Even as Florida High Speed Rail industry officials get ready to begin a two-day forum next Monday in Orlando, it appears that the man who would likely become the next Chair of the House Transportation Committee in January, Congressman John Mica (Florida’s 7th Congressional District), was rejecting the way federal stimulus dollars had been allocated for developing high speed rail.
Speaking to the Associated Press in a post-election interview, Mr. Mica said that he would like to see the monies for high speed rail re-directed to the Northeast corridor where the population density exists to financially support high speed rail.
“I am a strong advocate of high-speed rail, but it has to be where it makes sense,” Mr. Mica told The Associated Press. “The administration squandered the money, giving it to dozens and dozens of projects that were marginal at best to spend on slow-speed trains to nowhere.”
In the post-election interview, Mr. Mica, suggested that Republicans would wish to revisit the respective projects, with the view to refocusing several of them. He also suggested perhaps modifying the Tampa to Orlando high speed rail line to run perhaps from the Orlando airport to the theme parks and tourist destinations in Orlando.
However, the Tampa Tribune reported on Friday, Mr. Mica appeared to step back from his comments earlier in the week, suggesting that private sector participation would be key for taking the project forward.
“I will look at it with a critical eye and look at what makes sense”, Mica said. The last thing we want is to build a dog that has to be highly subsidized by taxpayers.”
Mr. Mica’s most recent comments also took on board, Hillsborough County voters’ rejection of a sales tax increase that would have funded a light rail system to connect passengers to the planned high speed rail station downtown Tampa.
But Floridians may have to hold their breath for quite sometime before it is clear whether or not high speed rail is really a go, as Governor-elect Rick Scott is not enamored either with the project.
Mr. Scott, in the lead up to Tuesday’s election, had indicated that Florida should not move ahead with high speed rail unless the project is fully funded by the federal government. He proposed that a final feasibility study should be undertaken to see “exactly what the state is responsible for.”
Meanwhile, with the Tampa to Orlando segment estimated to cost $2.7 billion, Florida has already received $2.05 billion for high speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and anticipated receiving additional monies of $300 million from the federal government, leaving a funding gap of $350 million.
But, all this could be moot and it might just be up to a public-private sector partnership, which brings with it sufficient private capital, to save Florida high speed rail.
On second thoughts, perhaps Florida High Speed Rail website should now state instead, “Florida is not on track to open America’s first High Speed Rail express service between Tampa and Orlando in 2015.”
And, did anyone remember the 23,000 job-years of direct construction jobs and the more than 48,000 job-years of work, direct and spin-off employment that is estimated to be created during the four-year construction period of the Tampa-Orlando high speed rail leg?
Nope! Our top priority must to slash spending, cut taxes and reduce the size of government!
Whither Florida high speed rail?
