By Peggy Fikac - San Antonio Express-News - 2/08/2009
AUSTIN — For travelers, a 200-mph train connecting San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth may sound like a dream. But for some landowners along the proposed Texas T-Bone high-speed rail route, it's a question mark that they fear could easily turn into a nightmare.
“From a rural, agricultural standpoint, we're very concerned. It just seems like every time we turn around, someone's got us in their cross hairs,” said Central Texas farmer Richard Cortese, a Bell County commissioner and a leader in the Texas Farm Bureau.
Despite efforts by high-speed rail backers to build a partnership with local communities, some landowners are wary, partly because the fresh rail push comes after heated battles over the Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive proposal pushed by Gov. Rick Perry for a network of highways, tollways, pipelines and rails.
State officials recently buried the Trans-Texas Corridor's name after a backlash from property owners who feared their land would be devalued or taken. But “it hasn't gone away,” Cortese said.
“If you were to take a template of the Trans-Texas Corridor and lay it over this high-speed rail issue, I think you would find that many of the concerns would be very much the same,” said the Texas Farm Bureau's Gene Hall. “Fixing eminent domain (strengthening private property rights) is the first step toward increasing our comfort level with any of these projects.”
Several proposals are percolating in the Legislature to strengthen property rights. Hall said one key element is to ensure that property owners are compensated not only when they're forced to sell their land for a public project but when access to their property is diminished, affecting its value.
Besides the property-rights concern, Ralph Snyder of Snyder Salvage in Holland raised issues including train noise and who'd be on the hook for mitigating it.
He and Cortese said they understand the need for transportation in a growing state but that they want a detailed plan before making up their minds about the $12 billion to $18 billion rail proposal that would follow the Texas T-Bone — from Dallas-Fort Worth through Austin to San Antonio and branching off in Temple to go to Houston.
“We haven't seen any financial prototypes on this. I think that's our concern,” said Cortese, with questions including the expense to local governments if they're responsible for train stations.
Backers envision a project that's primarily privately financed but stems from a partnership with local governments. They'd like to have it running by 2020.
This legislative session, they're asking for state help, including tax exemptions for companies that would build the project.
“There's a perception about rural people that they are backward and they don't understand the problem. That's just simply not true,” Snyder said. “They want the studies done before a project is undertaken to make sure the right thing is being done.”
A key high-speed rail backer said details still are being developed because supporters want to ensure the proposal bubbles up from communities instead of being seen as handed down from the state capital.
“We want to involve the communities and the counties and the interest groups in that planning process, as opposed to ‘You bring this back when you have a plan and then we'll shoot at it,'” said Temple Mayor Bill Jones, vice chairman of the nonprofit Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
Local communities will decide whether to contribute financially to such things as building a train station, he said.
Among key points, Jones noted the consortium includes elected leaders, cities and counties, among others, and that backers have said they want to elevate the rail where necessary to reduce the effect on property.
“We are committing as best we can possibly commit at this stage to elevate as much of the system as we can where it's necessary,” Jones said.
Property owners said the prospect of the rail being elevated would help address their concerns because it would allow access to land on both sides of the track.
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, chairman of the nonprofit corporation, said the group is sensitive to local concerns and would want to stay along existing routes and minimize the infringement on private property. “It's not only good politics,” Eckels said. “It's cheaper that way.”
Read more in the San Antonio Express-News
Showing posts with label San Antonio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Antonio. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, July 27, 2007
New round of Texas flooding strands 176 passengers for hours on Amtrak train
The Associated Press
KNIPPA, Texas — Storms dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Texas, stranding more than 170 passengers on an Amtrak train for hours and forcing rescue crews elsewhere to pull at least 50 people to safety.
Water covering the tracks in Knippa, about 75 miles west of San Antonio, stopped a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 passengers at around 9 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said buses were driving the passengers to El Paso, where they were expected to board another train early Sunday.
The train never lost power, but buses could not reach it until early Saturday evening because of flooded roads, Graham said.
No serious injuries were reported in the state's latest round of flooding, which closed many roads and forced evacuations.
Read more
A woman who authorities say drove a minivan around road barricades south of Austin and became stuck in floodwaters with two children was charged with child endangerment.
Laura Delarosa, 30, was arrested Saturday after rescue workers were able to get her and the children — a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — to safety.
East of San Antonio, a possible tornado damaged four businesses and at least one house, Guadalupe County Sheriff's Cpl. John Batey said.
As much as 17 inches of rain fell between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, said Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service forecaster.
The downpour overflowed Seco Creek and inundated the town of D'Hanis near San Antonio, Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said. Many businesses were flooded with 3 to 4 feet of water.
Boats, fire trucks and helicopters rescued stranded residents, but only one minor injury was reported, Brown said.
"The water is going down. Things are getting better," Brown said.
Meanwhile, mudslides in Colorado forced about 30 people to evacuate their homes near Alpine, about 100 miles southwest of Denver, and roads into the area were closed.
No injuries were reported and a shelter was opened for displaced residents. The mudslides Saturday night were caused by several days of rain.
KNIPPA, Texas — Storms dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Texas, stranding more than 170 passengers on an Amtrak train for hours and forcing rescue crews elsewhere to pull at least 50 people to safety.
Water covering the tracks in Knippa, about 75 miles west of San Antonio, stopped a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 passengers at around 9 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said buses were driving the passengers to El Paso, where they were expected to board another train early Sunday.
