Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Tri-Rail Coastal Link: must watch news segment by Brian Entin at NBC5/WPTV

Click title for link to story by Brian Entin at NBC5/WPTV. Mr. Entin interviews a "West Palm Beach resident" named Jesse Bailey who I know better as the host of the blog Walkable West Palm Beach. This is an excellent news story combining one of the top TV news reporters with one of the most knowledgeable sources on planning/transportation in West Palm Beach. I encourage all my readers to watch the segment.

Gabriel Osorio provides an entertaining sound effect in the story and, with the upgrades proposed, the loud train horns will be minimized to make life more tolerable for those living along the tracks such as Mr. Osorio. Train horns are regulated by federal law.

The story by Brian Entin comes on the heels of a blog post here that was posted earlier in the day (yesterday). Hopefully this story will continue to garner attention and the Coastal Link will gain increasing support from the public; a public that's going to demand better transportation infrastructure sans the reliance on the automobile: a more walkable/bikeable lifestyle here in south Florida.

[Below, for reference, is the original blog post from yesterday on the Tri-Rail Coastal Link (3/18):]

The Florida East Coast (FEC) train tracks are the tracks that go north/south through the City of Lake Worth. Freight is hauled on these tracks and soon tracks will be added for the All Aboard Florida passenger service linking Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando.

However, there's another passenger train service coming as early as 2016 that very few are aware of: the Tri-Rail Coastal Link. One of the proposed station locations is Downtown Lake Worth.

Below is a screen grab of their proposed System Map in Palm Beach County:
For someone in Lake Worth that wants to go to Miami or Orlando, for example, the trip would start with the Coastal Link in Lake Worth to the Downtown West Palm Beach Station and then a ticket on All Aboard Florida to the destination. 

It shouldn't be long before public meetings are scheduled in Palm Beach County. Stay tuned, as they say.