Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Old news but even more relevant

Grant application a step toward possible commuter rail line
Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Talks of commuter rail between Lorain and Cleveland are once again coming down the tracks.
And county officials are hoping an Ohio Department of Development grant will provide the steam to move it along.
The $80,000 grant — for which the commissioners approved filing an application on Thursday — would pay the county’s portion of a feasibility study to examine the need and cost of the project.
The Federal Transportation Administration would pay the remaining $343,000.
If deemed feasible, the county would then have to convince the federal government to shell out the money for train cars, staffing and to set up stations between Lorain and Cleveland.
Lorain County Commissioner Betty Blair, a longtime proponent of commuter rail, said she’s excited at the prospect of getting ir. And there’s support from the other communities along the path of the train, she said.
“There’s a lot of interest and a lot of buy-in,” she said.
The county should know whether it gets the grant by September, Assistant County Administrator Ron Twining said.
If not, Blair said the county could pay its share or ask the other communities that would use the line to help.
County Special Project Director Karen Davis said the concept of commuter rail has grown in popularity as gas prices have gone up.
If the feasibility study, which is updating a 2001 study on commuter rail completed by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, suggests commuter rail is a good idea for the area, the county would then push for the trains to come.
But even that, Twining said, would likely be a two-year study itself to see if the concept will work in the area.