabotaging friends like All Aboard Florida and SFRTA/Tri-Rail, pro-transit advocates in South Florida don't need any more enemies; 'All Aboard Florida' fails to schedule a single public scoping meeting in Broward County this Spring despite Fort Lauderdale being a proposed station, while SFRTA chief refuses to answer a simple question -Will Hallandale Beach have a station under the proposed Coastal line plan?; Just because you're pro-transit doesn't mean you have to ignore displays of transit incompetency or mismanagement when you see it!

Tri-Rail Coastal Link, partner56239248 YouTube Channel: Tri-Rail Coastal Link, Uploaded April 28, 2013. http://youtu.be/fFZR6ljK3og

And as if I didn't have enough to say about South Florida transit issues and the way taxpayers and customers are often taken for granted or treated in either a patronizing or condecending fashion by transit agencies or transit groups, it seems that Tri-Rail is guilty of engaging in historical revisionism, too, as caught by eagle-eyed writer Sean McCaughan, above and below below to devastating effect. 
Congrats to him for seeing the situation for exactly what it is and not being duped as they intended.

http://miami.curbed.com/
Tri-Rail Coastal Link Video Rewrites Miami's History, Gives Richard Florida All The Credit
by Sean McCaughan
Thursday, May 2, 2013, 
http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/05/02/trirail-coastal-link-video-rewrites-miamis-history-gives-richard-florida-all-the-credit.php

Below is a copy of an email I wrote and sent last Tuesday about the continuing communication and outreach problems afflicting some transit agencies and transit-oriented groups in the State of Florida, far too many of whom, it has been my misfortune to see over the years, have an often over-inflated image of their own role and influence in the larger scheme of public affairs.
Some even seem to live in their own world, where they set their own rules.

That's a fantasy world, of course, but sometimes, well-intentioned outsiders, like reporters or bloggers, are reluctant to pop their balloon and ruin the illusion they've created of being important.
A world where they're rarely if ever held to account by the public at large, and more specifically, by local taxpayers or residents affected by various transit plans and schemes.

Me, I'm not afraid of popping other people's illusions, so this blog post today should be read for exactly what it is -me bursting some bubbles.

That fantasy public policy world I've just described is what many of us who are paying attention think of as the bad side of South Florida policy, where some self-interested types with connections or degrees or letters after their names, often think their access to the public teat is unlimited, and can never be turned off.
This allows them, or so they think, to act with varying degrees of patronizing indifference and condescension towards the public and customers.
(Think The Beacon Council and MDX, for instance!)

As it applies to the world of public transit and planning and design, they're under the mistaken impression that people who generally are pro-transit, especially those in favor of long-range trains or short-range commuter trains, like me, will just pretend they don't see displays of incompetency, stupidity and arrogance when it's right smack in front of them.

Well, not me.

The email was sent to Broward County Commissioners Sue Gunzburger, Barbara Sharief, Chip LaMarca, Tim Ryan, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, with a cc to Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Ananth Prasad in Tallahassee.

It was also sent as a bcc to well over a hundred interested parties located between here and U.S. DOT HQ in Washington, D.C., with multiple stops in Tallahassee, Orlando and Broward County, and, necessarily, included other South Florida mayors, city commissioners and city mangers, as well as to certain selected reporters, foundations, non-profits, transportation websites and bloggers.

Naturally, that list started with the great folks over at Transit Miami. http://www.transitmiami.com/

As much as I'd relish the opportunity to ask the folks at All Aboard Florida face-to-face at this afternoon's 4:30 p.m. meeting in Miami -with my video camera rolling- how they square intentionally ignoring Broward County 's residents  with an honest effort to engage in outreach to the South Florida public, there's zero chance I will be attending it, since going into downtown Miami late in the afternoon is truly a fool's errand.
More so if you are starting from Broward County, even if, like me, you're just north of Aventura.

Besides, did you see where the geniuses involved have scheduled the meeting?
1600 N.W. 3rd Avenue, as show below in Google Maps.

View Larger Map

What a great location for a transportation meeting!

Yes, in keeping with what apparently is the genius brains at work over at All Aboard Florida.

they've consciously chosen to NOT locate the meeting close to the FEC tracks they plan on using in the future,or, anywhere near where the most-likely customers of the service will be coming from, but rather in the Overtown/Culmer neighborhood of Miami.

Awesome!

For those of you who are reading this far from these shores, or, even those of you reading it closer-at-hand but not hip to that address, it's NOT exactly the safest place in Miami at the time when the meeting will be wrapping up at night.

Congrats for all the bad planning and bad outreach, folks!

