Railroaded forever? Growing Vero Beach, Sebastian face crossing closures when lanes added
Indian River County commissioners' quick decision recently to close another railroad crossing wasn’t a huge deal to Mary Cliff.
Cliff, who told me she hadn't heard of the proposed closure, hopes to sell her home in a nice park of 15 manufactured houses along Old Dixie Highway near Sebastian.
The short section of Old Dixie runs from U.S. 1, where the Sebastian Roadside Restaurant is, northwest to County Road 512, just west of the railroad tracks.
If she stays, the closure — on a short stretch of narrow and poorly maintained road ―would force her to travel north about a mile to County Road 512 before heading south to Publix or her physician appointments in Vero Beach.
While Google Maps tells me the nuisance would add 1.2 miles, or 2 minutes, to her southern trips, there’s a much bigger issue at play that should concern at least anyone in Indian River County:
If something doesn’t change, Indian River County’s population will continue to increase ― from about 160,000 to 267,000 by 2050, according to John Titkanich, county administrator ― but it will never be able to add a lane of traffic at a railroad crossing unless it gives one up somewhere else.
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The business of giving up a crossing to get a new one or a widened one ― a supposed Florida East Coast Railway policy I’ve yet to get a copy of ― has been going on for years along at least the Treasure Coast.
It came up last month when Rich Szpyrka, Indian River County public works director, asked commissioners what they thought about closing the narrow, less-traveled crossing on Old Dixie in exchange for adding two lanes, plus an east-west flyover, to County Road 510 at U.S. 1.
As of now, I’m OK with that project, which is being planned and eventually will be paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation. Hopefully the bridge over the railroad tracks and U.S. 1 would provide smoother sailing when 510 is widened between U.S. 1 and County Road 512, north of Sebastian River High School.
I don't like closing the Old Dixie crossing, but it might not be worth a massive battle. Then again, I haven’t chatted with anyone in the neighborhood other than Cliff.
Sebastian to improve Old Dixie Highway?
Instead, I heard only good things about the closure from Brian Benton, Sebastian city manager, and Karen and Chuck Mechling, who are developing the Spirit of Sebastian, a large subdivision with a construction entrance on Old Dixie Highway.
They've suggested that after the closing — sometime post-510 widening, in several years ― Old Dixie on the west side of the tracks, which currently has mostly woods and commercial complexes, could be improved.
A rear exit on Old Dixie from Spirit of Sebastian, expected to have hundreds of homes on 182 acres with what Chuck Mechling said would be the county’s first agrihood (where residents grow some of their own food), would help mitigate traffic impacts from its main entrance on the western Sebastian Highlands side.
In a perfect world, Old Dixie would be improved enough to take people across the tracks to U.S. 1, but it’s not, Mechling said ― concurring with Szpyrka, who is concerned particularly with a one-lane portion of the road.
“When you get dealt a hand, what do you do with it?” Mechling said of the proposed closure, noting it’s impossible to fight the powerful railroad. “You have to make lemonade of lemons.”
Perhaps in this case.
But as people continue to flock to Indian River County — and challenge the limits of available drinking water, storm- and wastewater systems, the environment, roads and the Indian River Lagoon ― will we just continue to give up crossings for wider roads? Cram more vehicles on fewer roads?
The reality is our lagoon and beaches continue to be prime attractions, luring people who will live to the west.
While some folks would like State Road 60 narrowed in downtown Vero Beach, there may come a time when other roads and crossings will have to be widened: Oslo Road, which will get a new interchange at Interstate 95; Fourth Street; 53rd Street (expected to lead to an I-95 interchange), and Roseland Road, just to name a few.
What crossings will we give up next?
Hawk's Nest crossing next up?
How about the one used exclusively by members of Hawk’s Nest, a quality golf course north of Gifford owned by The Moorings Club?
What about 14th Avenue, which gets southbound residents off a crowded U.S. 1 and into downtown Vero Beach? Officials already are discussing closing it as part of improvements to Aviation Boulevard/26th Street.
How about nearby 21st Street? It and 14th Avenue were proposed for possible closure by Brightline in 2015.
Whose ox will be gored the next time city, county or state officials need to widen a road near the tracks?
No way to run a transportation system
As South Florida has found, especially when folks sit in east-west traffic in many locations there, this is no way to plan for growth. Either we find ways to limit traffic or we'll need to widen roads, build overpasses or ...
The first step should be determining whether FEC even has such a policy of requiring governments to give up lanes to get new ones. FDOT told me it had nothing in writing, and referred me to FEC, which has not responded to my queries. If it does have a policy, is it enforceable?
FDOT did send me notes from a March meeting with FEC and Brightline, in which the rail companies reiterated their efforts to reduce the number of vehicles crossing its tracks because of safety concerns. They're valid concerns, but ...
The good news is FDOT and the railroads are having these conversations. It would be good to hold such meetings in cities and counties along the east coast of Florida, particularly on the Treasure Coast, which is facing so much growth.
City and county officials cannot just sit back and let FDOT do their bidding when it comes to railroad crossings, which given Brightline, have given local residents a heightened level of awareness.
If we are going to plan properly for future growth, we must explore all options and work with our railroad neighbors, who also must work with us. After all, we pay to maintain those crossings and for first-responders to clean up when something goes amiss on their rails.
This column reflects the opinion of Laurence Reisman. Contact him via email at larry.reisman@tcpalm.com, phone at 772-978-2223, Facebook.com/larryreisman or Twitter @LaurenceReisman.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Railroaded forever? Growing Vero Beach, Sebastian face road closures
