If that is indeed true then CSX has determined that the value of that small strip of land is $10 million dollars and it should be taxed accordingly. Gates has been suffering from the Property tax loss from Kodak so this little piece of land should make up for a lot of that.
That might make them rethink the actual value of this property.

I’m not sure what to think about this Stainton guy but I think I’ll swing by Boulder Coffee tomorrow to sign his petition. If nothing else at least Maggie may have to answer some questions as to why she hasn’t done anything in the last 4 years and why anyone should support the Renaissance Boondoggle.

The rr tracks and track beds are privatley owned - CSX, which is only interested in profits - and they’ve torn up some of the track already. The old trolly bed tracks are gone in many places, too.

The County tried to get the old CSX bed in North Gates a few years back, and the company asked for more than 10 million just for that small section..

We’d have to spend tens if not hundreds of millions to buy the old bed and lay tracks, or to track the old tolly bed.

I don’t know if anyone in government has the guts to support that.

Hey Massa - an issue?

I would encourage Mr. Stainton to develop more policies and positions other than simply regional transportation. No doubt, we need a vastly improved regional transportation system, and it is good that Mr. Stainton will focus some energy onto that issue that has been long neglected, or cynically mis-used to push Ren Square.

I do take exception this statement by Mr. Stainton’s:

The light rail idea isn’t grandiose, it’s a simple solution to a major problem. The tracks are already there. We’re talking about leveraging existing assets to create a natural transportation spine across the county. How does this help a suburban voter who might not be directly served by the line, well, now you’ve got that much less traffic on the roads, that much less of a tie-up on 490.

What tracks, specifically? There are no existing tracks other than those owned by private corporations. I seriously doubt those corporations will let the public use those tracks for passenger service. Furthermore, there are empty railroad right-of-ways with no tracks (some exist now as hiking/biking trails) that might be used, but creating a light-rail system is extremelyexpensive, time-consuming and limiting. Limiting? Yes, once you build it, the light-rail system only goes to those locations…which was one of the downfalls of the old Rochester Subway. When new locations need transportation, they get no benefit from the light-rail system that doesn’t go there. A better solution: improved county-wide (and regional) bus systems. Little infrastructure improvement is required, purchasing buses is less expensive than building light-rail systems, and routes can be planned for today’s needs, and if tomorrow’s needs change, there is almost zero expense to change the routes.

Cute retort MAT. lol

We will try to find out more about Christopher.

At our next opportunity we will ask him to clarify his comments. Regarding who is on board or not.

MAT - Declare and make plans on getting 1500 signatures and we will interview you. I think DFE is spot on here.

One of the things that impressed be about Stainton was a practical approach using as he termed low hanging fruit as opposed to large and grandiose ideas. Lots of little actions.