Yes, hard as it is to believe, it appears that the folks behind this All Aboard Florida scheme seem not to have even considered the real possibility that prospective customers or taxpayers like you or me can support the overall goal, but NOT like or support going forward with it with the particular group of managers attached to it now, since they sure don't seem very smart or savvy in trying to get their OWN message out to people who would actually be supporters or customers in the future.
It's called knowing your universe.

(It's like the 'Florida Marlins' screwed-up marketing/outreach for so many years while they were playing at Dolphins Stadium near the Broward and Miami-Dade county line,  where, despite well over 60% of their season ticket holders living in Broward and Palm Beach counties because of the ease of the drive to the stadium via the next-door Florida Turnpike, the Marlins refused to show common sense and place a store or even small kiosks at nearby destination shopping malls like Aventura Mall or Pembroke Lakes Mall, where actual baseball fans and families go to shop.

No, instead, showing their customary arrogance and bad judgment, they had their one-and-only store located in Little Havana. Really.
Yes, the continuing myth of the Little Havana baseball fan dies hard.
But the reality was that those fans would listen to the games on the radio (in Spanish) and buy a Marlins ball cap every 5-6 years, but would only actually go to a game every few years. Look how well that worked! Thud. 

Good luck Marlins getting casual baseball fans who live in or north of Fort Lauderdale to head down to Little Havana with their kids on a Tuesday school night when the Padres and Rockies come to town!)

It's just like how beleaguered fans of the Dolphins or the Marlins can root for the players but NOT like or support their owners, and, frankly, rather hope that Stephen Ross and Jeffrey Loria meet their demise sooner rather than later, so that fans don't have to continue to be so conflicted with their emotions towards the teams.

Clearly if ignoring Broward residents on purpose is part of the All Aboard Florida playbook, it's NOT a Silver Linings Playbook, but rather one of a dog chasing its tail, over-and-over. A public policy story that some of us have seen played-out in South Florida for well over forty years already, with all the disastrous and logical results we see around us today as proof.

By the way, as of today, May 6th, 24 days since I sent that email to Joseph Giulietti, the head of SFRTA/Tri-Rail, about prospects for a Tri-Rail Coastal commuter station in Hallandale Beach, I still have NOT heard from him or his staff. 
Too late!
My patience with him and their indifference to taxpayers has officially expired.

-----

April 30, 2013

1:30 p.m.

Do any of you have any idea why there isn't a single scheduled All Aboard Florida scoping meeting being held in Broward County, esp. In FTL, the only currently-announced prospective station in the entire county?

Prior to starting this email to you today. I checked their website and went through their archives, http://www.allaboardflorida.com/ to see if there'd already been a public meeting in Broward somewhere that I somehow missed out on hearing about.

I don't know, maybe something that took place while I was in Sweden back in mid-January, and ignoring everything locally right before my trip?

No, nothing's already been held in Broward -and there's nothing scheduled

for Broward in the near-future, either.

   

If you know the answer to this question or have a good guess, please let me know...

I'll be sure to mention this lack of common sense to anyone I know whom I run into at the Broward MPO's Commitment 2040 meeting at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center on Thursday 

http://www.browardmpo.org/news/announcing-five-transportation-workshops-in-april-and-may

Somehow, I think they won't be surprised.

But then how could they be?

This screw-up with All Aboard Florida ignoring Broward County residents is just the latest in a series of completely inexplicable decisions involving transit in South Florida that make it hard for a longtime pro-transit advocate like myself to have much faith in either the "system" or the people who are supposed to be running and managing transit and transit-related issues in

South Florida, as well as public outreach.

They always find a way to let you down.

Over two weeks ago, for the second time, I contacted SFRTA/Tri-Rail to get them to say definitively, one way or the other, whether their current plans for utilizing the FEC tracks foresee a train station in Hallandale Beach or not, since their current plans on their website for a Coastal line state that Hallandale Beach will NOT have a station.

But we all know that there can always be closely-held but public information that they have which they have not yet chosen to place on their public website, which is why my email to them needed to be sent -to get the truth.

As you can see at the bottom of this email, I contacted SFRTA Executive Director Joseph Giulietti on April 12th to get his input, since he'd surely know better than anyone what was what.

And again, I'd already contacted them back in late January with this same basic questions, and never heard anything, which is how and why I specifically wrote to Mr. Giulietti earlier this month.

The response after 18 days: nothing from him, nothing from his staff -just lots and lots of NOTHING.

Like I said earlier, "They always find a way to let you down."

