(The following story by Tom Palmer appeared on The Lakeland Ledger website on February 2.)
BARTOW, Fla. — The quest to find out more about the impact of the proposed CSX rail freight terminal in Winter Haven is cranking up.
On Friday, officials at the Central Florida Regional Planning Council said there is inadequate information in an application the rail company submitted for development of regional impact approval in mid-December.
Also on Friday, the County Commission discussed a proposal to launch a joint study with Winter Haven to identify spinoff land-use and traffic impacts on about 13,000 acres surrounding the planned 318-acre development.
The planning council’s comments primarily involved traffic and environmental issues, many of which were covered in comments prepared by Polk County planners last month.
One major issue involves the effect a new intersection on State Road 60 would have on traffic flow, with trucks turning in and out of the facility and the likely installation of a traffic light. The intersection would be at Pollard Road, which would be extended south to provide the facility’s main entrance.
Other transportation-related comments seek to reconcile seemingly conflicting information within the initial application.
Environmental issues include providing more information on wetlands impacts, mitigation for disturbance or destruction of endangered species or their habitat, and the handling of hazardous waste to prevent groundwater contamination.
The joint planning study area, for which Polk County would spend $75,000, would include the Winter Haven suburbs, Wahneta and Alturas.
Approval of plans for the study is scheduled for Wednesday’s County Commission agenda.
The study is intended to create some kind of comprehensive vision for the area made up of land under different government jurisdictions, said Growth Management Director Tom Deardorff.
“We want to look at logical locations for support facilities and compatibility,” he said, explaining there was a recent application to build a truck stop nearby.
He said the plan is to use a focus group made up of landowners, interested residents and representatives from Bartow and Lake Wales.
Commissioner Bob English asked whether CSX could be asked to contribute to the cost of the study because the rail corporation’s project was triggering the need for it.
Herr contacted CSX officials Friday, asking for a response before Wednesday’s meeting.
In other CSX-related discussion, transportation planner Ryan Kordek said Florida Department of Transportation officials will brief the Transportation Planning Organization, a group of local elected officials that provides input on transportation projects, at the Feb. 14 meeting regarding three proposed rail studies.
The studies, all of which are supposed to be completed by the end of the year, will examine possible efforts to mitigate noise and safety problems as a result of additional train traffic in parts of Polk County, the potential for relocating freight rail traffic to other routes, and a study on the extension of commuter rail through Polk County to provide connections to the Orlando and Tampa areas.