(The following story by Jay Hamburg appeared on the Orlando Sentinel website on May 25.)
ORLANDO, Fla. — Julie Townsend helped lead a protest against the $650 million Central Florida commuter-rail deal that included CSX’s sale of 61 miles of tracks to the state. Among her concerns: the deal funded by public money could ruin downtown Lakeland by sending dozens of extra freight trains through the city. She spoke recently with Sentinel reporter Jay Hamburg.
Why are you against commuter rail going from DeLand to Orlando to Poinciana?
(Laughs.) No one is against commuter rail or mass transit. We’re labeled as rail haters. That’s just silly. It’s the plan that is offensive to us . . . We’re willing to take our fair share of freight trains. But they are going to create a freight superhighway through the heart of our city forever.
What is so special about Lakeland?
We have all the amenities of a larger city without the headaches. We have a symphony, theater, a dance company. You can walk into the community and feel like you’re part of it. I live downtown in one of the historic neighborhoods. I can walk downtown with my kids and get ice cream or go to the Children’s Museum.
Isn’t that the sort of walkable lifestyle Orlando wants to create around its commuter rail stations?
We were not trying to destroy anyone’s dreams of commuter rail. But they are not going to destroy us with our own tax dollars. If CSX wants to run 1,000 freight trains a day [through Lakeland], they might be able to do that. But let them pay their own money to do that.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has said that he wants to reach out to critics in Lakeland. Would that help?
That was a backhanded olive branch. I personally don’t expect to hear from anyone . . . Had we been part of the plan at the start, we could have worked together before it became critical. Some rethinking of this is needed. But they [rail supporters] don’t want to rethink anything. They want what they want and they want it now.
Besides the disruption to downtown, what concerns do you have about the CSX deal?
The deal is not about commuter rail. This is about redistributing freight and how to move it through the state. This is not about CSX sacrificing itself for commuter rail. Commuter rail is a byproduct of how do they reorganize freight and how do they get the taxpayer to pay for it . . . The Florida Department of Transportation is not working for the people of Florida. They are working for CSX.
If the Legislature OKs the deal next year and commuter rail eventually reaches Lakeland, would you ride it to Orlando?
I am very much in favor of any public transportation . . . I want to be proven wrong. This is not about fighting to the death to prove we were right. I want to be wrong. I will be the first to eat my words. I will be the first to get on board.