Saturday, October 17, 2009

Dear Arthur,

Thanks for your support.

Peace,

Jim

RIDOT lends its support to Pawtucket's commuter rail station

PAWTUCKET - A commuter rail stop in Pawtucket is more of a reality today than ever before.

What was once just a pipedream could now come to fruition, according to representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, who informed Mayor James Doyle that they now have the assurances they need from local and state officials to move forward with a commuter rail station here.

In a letter dated Nov. 11, DOT Director Michael Lewis assured Doyle that the DOT is "prepared to move" the Pawtucket/Central Commuter Rail Station project forward now that Pawtucket leaders have pledged the money needed to move on the venture, and state leaders have promised to back the project.

Local officials have also come up with a better location for the stop near the Providence and Worcester Rail yard, said Lewis, making this proposal a real possibility.

The local and regional support expressed at an Oct. 26 transportation breakfast "was overwhelming," wrote Lewis, who pledged to take the next steps needed with the various transportation authorities who hold interests in a commuter rail line.

The northern Rhode Island commuter rail proposal would utilize the existing rail spur already servicing the northeast corridor, but add stops in such municipalities as Pawtucket, Cumberland and Woonsocket. Commuters and pleasure seekers alike could have easy access either walking or driving to a train station near them.

A commuter rail would be one more mode of transportation across northern Rhode Island, joining the Blackstone River Bikeway as an alternate way to relieve the strain on the Blackstone Valley's roadways.

On Oct. 29 The Valley Breeze gave the exclusive details of a commuter rail discussion between more than 100 local and state officials at a "Congressional Breakfast" co-sponsored by the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and the Pawtucket Foundation at the old Woonsocket Train Depot.

Pawtucket is a leading partner in a potential northern Rhode Island rail project, said representatives from the DOT at the time, having committed $360,000 from the sale of the Dennis M. Lynch Arena toward a 20 percent match needed to access $1.9 million in federal funds.

Said Lewis in his letter, "We are extremely pleased and appreciate the city's commitment" of the money, as it shows Pawtucket officials are serious about a commuter rail project that could one day serve patrons from Woonsocket to Pawtucket, and as far south as Wickford Junction in North Kingstown.

"For a city to step up and say, 'Here's our $300,000,' that says a lot to us at the state," said Steve Devine, chief of intermodal planning with the DOT, at the Oct. 26 breakfast, at which U.S. Sen. Jack Reed also pledged his support. "We're very supportive and will continue looking at anything that will help our highway system."

More than 6,000 users have been estimated for a northern Rhode Island commuter rail, one that would wind along an existing rail spur between Providence and the South Attleboro train station, connecting thousands of people in a more convenient way to metro Boston, Providence, T.F. Green Airport and South County.

Pawtucket leaders had formally requested that the DOT submit a funding request to the Federal Transit Administration for preliminary engineering for a Pawtucket/Central Falls commuter rail stop between the Conant Street and Dexter Street bridges next to the Providence and Worcester Rail Yard.

Many have predicted that a commuter rail stop near the Providence and Worcester Rail Yard would be a tremendous financial boon to the city of Pawtucket, providing the focal point for development growth in the Weeden Street area of town.

"The Pawtucket Commuter Rail Stop will not only generate over $100 million in further mill transformations into hundreds of mixed-use live work space, but it will attract residential and commercial investments in our neighboring communities," said Doyle in a recent letter published on the editorial pages of the The Breeze.

Thomas Mann, executive director of the Pawtucket Foundation, has called a commuter rail stop one of the single greatest components of future revitalization in a downtown area that is seeing a significant increase in a diverse population.

Thousands of commuters would be within easy walking distance to a Pawtucket train station and it could also provide an impetus for increased tourism to the city, according to Doyle.

The city's Planning and Redevelopment Director Michael Cassidy has been meeting with both the DOT, officials from the FTA, and property owners as he prepares to submit a funding application.

"The next phase will need to include a fresh look at the new site, specifically in terms of railroad operations considering what we know about Amtrak and MBTA requirements," said Lewis in his letter. "As such, I have directed my Intermodal Planning Office to begin preparing a project agreement with the city for project management oversight of this next phase, to include these railroad operational issues."

Additionally, said Lewis, his staff is working with the city's planning staff, the Statewide Planning Office, and the FTA to ensure all of the FTA's requirements, including a project finance plan, have been addressed.

Once all issues are addressed, DOT officials can then formally request approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase.

"We hope to have this project completed within the next few weeks," said Lewis. "Once FTA has approved our request we can initiate the grant application process for the funds.

"We look forward to working closely together on this project and future passenger rail projects in the Blackstone Valley region."

DOT officials emphasized at the Oct. 26 breakfast that other northern Rhode Island communities can follow Pawtucket's lead by showing the same kind of financial commitment city officials have.

To read Lewis' letter to Doyle, click here:

www.valleybreeze.com/www/Doyle_Rail_11-11-09.pdf

Wow- Nice to see they have money to help for that and yet the Pawtucket Bridge and Conannt St Bridge still being delayed ...