For now, just color me underwhelmed at the self-evident oversights that characterize South Florida transit, where, with the current cast of characters in place making policy decisions that affect lots of people and cities in this region, it's hard not to notice that taxpayers and customers almost always come in last.

DBS, Nine-year Hallandale Beach resident 

-----

This ad appeared in last Wednesday's Miami Herald.

http://findnsave.miamiherald.com/Local-Ads/a-398038/All-Aboard-Florida/27874859

Published in Miami Herald on Wednesday, April 24, 2013

re Prospective commuter train station in Hallandale Beach on FEC tracks; ULI's FEC Corridor mtg. on April 17th

April 12, 2013

Dear Mr. Giulietti:

I'm writing to you today on behalf of myself and a number of other very concerned

Hallandale Beach residents, business owners and SE Broward civic activists.

We are all greatly concerned that a tremendous opportunity is being lost due

to a lack of appropriate hard work, proper preparation and due diligence by

local Hallandale Beach elected officials, the current and past two City Managers,

as well as the HB Chamber of Commerce, whose reputation for myopia and

sloth continues to grow by the year.

So we are both concerned AND frustrated!

I'm a longtime public transit proponent, someone who personally used public

transit nearly every day when I lived in Chicago, Evanston and Wilmette in

the mid-1980's, and in the case of Wilmette, I lived on the very street, Linden,

that was the northern terminus of the El.

(Great in the mornings, with my choice of seats, not so great when

catching a train home after work in The Loop!) 

When I moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1988, I used the Metro even

more than I had the El, and most of those 15 years I lived near the Ballston

Metro Station that was located one block away from the National Science

Foundation, a location they had chosen -just like me- specifically because

of its proximity to the Metro train system.

In total, roughly 18 years of consistently using a train just about every day

to get to and from work, to sporting events and culture and Reagan National

Airport, as well as to check-out places on weekends with friends that we'd

read or heard about, but never felt like driving to because of well-known parking

hassles.

I've personally seen up-close what works -and what doesn't- with

urban trains and why.

Since moving back to South Florida in 2003, I've consistently used my blog

and appearances at germane City, County, State, SFECC and planning

meetings to strongly encourage and advocate for the sorts of useful tools

for residents that I believe can create a positive business and Quality-of-Life

dynamic that's long been missing from South Florida.

Actually, one that has never existed here.

To my mind, the smartest and most-logical tool for positive change is the

creation of a well-managed commuter rail along the FEC tracks between

downtown Miami and West Palm Beach that's both efficient and easy to

access, but which also takes human behavior into account, esp. South

Florida's often frustrating counter-intuitive mindset.

That all said, what I'd specifically like to hear from you today is an answer

to a simple question that my friends and I can digest and think about in

advance of ULI's FEC Corridor meeting in FTL on April 17th, which I will

likely be attending with some friends and civic activists.

Based on all your knowledge of the situation, Mr. Giulietti, is it fair to say,

as I have publicly, that based on the current proposed plans made public

thus far, Hallandale Beach is NOT currently going to have even one train

station along the FEC route, regardless of who is operating it?

I ask because after years of attending SFECC meetings and closely following

all news articles and blog posts about the FEC, including the last two

South Florida Business Journal articles about you and the FEC Corridor

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2012/08/03/rail-transit-planning-reaches-a.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/02/06/fast-start-plan-for-commuter-trains.html

to say nothing of the current official Tri-Rail Coastal plan as it exists on

your website, where it has been for well over a year,

http://faststartplan.sfrta.fl.gov/docs/Project%20Overview/TriRail_FastStart_Brochure_Ltr.pdf

simply put, we need to know the truth.

The facts seem pretty clear to us -the plans do NOT currently show ANY

stops in Hallandale Beach.

Not one.

One of the reasons that we're very concerned about knowing the truth is

because in our opinion, esp. mine, Hallandale Beach City Hall's elected

officials and management have completely failed its residents and business

community by doing an absolutely abysmal job over the years of doing

their proper due diligence to make sure that they and this community

know exactly what's going on with this subject.

And, more importantly, are fully-prepared to do what is necessary

to use a properly-located train station here as an economic ripple

that becomes a wave of success.

In short, frankly, to just be the sort of normal place that I took for granted

while living in Evanston and in Arlington County, and have seen more

recently on a nine-day trip to Stockholm, where they combine fun and

functionality in often surprising and amusing ways that creates a real

dynamism & buzz.

And, a sense of place.

That's especially the case with small businesses currently located next

to and near the FEC, like the city's so-called Fashion Row, who have

seen the city's leaders and managers routinely get basic facts about the

FEC effort wrong, something I've witnessed too many times to mention

here, and which are always exasperating, no matter how many times

you've witnessed it.

