To the Editor:

Following is the text of a letter directed to the Honorable Patrick Toomey; 248 Russell Senate Office Building; Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Toomey:

Since you are a member of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, I am writing to make you aware of a situation that is ongoing in the Adirondack region of New York state, where environmental activists have teamed up with the Rail Trail Conservancy to advocate removal of an active rail line from Old Forge to Lake Placid.

This is not in alignment with the mission and purpose of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, which receives operational funding from government grants and private donations.

Historically, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been instrumental in preserving railroad corridors for future generations and transportation needs. Since 1980 more than $4.5 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent converting abandoned rail corridors to recreational trails that hold the land in trust for future railroad operations.

This is especially important in our time when the volatility of energy suppliers worldwide determines our cost and availability of fuel supplies.

Railroads provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly movement of people and goods.

Removal of an active rail corridor is an extremely short-sighted proposition in today’s economy.

I am greatly concerned about Adirondack rail trail proposals that desire the removal of an active railroad corridor in order to create a recreational trail.

Activists that include environmental professionals are pursuing the destruction of the Remsen-Lake Placid rail corridor by claiming there will be an economic benefit to creating the rail trail.

I believe this is false.

As someone who lives in western Pennsylvania, I have seen where rail trails have existed for nearly 30 years and have not provided the economic growth projected by the sponsoring trail groups.

Although recreational trails are very nice and well used by the local public, new funds brought into the trail region by true visitors do not materialize in the quantities required to create major economic expansion.

Sales data projected by RTC does not correlate to the number of jobs created in a region, sales tax revenue generated or aggregate income growth.

In fact, some trail towns in western Pennsyl-vania are considered financially distressed communities; how can this be if the trail users are generating millions of dollars of revenue that trail advocates claim?

I would appreciate it if you would look deeper into this issue.

At the very least, please consider the following points:

The Rails-to-Trails Conser-vancy (North East Regional Office, Harrisburg, Pa.) should answer why it is supporting the destruction of an active rail corridor in New York state.

Federal money for rail-trail conversions should not be available until economic studies include projections that are measurable, for job creation, municipal sales tax revenues and regional personal income growth.

Bonds should be required of trail developers (similar to a bid bond on a construction project) based on a percentage of cost for trail conversion.

Bonds should be required of trail developers by percentage of projected economic growth to ensure projections are reasonable, to provide accountability, and to protect the economic assets of the communities they will affect.

Thank you for considering my thoughts on this matter.

Respectfully,

James E. Falcsik

Irwin, PA