LETTER: TRRACC Community Meeting

URGENT COMMUNITY MEETING
TRRAAC
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Grace Baptist Church
1899 Marietta Avenue


Dear Neighbor,

As you may know, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster General Hospital and Norfolk Southern plan to move a large portion of the Dillerville Rail Yard from Dillerville Road to land directly behind the Harrisburg Pike Post Office. What you may not know is that this project is NOT a "done deal," but we must act immediately.

The project will affect us all - - Old School Lane Hills, Madison at Barrcrest, Windsor Court, Barrcrest, New School Lane Hills, Homestead Village and surrounding neighborhoods, schools, businesses and communities. Not to mention that the tranquility and programming at Long’s Park will be disrupted by on-going switching station noise. The project could begin as soon as October!!

The Railroad Action and Advisory Committee (TRRAAC) has recommended to F&M alternative sites that meet all the project goals – except providing access to pork barrel government funding. By insisting on moving the rail yard OFF THEIR CAMPUS to a long-standing residential neighborhood, (on top of a former municipal dump that contains asbestos fill), F&M is clearly putting its financial interests above our health and quality of life.

When this project begins, you can expect:

• ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY TRUCK TRIPS A DAY - - six days a week from 6:30 AM until 5:30 PM for at least eight months - - hauling tons of waste that include asbestos- containing materials that could release carcinogens into the air we breathe every day.

• ANOTHER WAVE OF TRUCKS hauling clean fill to the site over a period of many months to elevate the base for new tracks.

• A HUGE, FIFTEEN TRACK WIDE rail yard to be built on this 13-acre site.

• Once the project is completed, at least THIRTEEN TRAINS EACH DAY hauling materials that will include hazardous materials for generations.

• Potentially longer waiting time at local railroad crossings, due to longer trains.

• Noise, pollution, and much more train traffic for generations.

If you haven’t visited the existing switching station between Harrisburg Pike and Manheim Pike when trains are present, do so as soon as you can. Watch the train activity, smell the diesel and decide for yourself whether a station with more than seven times the number of existing tracks would affect your quality of life, health and property values.

We strongly encourage you to attend the Urgent Community Meeting on Tuesday, October 7, at Grace Baptist Church on Marietta Avenue to hear the facts from environmental engineer Gary Brown. And find out what you can do to help protect your neighborhood.

The rail yard relocation is not a "done deal," BUT WE MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise, the rail yard will be in our back yards forever.

For more information, please visit The Railroad Action and Advisory Committee at www.trraac.com. Email us at info@trraac.com .

We look forward to seeing you on the 7th!