When we've needed a modicum of logic and common sense, hard work

and attention to detail on this matter from HB City Hall, we've instead

gotten mis-statements, finger-pointing and spin.

Mr. Giulietti, at this point, we just want to know the truth.

Sincerely,

DBS

http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/HallandaleBeachBlog

----------

Below, excerpts of recent emails I've sent to try to elicit more HB residents

and business owners attending Wednesday's meeting 

On Apr 2, 2013 1:43 PM, "DBS" wrote:

As you can see below, I saw another mention this morning of the FEC Corridor 

meeting on April 17th that I mentioned to some of you last night.

I also just noticed that Debbie Orshefsky is going to be the moderator.

I called ULI this morning, the host of the meeting, and was told that the meeting

room at the Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel, which I've never been to

before, had a capacity of about 300, which is good, so it won't be in a cramped

"hospitality room" environment where you feel like your elbow is in someone

else's ribs even when you're sitting.

That is to say, exactly like my American Airlines flight from O'Hare to FLL

coming back from Stockholm in January, unlike the SAS part of the trip.

I'm also going to be posting ULI's info about the meeting on my blog on Thursday.

Dave

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Miami Urbanist
Date: Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 8:03 AM
Subject: Miami Urbanist Updates

Development Opportunities on the FEC Corridor: An Interactive Forum

Apr 01, 2013 11:19 am | Felipe Azenha

----

http://www.transitmiami.com/uncategorized/development-opportunities-on-the-fec-corridor-an-interactive-forum

Development Opportunities on the FEC Corridor: An Interactive Forum

by FELIPE AZENHA on APRIL 1, 2013 · LEAVE A COMMENT

Tri-Rail's Need for Dedicated Funding from Tallahassee

Received the email below this morning from SFRTA Executive Director Joe Giulietti.

I especially urge you to read the Douglas Lyons essay from Saturday's Sun-Sentinel, which describes the perspective of State Senator Mike Fasano of New Port Richey on Tri-Rail's desire for a dedicated funding source.

In essence: It's all South Florida's problem.

The reason that matters is because Fasano is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations

http://www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/View_Page.pl?Tab=committees&Submenu=1&File=index.html&Directory=committees/senate/TA

• Members: Chair: Senator Mike Fasano (R) Vice Chair: Senator Anthony C. "Tony" Hill, Sr. (D) Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla (R) Senator Paula Dockery (R) Senator Andy Gardiner (R) Senator Christopher L. "Chris" Smith (D) Senator Ronda Storms (R)

H-m-m-m, what do you know, two South Florida State Senators on the list, de la Portilla and Smith.

Here's a reasonable question for you to ponder:

Just where the hell exactly is State Rep. Joe Gibbons?

Gibbons, the former Hallandale Beach City Commissioner, who happens to be the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?SessionId=61&CommitteeId=2450

He was a noteworthy no-show at the regional Transportation Summit held in Fort Lauderdale in February that I attended, just a few minutes away up at the Broward County Convention Center.

To be honest, I never really heard why Gibbons didn't appear for even a little bit, though the same could be said for many other elected officials in the region, too, he just happens to be the one who actually is supposed to represent ME.

And yes, in case you were wondering, I did keep track of which city, county and state officials were there, and which ones took a powder.

Besides FDOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos, which was predictable given her track record.

And trust me, I wasn't the only one who noticed who showed-up -and who didn't.

That's one of the primary reasons why it was scheduled for a Saturday in the first place, to be over by Noon, so folks couldn't claim time conflicts with their official responsibilities.

This endemic pathetic passivity is made all the worse by elected officials and govt. officials in our area who give lip service to regional transportation issues, but who, truth be told, when push comes to shove, are woefully ignorant of even some of the most basic issues and facts on which no one disagrees.

They apparently take the approach that they know what they know, and they don't want to be confused by the "facts."

I know about this head-in-the-sand approach first-hand from last year, when I took a chance and gave a copy of an interview with SFECC head man Scott Seeburger in the Daily Business Review to Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good.

Within weeks, my good intentions were completely tossed on their heads when Good proceeded to completely mis-state some of the key facts in the story weeks later at a joint City Commission with the City of Hollywood.

I was cringing in the back of the room!

But because of how Mayor Cooper was conducting the meeting, I couldn't go up to a microphone and correct the record, even though I had a copy of his interview with me.

By the way, just for the record, the only elected official from Hallandale Beach to attend any of the recent SFECC Second Round workshops in Hollywood and Aventura was Comm. Keith London, at the Aventura meeting, which was also attended by Aventura Commissioner Zev Auerbach.

