Scribe: Ralph Grove Convener : Ralph Grove
Location: Court House Lawn Time: 11:00
Attendees: Ralph Grove, Justin Pruett, Eugene Stoltzfus, Phil Henning, Kurt Rosenberger
Ralph Grove described the Rail Solutions (http://www.railsolution.org) “”Steel Interstate”" pilot project, which is to build a dual-track multimodal railway along the I81 corridor from PA to TN instead of widening I81 to handle the expected growth in freight volume through this corridor. This pilot would be a model for expanding rail transportation nationwide, which would be much more energy efficient than increased truck transportation. The immediate goal is to get communities along the I81 corridor, including the Harrisonburg city council) to sign on to a resolution (http://www.railsolution.org/uploads/PDF/RESOLUTION-I-81Corr.RailFed.Dem.pdf) supporting a federally-funded study of the project, a necessary preliminary step to implementation.
Similar transportation issues were also brought up, including the need for passenger rail for Harrisonburg (a link to Washington DC, for example), and encouraging high-density growth at transportation hubs along I81.
Many suggestions were made as to how to prepare the resolution as a proposal for the city council.
