Bit more on the topic of Scranton-NYC rail service....progress, I guess:
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01/15/2007
Study: Rail link won’t disrupt surroundings
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
STAFF WRITER
The proposed Scranton-to-Hoboken, N.J., passenger train will have relatively minor environmental effects on its surroundings, the agency planning it suggests in a new study.
The study will be at the heart of public meetings on the project in Scranton and three other locations in the next two weeks.
An assessment of the train’s potential environmental impact says any effects probably will be insignificant, temporary or manageable, according to an analysis by New Jersey Transit, which would operate the train.
Based on a review of the assessment, the worst effect of the proposed $551 million project might be the rumble of its locomotives and the blare of their whistles as the trains roll through residential neighborhoods. That’s mainly because the train will use an existing railroad right of way and because new station stops will be built with new traffic signals to reduce congestion, according to the assessment.
People in at least 448 homes along the 133-mile route — including 118 homes between Scranton and Pocono Mountain — would hear an impact, which is defined as noticeable noise but insufficient to make people react adversely. Another 38 homes — nine in New Jersey and 29 in Monroe County — would be severely impacted, defined as highly annoying noise. None in Lackawanna County would be severely impacted.
Communities affected by noise could apply for federal “quiet zone” designations, which restrict the sounding of train horns where the communities install crossing gates or other features meant to warn car drivers.
The assessment is a step along the way toward asking the Federal Transit Administration for permission to begin preliminary engineering, the phase when planning gets more serious and details are refined. Construction remains years away.
New Jersey Transit has scheduled four meetings for public comment on the assessment. The first is at the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Other hearings are planned Jan. 25 in Stroudsburg, Jan. 23 in Andover, N.J., and Jan. 29 in Blairstown, N.J.
People who attend may ask questions after project officials make presentations. At 4 and 7 p.m., a stenographer will record formal public comments.
The assessment says:
¦ Eight stations and two proposed maintenance facilities — one in Scranton — would be generally compatible with surrounding uses.
Any new development would be likeliest near rail stations and would have to comply with local zoning regulations anyway.
The project calls for the acquisition of only 11 properties, only one of which would be in Lackawanna County— at 230 Seventh Ave. in Scranton, which is owned by Baldino Development Agency Inc. The company’s owners could not be determined. It would be home to a rail yard, where train cars would be stored and maintained.
¦ Trains crossing local streets would delay emergency vehicles only as long as it takes for an eight-car train to pass, which is only a “short duration.”
¦ Only 11 vehicles would drive to the Scranton station for the most heavily used departing train, one at 5:30 a.m. That isn’t enough to cause traffic congestion. The effects of traffic at other stations would generally be somewhat reduced by better traffic signal systems.
¦ Air quality would be hurt and helped, but only slightly in both cases. A train would reduce car traffic and, thus, the amount of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide released. But the amount of soot and nitrogen oxides would increase.
¦ Each station would have plenty of parking.
¦ Bus companies won’t lose much business because they will likely pick up more customers as Northeastern Pennsylvania, already growing fast, continues its rapid growth.
Contact the writer:
bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com
Project details
Key details of the proposed Scranton-to-Hoboken, N.J., passenger train.
¦ Cost: $551 million
¦ Annual revenues: $13.9 million
¦ Annual operation and maintenance: $26.2 million
¦ Responsible for operating deficit: Pennsylvania and New Jersey
¦ Travel from Scranton: 3 hours, 20 minutes
¦ Overall ridership: 3,520 daily eastbound
¦ Scranton ridership: 40 eastbound