Not present at either meeting, both within a ten minute drive of Hallandale Beach City Hall: Mayor Joy Cooper, Commissioners William Julian, Dorothy "Dotty" Ross and Anthony A. Sanders.

I know that you're shocked to see that list, huh?

Yes, it's the "Usual Suspects," that apathetic crew who can't ever seem to see what's happening directly in front of them, much less, be bothered to go just a few miles to become better educated about an important issue to the community.

William Julian, Dorothy "Dotty" Ross and Anthony A. Sanders?

Those names sound familiar.

Hey, aren't they the same three HB City Commissioners who never went to next door Hollywood for any of the preliminary meetings on the Beach One Resort property proposed for State Road A1A on the city's border with Hollywood?

The same commissioners who never even went to one of the the two readings of the proposal before the Hollywood City Commission?

The same exact ones who never said anything publicly when Mayor Cooper actually said after the second Hollywood meeting, less than 90 minutes later, that she was considering charging an access fee to use the public beach, which would be completely illegal under the Florida Constitution?

The meeting where City Attorney David Jove acted like a bump-on-a-log, rather than properly representing the legal interests of this city's residents,

and intervened?

Yes!

Why yes they are, short-term memory, thanks for reminding

me once again of each of their

longstanding apathy and shrugged-shoulders approach to problem-solving, which explains why this city is such a mess for both residents and visitors.

I know, they must've been waiting for Mayor Cooper or City Manager Good and his staff to send them each a memo on what happened, so they'd know what to think and what to say.

You know, just in case any of the city's residents asked them a perfectly reasonable question about the matters.

Yes, the same folks who never ask a good probing question at an actual City Commission meeting of anyone, day or night, and who never seek reasonable accountability from the City Manager, his staff or other city employees, for their chronic and well-known inability to turn over documents before a vote and make

them public, actually meet deadlines they themselves set, or do their jobs with anything resembling what passes for competently in the rest of the world.

So let's see, who else is on that House committee with Joe Gibbons?

Here's the list as of this morning:

Glorioso, Richard (R)	Chair
Evers, Greg (R)	Vice Chair
Gibbons, Joseph A. (D)	Democratic Ranking Member
Bovo, Jr., Esteban L. (R)
Brisé, Ronald A. (D)
Carroll, Jennifer (R)
Drake, Brad (R)
Gibson, Audrey (D)
Horner, Mike (R)
Hukill, Dorothy L. (R)
Long, Janet C. (D)
Ray, Lake (R)
Schenck, Robert C. (R)
Steinberg, Richard L. (D)

__________________________________

A Call for Help from the Executive Director

We are in a battle for dedicated funding in the Florida Legislation. I do not use the term "battle" loosely, because we are truly in a fight for survival. I am calling on you to support us as we need you more than ever!

We are facing reduced funding from the counties and the state legislature!

The counties cannot be faulted for their decision to reduce funding; they are struggling just as we are. As I announced at last Friday's meeting of the Governing Board, if the counties reduce their funding assistance and the legislature provides no dedicated funding source, we will have no choice but to reduce service to potentially as few as 30 trains a day and suspend service on the weekends and holidays, as of October 5, 2009.

I know these service reductions will create tremendous hardship for those of you who have come to depend on Tri-Rail to get you to work, school, medical appointments or for leisure travel. Your Governor, State Representatives and Senators need to hear about what these hardships will mean to you and your families.

Last year, more than 7,100 of you responded to our request for help. I cannot urge you strongly enough to let your voice be heard again this year. To send a message of support for dedicated funding to your elected officials in Tallahassee, log onto www.tri-rail.com/FundOrFail

I thank you for your continued support at a time when it is so important.

Joe Giulietti
Executive Director
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority

________________________

This letter follows on the heels of these recent newspaper editorials and news articles:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editdltrirailpnmar22,0,6744946.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Tri-Rail's success is critical to mass transit's future in Florida

Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board

March 22, 2009

The recent announcement that Tri-Rail will cut service later this year shouldn't surprise anyone. Tri-Rail has been on the financial ropes for some time. The fact that county budget cuts forced the service reduction is unsettling, however.

Starting in October, Tri-Rail will run only 30 trains during the workweek and offer no service on the weekends. The service cuts will undermine efforts to boost mass transit in South Florida and help convince federal transportation officials in Washington that Florida is a bad bet for commuter rail.

Officials in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties long have sided with the commuter line's operators in urging Florida lawmakers for a dedicated funding source to replace state general revenue and local government appropriations.