The train never lost power, but buses could not reach it until early Saturday evening because of flooded roads, Graham said.
No serious injuries were reported in the state's latest round of flooding, which closed many roads and forced evacuations.
Read more
A woman who authorities say drove a minivan around road barricades south of Austin and became stuck in floodwaters with two children was charged with child endangerment.
Laura Delarosa, 30, was arrested Saturday after rescue workers were able to get her and the children — a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — to safety.
East of San Antonio, a possible tornado damaged four businesses and at least one house, Guadalupe County Sheriff's Cpl. John Batey said.
As much as 17 inches of rain fell between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, said Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service forecaster.
The downpour overflowed Seco Creek and inundated the town of D'Hanis near San Antonio, Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said. Many businesses were flooded with 3 to 4 feet of water.
Boats, fire trucks and helicopters rescued stranded residents, but only one minor injury was reported, Brown said.
"The water is going down. Things are getting better," Brown said.
Meanwhile, mudslides in Colorado forced about 30 people to evacuate their homes near Alpine, about 100 miles southwest of Denver, and roads into the area were closed.
No injuries were reported and a shelter was opened for displaced residents. The mudslides Saturday night were caused by several days of rain.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Amtrak train stranded Saturday by flooding West of San Antonio
Heavy bout of Texas rains result in flooding, water rescues
July 21, 2007 - Copyright 2007, The Associated Press.
KNIPPA, Texas — Flooding stranded an Amtrak train Saturday and rescue crews elsewhere pulled at least 50 people to safety, including some from rooftops by helicopter, during a bout of heavy showers around San Antonio.
No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, and by late afternoon, numerous roads closed earlier by high waters from more than a foot of rain in some areas began reopening.
"The water is going down. Things are getting better," Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said.
In Knippa, a small town about 75 miles west of San Antonio, water covering the tracks stopped a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 passengers around 9 a.m. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said buses were driving the passengers to El Paso, where they were expected to board another train early Sunday.
The train never lost power, but buses could not reach it until early Saturday evening because of flooded roads, Graham said.
Parts of northern Uvalde and Medina counties got as much as 17 inches of rain between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, said Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service forecaster.
In southern Guadalupe County overnight, a possible tornado damaged four businesses and at least one house, said Sheriff's Department Cpl. John Batey.
Seco Creek overflowed, inundating the town of D'Hanis near San Antonio, Brown said. Many businesses were flooded with 3 to 4 feet of water.
Boats, fire trucks and helicopters rescued stranded residents, but only one minor injury was reported, Brown said. A shelter was opened in nearby Hondo, but Brown said he didn't know how many residents would stay there.
In Bexar County, rescuers responded to more than two dozen calls for high-water rescue by Saturday afternoon.
There were also 20 to 30 road closures in San Antonio because of high water, said Orlando Hernandez, Bexar County emergency management coordinator.
"Other than a couple of days, we've had rain for the last three to four weeks," he said. "The ground is saturated. Any rain we get is resulting in flooding."
The San Antonio, Guadalupe and Medina rivers and Leon Creek are above their flood stages. Hernandez said early flooding was in low-lying areas without many homes.
Police in Uvalde reported street closures across the city, but no mandatory evacuations or rescues. Road closures and rescues were also reported in Kendall Count, and some campgrounds along the Medina River were evacuated.
Read more in the Austin American Statesman
July 21, 2007 - Copyright 2007, The Associated Press.
KNIPPA, Texas — Flooding stranded an Amtrak train Saturday and rescue crews elsewhere pulled at least 50 people to safety, including some from rooftops by helicopter, during a bout of heavy showers around San Antonio.
No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, and by late afternoon, numerous roads closed earlier by high waters from more than a foot of rain in some areas began reopening.
"The water is going down. Things are getting better," Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said.
In Knippa, a small town about 75 miles west of San Antonio, water covering the tracks stopped a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 passengers around 9 a.m. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said buses were driving the passengers to El Paso, where they were expected to board another train early Sunday.
The train never lost power, but buses could not reach it until early Saturday evening because of flooded roads, Graham said.
Parts of northern Uvalde and Medina counties got as much as 17 inches of rain between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, said Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service forecaster.
In southern Guadalupe County overnight, a possible tornado damaged four businesses and at least one house, said Sheriff's Department Cpl. John Batey.
Seco Creek overflowed, inundating the town of D'Hanis near San Antonio, Brown said. Many businesses were flooded with 3 to 4 feet of water.
Boats, fire trucks and helicopters rescued stranded residents, but only one minor injury was reported, Brown said. A shelter was opened in nearby Hondo, but Brown said he didn't know how many residents would stay there.
In Bexar County, rescuers responded to more than two dozen calls for high-water rescue by Saturday afternoon.
There were also 20 to 30 road closures in San Antonio because of high water, said Orlando Hernandez, Bexar County emergency management coordinator.
"Other than a couple of days, we've had rain for the last three to four weeks," he said. "The ground is saturated. Any rain we get is resulting in flooding."
The San Antonio, Guadalupe and Medina rivers and Leon Creek are above their flood stages. Hernandez said early flooding was in low-lying areas without many homes.
Police in Uvalde reported street closures across the city, but no mandatory evacuations or rescues. Road closures and rescues were also reported in Kendall Count, and some campgrounds along the Medina River were evacuated.
Read more in the Austin American Statesman
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