Eastern Railroad Discussion > Shenandoah "B" line, meetings, survey

VDOT has sponsored local public meetings and a survey on this project - which has been discussed for years - on producing a rail with trail project rather than simply a trail conversion.
 
Shortline operators have proposed. VDOT just released their study.
 
You can participate in the survey as well.
 
YouTube video on the line:
 
The VDOT survey -
https://publicinput.com/svrwt
 
It's important to note that this community understands that a good rail project draws as a destination, no limit on geography. And that rails and trails can coexist; York County and WMSR benefit greatly from each other.  
 

The last meeting of this phase is this evening 5-7PM at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School, 1251 Susan Ave in Woodstock VA.  The leader of the tear the rails up group is actively trying to get supporters to attend this meeting and send in surveys. Local press has given them better coverage. VDOT has said they will not make a recommendation, but it seems they favor trail only and have made Rail with Trail more elaborate and expensive than it needs to be. 

Train Order members filling out the survey can help keep the tracks from being tore up.
Thanks to any member who fills out the survey  

Article in Northern Virginia Daily about the meeting

Residents remained sharply divided Tuesday over whether the Shenandoah Valley’s dormant 49-mile rail corridor should be converted into a multi-use trail or preserved for future rail use.The Virginia Department of Transportation hosted its third and final public input session at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School in Woodstock as part of an ongoing study evaluating two options: a full rail-to-trail conversion or a side-by-side rail-with-trail model. The previous meetings were held in Timberville and Front Royal.T”“If nobody is coming forward, I think this exercise is showing how infeasible a rail next to a trail is going to be,” said Peter Dalke. “And with nobody to operate the rail, we’re wasting time not realizing the economic and quality of life opportunities for our citizens that come with building a trail.”Carolyn Long, a poultry farmer from New Market, also supported the rail-to-trail concept for both agricultural and economic reasons.“There are examples all across the country where communities have really thrived with the economic dollars,” she said. “It brings tourist dollars and we don’t have to build roads or new schools and infrastructure. We can enjoy the people that come here and visit, and they can enjoy us, and they can go back to their wonderful homes.”Long added that while both options are costly, she believes the trail brings broader value.“The person that uses the trail won’t pay,” she said. “If there’s a little choo-choo train, they’re going to pay a lot.”Just as many attendees at Tuesday night's meeting made the case for preserving the rail line.“Every tourist railroad in the country right now is doing really well,” said Steve Hollingsworth. “Rail fans spend money. Lots of them. I’m guilty of that. I’ve got three train trips booked this year.”He said short-line freight use remains viable.  “The track is not in that bad a shape,” Hollingsworth said. “There’s customers ready to use it. Chicken feed, fertilizer and other industry.”Owen Heine, also of Woodstock, backed the rail-with-trail option after riding the Allegheny Express in Cumberland, Maryland.“We rode basically a tourist train with a bike trail next to it,” Heine said.When asked about concerns for trail users, he added, “If the train is 25 miles an hour, if you’re scared of it, you can pull your bike over and let it pass. It’ll be gone in 30 seconds.”Heine said retaining the rail line could support local industry.“It allows us to have a potential tax base from industry that comes here that is supported by rail. All the monies that come to Shenandoah County would greatly surpass whatever tax we get from a little bit of meal tax or the Airbnbs that people riding bikes rent.”While the evening focused on trail design and corridor feasibility, some raised concerns about VDOT’s process — particularly whether the agency has fully engaged Shenandoah County and its long-term economic plans.Shenandoah County Planning Commissioner and Board of Supervisors candidate Mark Dotson said the report did not adequately consult the county or businesses potentially interested in rail service.“It’s supposed to be an assessment where we’re going to make judgments about circumstances and so the context is really important,” Dotson said. “Shenandoah County, where 70% of this line exists, just completed a large comprehensive plan, which was voted on by all six supervisors. The comp plan addresses the need to evaluate both options for this, and VDOT’s assessment unfortunately does not take a look at the comp plan. They are very aware of the comp plan, so it’s a mystery to me how they missed that. We feel like that really reflects on biases that are likely underpinning the rest of this project.”He also criticized VDOT’s stakeholder engagement.“You should do some reflection and say we should talk to people with a different opinion. We shouldn’t talk to the same people who have a confirmatory bias. At this point, this project is about trying to examine all angles and if you talk to the same audience, you should expect to get the same answer,” he said.Brad Reed, VDOT’s project manager, said town managers and county administrators were interviewed in each locality and asked to share insights on public and board-level opinion.“We did that to understand what is the general flavor of public opinion and their board of supervisors or council opinion on the project to take a litmus test so we can share the information with decision makers,” Reed said.On the business side, Reed acknowledged that the agency chose not to pursue rail user interviews due to the limited scope of the study.“Initially, we were going to try and interview potential rail users,” he said. “We didn’t end up going down that route because we recognized that it’s immaterial to what we need to know for the process… we’re not doing an impact analysis for who would use the line and how, so much as what it would look like should it become a rail line in use.”Still, Reed emphasized the importance of public input.“Public opinion provides us the context to understand issues,” he said. “When engineers and planners look at data and we make up assumptions and come up with designs for things, there’s only so far we can go without the understanding of what this is like day-to-day for someone,” Reed said. “For the rail-with-trail, rail-to-trail, we need to share that information with decision makers so that can play into their consideration.”Public comments are being accepted through April 25 at https://publicinput.com/svrwt. Final cost estimates and a report on public sentiment will be released later this spring.