In recent years, Tri-Rail and its local government advocates have come close to procuring the elusive funding source. Unfortunately, this isn't horseshoes.

Efforts to create a new $2 rental car tax have stalled - again - in the Florida Legislature. All this comes at a time when lawmakers are considering legislation to start a similar commuter rail operation in Central Florida. While there's little in the SunRail proposal to prevent the new line from suffering the fate awaiting Tri-Rail, hard facts don't seem to be slowing down efforts to start a new rail line.

So now South Florida officials are left in limbo, hoping the Legislature does the unexpected. A new rental fee would not only help Tri-Rail , but also SunRail and at least two other regional commuter lines local officials in Tampa and Jacksonville hope to one day implement.

Unfortunately, state leaders are heading down the wrong track. Their insistence that local governments raise enough revenue on their own to operate commuter rail lines flies in the face of economic and political reality. But that won't become clear until Tri-Rail collapses and takes down Florida's hopes for successful, viable commuter rail service with it.

BOTTOM LINE: As goes Tri-Rail , so will Florida.

Reader comments at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/THNFOGEVLKL1R59NV

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Broward County version:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-flbrail0328sbmar28,0,6212484.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Tri-Rail considering raising fares, eliminating weekend service

Reported by Michael Turnbell

Related links

• Tri-Rail tweaks workday schedules

• Tri-Rail's success is critical to mass transit's future in Florida

• Study to look into raising cost to ride Tri-Rail

• Michael Turnbell: Tri-Rail lacks funding to solve the rush-hour blues

March 28, 2009

Passengers could pay more to ride Tri-Rail starting in June.

But looming larger this fall, there could be drastically fewer trains on weekdays and no service on weekends.

Tri-Rail's board of directors will hold a public hearing April 24 to discuss raising fares by 25 percent, the first increase since 1995. If approved, one-way fares to travel the full 72 miles between Miami International Airport and Mangonia Park would rise from $5.50 to $6.90 on June 1. A monthly adult pass would cost $100.

With the three counties it serves threatening budget cuts, Tri-Rail is trying to persuade the state Legislature to approve a new $2 rental car tax in South Florida.

If no new dedicated revenue source is found, Executive Director Joseph Giulietti said Tri-Rail will reduce service from 50 to 30 trains on weekdays and no weekend service starting Oct. 5.

Reader comments at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/T5BTGV5B2COG1TRM4

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Palm Beach County version:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-flprail0328pnmar28,0,234928.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Tri-Rail might raise fares 25 percent, sharply reduce service

Palm Beach County weighs funding cut

By Michael Turnbell

March 28, 2009

Passengers could pay more to ride Tri-Rail starting in June.

But looming larger this fall, there could be drastically fewer trains on weekdays and no service on weekends.

Tri-Rail's board of directors will hold a public hearing April 24 to discuss raising fares by 25 percent, the first increase since 1995. If approved, one-way fares to travel the 72 miles between Miami International Airport and Mangonia Park would rise from $5.50 to $6.90 on June 1. A monthly adult pass would cost $100.

With the three counties it serves threatening budget cuts, Tri-Rail is trying to persuade the state Legislature to approve a new $2 rental car tax in South Florida.

Cash-strapped Palm Beach County officials have said they will cut Tri-Rail's annual subsidy from $4.1 million to $1.5 million in the next budget year. If that happens, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are expected to do the same.

If no new dedicated revenue source is found, Executive Director Joseph Giulietti said Tri-Rail will reduce service from 50 to 30 trains on weekdays and no weekend service starting Oct. 5.

Under that scenario, Tri-Rail could be in jeopardy of defaulting on more than $300 million in federal grants it received to build a second track. The Federal Transit Administration gave Tri-Rail the money in exchange for a pledge to run at least 48 trains on weekdays.

Michael Turnbell can be reached at mturnbell@SunSentinel.com, 954-356-4155 or 561-243-6550.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/sfl-dlcol28sbmar28,0,885706.column

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

TriRail derailment a bad sign for SunRail

Douglas C. Lyons, Senior Editorial Writer

March 28, 2009

"And where is Tri-Rail?"

The words hung in the air, like a foul odor.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, earned his reputation as a steely enforcer, going back to his days as the House Majority Leader who'd sit in on committee meetings in stony silence to make sure his fellow Republicans voted the right way. State Sen. Durell Peaden Jr., R-Crestview, a fellow Senate Judiciary member, apparently drew Fasano's ire by bringing up Tri-Rail while questioning a bill before the panel that would allow the state to pay more than $2 billion to use a stretch of CSX tracks in the Orlando area for a new commuter line called SunRail.

