Ohio transportation budget raises title fees, pushes rail
Plan also would tighten seat-belt law, allow ticketing via cameras
Friday, February 27, 2009 3:14 AM
By James Nash
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHOhioans would have to pay triple the current $5 for vehicle titles and abide by new traffic and seat-belt laws under a new version of the state transportation budget headed toward approval.
The two-year, $7.5 billion budget also clears the way for toll roads in addition to the Ohio Turnpike. And it commits the state to move forward on developing passenger rail service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, with a possible link to Toledo.
The budget increases the title fees for cars, trucks, watercraft and RVs from $5 to $15, which is expected to generate almost $26 million a year statewide. It would be the first increase in title fees in 16 years.
Although the budget, which went before the House Finance Committee yesterday, deals largely with dollars and cents, it would affect how Ohioans drive in at least four ways:
Ohio transportation budget raises title fees, pushes rail
February 27, 2009 by John
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And if Ohio legislators will get off the dime (so to speak) and properly invest in passenger rail, we could be reading stories like this one from Maine.
Saco rolls out its $2.2 million economic engine
The train station is expected to draw more riders – and visitors to Biddeford-Saco.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=241946&ac=PHnws
By NOEL K. GALLAGHER, Staff Writer February 27, 2009
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
The new station will replace a train stop that was little more than a bench and a roof. That’s expected to increase the number of Amtrak riders who stop in Saco, where the growth in ridership was more than 50 percent from 2007 to 2008.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
The Saco Transportation Center will be unveiled today with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The building on Saco Island is powered by a nearby windmill and heated and cooled by geothermal power.
SACO — The new $2.2 million train station on Saco Island, which officials hope will boost tourism and economic activity, will make its debut today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The 5,000-square-foot building, powered by a wind turbine and heated and cooled with a geothermal energy system, will have an Amtrak self-service ticketing kiosk and house the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
The station will open to travelers in about two weeks, when the chamber moves in, officials said.
Mayor Ron Michaud will preside over the ceremony at 1 p.m. today.
“I can’t remember the last time the community was so excited about an opening,” said Peter Morelli, director of Saco’s Planning and Development Department.
Business owners say the comfortable station, with information about the area’s attractions such as shopping areas and the Saco Museum, will encourage visitors – particularly summer tourists – to explore the nearby downtowns of Saco and Biddeford.
“We’ve waited a long time for this,” said former Saco Mayor Mark Johnston, who runs a sandwich shop and wine store on Main Street. The project started during his tenure in the early 1990s, when Saco and Biddeford were vying to be the host city for the train station.
It was a major achievement to have the station located so centrally, Johnston said. Biddeford officials were recommending a site on the far side of Biddeford’s downtown, well out of walking range of downtown Saco.
Just having a warm place to sit down will be a major improvement.
Since Amtrak’s Downeaster service between Portland and Boston began in December 2001, passengers boarding in Saco have had to wait in an unprotected shelter – little more than a bench and a roof – that more closely resembles a bus stop.
After getting complaints about the wind, the city added plastic baffles to block the wind, Morelli said.
“It was very windy there. Think about it – we put a windmill on that spot,” Morelli said. “It’s very important to have comfort and convenience for public transportation.”
The station, designed by Paul Fowler of Lassel Architects in South Berwick, has a clock tower and a brick facade that resemble the nearby mills.
The station gets electricity from the nearby 100-foot wind turbine, and is heated and cooled by a 1,200-foot well that provides geothermal energy. It is built with passive solar design, and its furniture was handmade in Biddeford by the Richardson Allen company.
On Thursday, about 20 people wandered by to check out the new building as workers put on the finishing touches, Morelli said.
“I’m sure it will increase ridership,” he said.
In 2008, ridership in Saco was up 50.4 percent from 2007, to 31,499. During the same period, overall ridership on the Downeaster line was up 30 percent, according to Amtrak.
Mark Claussen said many of his customers at the nearby Saco Island Deli are regular Amtrak passengers, taking the Downeaster to Boston for weekend events such as performances or ball games. That will only increase with the convenience of the new station.
“People are really psyched about this,” Claussen said. “It’s created a buzz.”
The wind turbine, installed about a year ago, is an added attraction, he said.
“I think it’s going to make Saco more of a destination for out-of-staters,” Claussen said. “Everyone is talking about the new station and the windmill. The windmill has become a landmark already.”
Claussen said he hopes the chamber will be able to use the space to host meetings and get-togethers to bring the community together.
“We’ve approached this as a very important economic project for the downtown,” Morelli said.
The station was funded in part with $500,000 from the sale of a parcel of city-owned land to Saco Island L.P., the development company that bought the nearby complex of old mills and undertook major redevelopment.
Additional money came from a tax increment financing deal between the city and the developer.
Johnston said he would be sure to attend the ribbon-cutting.
“I considered this my biggest accomplishment,” he said. “It is so much more than just a commuter stop.”
Staff Writer Noel K. Gallagher can be contacted at 791-6387 or at:
ngallagher@pressherald.com
Copyright © 2009 Blethen Maine Newspapers
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If you want to make your voice heard on passenger rail with your State Reps and Senators:
Access All Aboard Ohio’s new advocacy portal here:
http://209.51.133.155/cms/index.php/content/advocacy