It's not a choice

November 22, 2008 01:14 am

— Editor, The Transcript:
An open letter to Gov. Brad Henry:
The League of Women Voters of Norman sincerely urges you to take the initiative as Governor to issue a moratorium on relocation of the Interstate 40 Crosstown Expressway through the state-owned Oklahoma City Union Station rail yard. We further believe that the Santa Fe Station, whose terminal building is privately owned and whose narrow, elevated yard already handles in excess of 40 fast freight trains each day, is clearly not a candidate to become our regional transit hub.
This issue affects every community in Oklahoma that has rail service to and thorough Oklahoma City, and it is pivotal to the future of passenger and freight transportation statewide. The development of modern multi-modal transportation systems is central in the effort to reduce the harmful emissions of fossil fuels and to increase economic opportunities.
Oklahomans for New Transportation Alternatives Coalition (OnTrac) has consulted transportation experts and engineers about the possibility of realigning a segment of the Crosstown Expressway so that it would fall 200-300 feet south of the Union Station rail yard on right-of-way owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). It appears that realignment is definitely feasible. To date five communities - Norman, Chickasha, El Reno, Shawnee, and Lawton -- have passed resolutions petitioning you to convene a special commission to consider realignment proposals. ODOT is vigorously opposing any effort to consider an alternative plan which would save the Oklahoma City rail yard.
This is not a choice between the Crosstown or Union Station rail yard. The Crosstown can be relocated, but once the rail yard is destroyed, the cost of acquiring land and rebuilding a station with space for multiple rail lines would be astronomical. We believe that this lost opportunity would adversely affect the future of Oklahoma indefinitely.
BARBARA ROBINSON
President, League of Women Voters, Norman