Peaden, staring out at an audience of lobbyists, local politicians and representatives of various business interests who had come to Tallahassee two weeks ago to support SunRail, worried that the state's seven-year commitment to pay to operate the rail line would take money away from other worthy programs, like educating schoolchildren or caring for the sick and elderly.

But Peaden apparently crossed the line when he mentioned Tri-Rail and then offered an amendment that would create a designated funding source that would take the financial burden to pay for commuter rail lines off local governments.

Fasano wasn't having it. After making sure Peaden knew Tri-Rail's location, he, in essence, went on to declare that if the residents of South Florida wanted Tri-Rail, they'd have to pay for it. This from the man who chairs the Senate committee that appropriates money for road construction and mass transit projects in Florida.

The audience seemed appreciative, but I'm not sure they got the point. Fast forward from that earlier hearing to yesterday, when Tri-Rail officials announced they would reduce the number of trains during the week and end weekend service because of cuts in local funding and the state's failure to come up with a designated funding source. Tri-Rail, they said, could cease operating within three years.

If SunRail becomes reality, its operators will discover the hard truths of running a commuter rail line on a wink, nod and annual appropriations from state and local governments, something their counterparts in South Florida have known for some time.

Doug Lyons can be reached at dlyons@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4638 or 561-243-6601.

Reader comments at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/TVH8RLF4S23A7GMAF

The only comment here so far, is a very well-written one from J. Bruce Richardson of Jacksonville, who is President of United Rail Passenger Alliance, whose bio is here: http://www.unitedrail.org/about/bio/j-bruce-richardson/

See also: http://www.unitedrail.org.

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Talk Back South Florida blog, from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board

(formerly known as The Slant)

STATE SEN. MIKE FASANO SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

Douglas C. Lyons, Senior Editorial Writer

March 30, 2009

I heard from state Sen. Mike Fasano, R.-New Port Richey, over the weekend. He had kind words to say about my Saturday column, but he wanted to set the record straight on two things.

First he has no problem with Tri-Rail obtaining a designated funding source. He just doesn't think the state government should do it.

Read the rest of the post at: http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/theslant/blog/2009/03/by_douglas_c_lyons_i.html------------------------------------

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editdltrirailpnmar22,0,6744946.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Tri-Rail's success is critical to mass transit's future in Florida

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board

March 22, 2009

Tri-Rail may be breaking ridership records, but it's on fiscal life support.

Since its inception, Florida's only commuter rail service has been operating hat-in-hand, relying on the collective charity of annual contributions from the state and the three counties in which it operates. That's a poor substitute for the way all other commuter rail lines across the country are funded, namely with a reliable, dedicated revenue source, and it is a funding recipe for disaster in a state that hopes to expand mass transit to other parts of Florida.

Currently, the Florida Legislature is considering a bill that would establish a new commuter rail line, called SunRail, along a section of CSX tracks in the Orlando area. The proposal, according to its proponents, is critical to revitalizing Central Florida's economy and ultimately create a commuter rail line along the I-4 corridor.

Unfortunately, the SunRail proposal comes with an upfront $1.2 billion price tag, and critics have raised doubts about contractual language that could transfer all liability from the CSX freight line to Florida taxpayers. It's a very sweet deal for CSX, but apparently, such is the price one pays for using existing freight lines for passenger service in this state.

The deal also sets up SunRail enthusiasts for a future conundrum that South Florida has learned too well via its own experience with Tri-Rail. The state of Florida, along with the federal government, will pay for the bulk of SunRail's operations in the first seven years — as it did for Tri-Rail. After that, the local communities will be asked to pony up, and that's where the fun begins.

Squeezed by a bad economy, local officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties are now considering deep cuts to their contributions to Tri-Rail. If Tri-Rail is fortunate, it may muddle along with operating 30 trains during the workweek — and no trains at all on the weekends. If the two counties decide to forego their contributions altogether, Tri-Rail officials say they will be forced to shut down operations completely within two years.

Shutting down Tri-Rail for lack of operating capital is an option Florida cannot afford.

Some short-sighted lawmakers may chalk up the commuter line's misfortunes as a local problem. But Washington will be hard-pressed to provide significant funding for new commuter rail lines to a state that allowed its only existing one, which carried 16,000 passengers a day, to languish and fail because lawmakers in Tallahassee were reluctant to establish a dedicated funding source to pay for the service.

In other areas of the country, a consistent pot of money beyond a state's general revenue fund is a key fixture that pays for the operations of commuter rail lines. Florida needs such a plan, but a rental car surcharge advocated by South Florida officials and Tri-Rail backers has languished for years in Tallahassee.

