Re: (erielack) Re: commuter railroads

["Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

>moment.  They were dead against reactivating this phenominal rail system, 
>for all of the wrong reasons.  I >think the new term is "NIMBYs" - not in 
>my back yard.  Lots of politics, and the baloney that goes with it.  If

People who live in the area of the Lackawanna Cut-off have good reason to 
fear it. And it's not just the usual "THe train will run over our children" 
crap. Good train service means more development, and more development 
translates into overall quality of life issues (many people moved out from 
closer suburbs because they don't like ugly sprawl), and even more 
important -- amking the trip easier will attract more development which 
ALWAYS translates into steeply higher property taxes.

Construction of new homes and subdivisions -- made attractive by good rail 
service means the woods and streams get filled in by housing, the developers 
make a mint, and the taxpayers take up the bill for streets, schools, parks, 
sewers, water supply and the rest. Unlike the Netcong/Hackettstown line 
where trains can plod along, the sut-off is especially attractive for high 
speed and hence less commute time to Morristown, Newark and New York.

On a macro level, a NIMBY is anyone who thinks of their home as an 
investment instead of mere shelter. The advent of NIMBYism coincides with 
the realization that a house -- what with its mortgage interest and property 
tax deduction and sheltering of capital gains -- is the only middle class 
tax shelter. The meteoric rise in home prices during the past 40 years 
coincides with the rise of  "Can't build anything anywhere anymore" --  
NIMBYism.

We are all NIMBYs now -- though the pejorative is reserved for  the NIMBY 
somewhere elsewhere who balks at our pet project -- whether it be rail 
service or any other infrastructure improvement that will actually lift all 
boats.  It will not be long before America is a third world state because 
government policies and often politics behind them encourage individualist 
greed over the commonweal.

Had the nation's founders believed that, we'd still be observing the Queen's 
birthday.

BTW -- NIMBYism -- or its fear -- can sometimes work to a railfan's 
advantage. A friend of mine lives in a beautiful home overlooking a very 
scenic part of the Hudson River. His patio is a prime photo location for 
catching trains along the Hudson line -- with the light just right most of 
the day, enough height to get a great picture, no wires or homes or highways 
in the way -- just superb!

When he was negotiating with the builder on site, a train went by abd he 
made the [smart-ass] remark that he'd be disturned by "all that train 
noise." Without blinking,  the builder took a couple of thousand dollars off 
the price of the house! His wife is still embarassed at that bit of 
shamelessness <g>.

I wouldn't count on any Lackawanna Cut-off action in our lifetime without an 
adminsitration in Trenton that will clean house at NJT.

Cheers,
Jim 


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