At Crestline town hall meeting, public can learn more about Amtrak proposal

CRESTLINE — Local residents will have an opportunity to learn more about what high-speed passenger rail service would mean for the community during a town hall meeting this month.

"The goal of the event is to just bring awareness on the local level of the impact that Amtrak could have on our economy in Crestline, Crawford County and just this region as a whole," said Miranda Jones, executive director of the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce, which is cosponsoring the event. "The governor of Ohio has until late March to sign on the federal infrastructure bill, saying that Ohio wants to be considered for those funds."

The ‘Amtrak in Crestline’ town hall meeting, offered in cooperation with the Village of Crestline, will be 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 15 at The Hub at Village Square, 311 N. Seltzer St., Crestline. Parking for the event will be available behind The Hub.

In 2021, Amtrak published a map of potential new routes nationwide, including one connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati — with a stop in Crestline. With the infrastructure bill's deadline nearing, Jones said her office is pushing to make sure the proposal becomes a reality.

"You have to, because this really would be a game-changer, for not just Crestline, but the entire Galion, Crawford County community," she said. "Think about the people that would be using that, whether it's for leisure or a daily work route. They're going to be driving through our towns. When they need gas, they're going to be stopping at our gas stations. They want a cup of coffee, their train is late, they need someplace to stay — they're going to be frequenting our establishments, and we need that."

Amtrak official will speak at 3 p.m. Feb. 15

The town hall will begin at 2 p.m. with a networking session. Local elected officials who attend will have an opportunity to meet in small groups with people in their communities, so "they can really hear what people locally have to say" about the proposal, she said.

The featured speaker at the event will be Derrick James, Amtrak's Chicago-based director for government affairs, Jones said. At 3 p.m., he'll present information about the project, answer questions and "debunk some myths," she said. He will discuss "what changes would be made to the lines, what we can look forward to, what kind of economic impact it will have in our region."

For example, a traffic study of U.S. 23, which runs north-south to the west of Crawford County, found that it is functioning at more than 300% capacity, she said. "So if we had a different way for some of our people to get to Columbus or go to Cleveland and reduce some of that traffic on our roads, that would help as well."

From 4 to 6 p.m., the event will be a chamber after-hours event, where people will have an opportunity to ask James and local officials questions, one-on-one, Jones said. Light appetizers will be served and a cash bar will be open. The later hours also will allow people who couldn't leave their jobs earlier in the day to attend and have questions answered.

Also during the event, people attending will have a chance to sign letters encouraging Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to take action of the federal infrastructure bill ahead of the March deadline, Jones said. The letters will be delivered to DeWine the next day.

DeWine needs to "let the federal government know that Ohio does want to be considered for this passenger rail Amtrak funds, which then would give the state some funds to do the feasibility study," she said. For example, it would be necessary to make sure existing rail lines that now carry freight traffic would be able to maintain high-speed rail service.

Where would Amtrak passenger trains stop?

It has not yet been determined where the passenger trains would stop in Crestline, Jones said. Many people have said they'd like to see a train station on North Seltzer Street near the municipal building, but it might have to be a little further north, closer to Main Street, to avoid disrupting other rail traffic heading east-west.

"I've learned so much about railroad logistics in doing all of this," she said, laughing.

Jones said she hasn't heard a dollar figure for how much the rail service could bring into the community. "That's part of why we're bringing Derrick to the community; it's something that he does every day, so he probably can speak to those numbers a little better than I can," she said.

Anyone in the community is welcome to attend the free event, Jones said. People can come and go as their schedule permits.

For details, contact Jones via email at mjones@galion-crestlinechamber.org or call the chamber at 419-468-7737.

ggoble@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Amtrak official will speak about passenger rail proposal in Crestline