Even so, Tri-Rail remains a linchpin in Florida's efforts to expand mass transit.

The success of SunRail, and similar ideas on the drawing boards in Tampa and Jacksonville, must have a viable example to follow if state leaders hope to ease the gridlock and traffic congestion that clogs many roads throughout Florida. A properly funded Tri-Rail, through a dedicated funding source, fits that model best.

Tri-Rail officials, again, are pushing for a new tax on car rentals to generate ample operating money for the South Florida commuter line and the mass transit projects across the state.

If state lawmakers really want mass transit to succeed in Florida, they had better move quickly to make sure that the money is in place to ensure that all regional transportation authorities have the funds they need to operate commuter rail lines, be they already in operation or new ones in the making.

Reader comments at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/THNFOGEVLKL1R59NV

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-flptrirail0318sbmar18,0,3407125.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Palm Beach County, Legislature fight looms over Tri-Rail

By Andy Reid

March 18, 2009

Playing chicken with the Florida Legislature over Tri-Rail, Palm Beach County commissioners plan to withhold millions needed to keep the commuter trains rolling if legislators don't approve a rental car tax to spread the expense.

The County Commission on Tuesday joined supporters in Broward and Miami-Dade counties in calling on the Legislature to approve using a $2 surcharge on car rentals to help pay for Tri-Rail.

In addition, the commission agreed that if the Legislature failed to approve the rental fee, the county would do away with the $3 million it has been paying above state requirements to keep the commuter train line running. That could force the state to pick up the tab or find the money elsewhere.

Palm Beach County's required share of paying for Tri-Rail service is about $4 million per year, but the county has paid $3 million on top of that to help cover Tri-Rail costs.

County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said the goal is to "send the message" to the Legislature to pass the $2 fee proposal, which has been stalled for more than 5 years.

Reader comments at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/TBK2C5L51BCIFDNHO

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel

STUDY TO LOOK AT RAISING COST TO RIDE TRI-RAIL

By Michael Turnbell Staff Writer

February 28, 2009

Tri-Rail's fares, among the lowest in the nation for commuter railroads, may go up this year.

The agency is conducting a one-month study on the train's existing fares, which were last adjusted 14 years ago.

Tri-Rail's board of directors will review the results in March. If they recommend fares go up, a public hearing could be held in April with the hike going into effect on June 1.

Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Tri-Rail's board chairman, said he supports a fare increase but only if the entire fare structure, including the cost of transfers to bus systems in the three counties, is considered.

Broward County Transit, Palm Tran and Miami-Dade Transit have all raised fares in the last year.

But board member George Morgan said higher fares may be a tough sell if Tri-Rail can't run its trains on time. "What are we going to do about improving that?" he said.

In the past, Tri-Rail blamed its on-time performance woes on construction or CSX, the freight operator that dispatches all trains on the corridor.

Mechanical breakdowns are the main problem now, Tri-Rail Executive Director Joseph Giulietti said.

Tri-Rail hopes to purchase as many as five new locomotives and 10 additional passenger cars this year with federal economic stimulus money.

In 1995, fares went from a flat fee to a structure that charges riders based on how far they travel.

A monthly adult pass is $80. Among other comparable commuter railroads, the Virginia Railway Express charges $74.30 to $270 for a monthly pass.

San Diego's Coaster charges $144 to $182. Nashville's Music City Star charges $134 to $168.

Dallas' Trinity Railway Express charges $25 to $80 for a monthly pass, but the system also is funded by dedicated sales tax.

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TRI-RAIL RIDERSHIP EXCEEDS 4 MILLION - 2008 IS FIRST TIME COMMUTER RAIL HAS THAT MANY PASSENGERS

By Michael Turnbell Staff Writer

January 6, 2009

If Tri-Rail trains seemed more crowded last year, it wasn't your imagination.

The commuter railroad carried more than 4 million passengers in 2008, the first time it surpassed that mark in its 20-year history.

With 4.3 million passengers, Tri-Rail's ridership jumped nearly 23 percent over 2007. As gas prices tumbled below $2 a gallon, the number of weekday riders has dipped slightly but still hovers between 15,000 and 16,000 riders per day.

Ridership has more than doubled since 2005, after Tri-Rail finished building a second track, increased the number of weekday and weekend trains and added rush-hour service every 20 minutes.

"These statistics show that the trend of double-digit growth that we have experienced over the past three years is continuing," said Joseph Giulietti,

Tri-Rail's executive director.

But Tri-Rail's future remains in doubt unless it gets legislative approval this spring for local dedicated funding, such as a rental car fee, to cover operating expenses.