The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority on Tuesday voted 4-2 against funding a $125,000 study of a high-speed rail plan that would have focused on Gary/Chicago International Airport.
Board member Howard Cohen said he opposed the request because the project could end up competing for funding with a South Shore West Lake extension plan, which calls for providing rail service to Lowell and Valparaiso.
"Then our best-case scenario could become our worst-case scenario," Cohen said. "And we would be looking for funding for high-speed rail and commuter rail and would be able to do neither."
Two weeks ago, the funding request from the Indiana High Speed Rail Association had received a favorable recommendation from an RDA committee of the whole.
At that time, RDA member Harley Snyder said the high-speed rail study would be valuable for learning more about the future direction of the airport, which many people think needs a direct rail link to downtown Chicago to be successful. Snyder was not present at Tuesday's meeting.
Cohen and RDA Chairman John Clark voted against funding the study as did board members Carmen Fernandez and Lou Martinez. Bill Joiner and Gus Olympidis voted in favor.
Indiana High Speed Rail Association founder Dennis Hodges said the study would look at the economic impact of high-speed rail and would focus on the Gary airport. Once completed, it could be used for marketing purposes.
"I really believe it will give you more information to make decisions, not just on high-speed rail, but on commuter rail and the airport," Hodges said.
Clark noted even if the South Shore extension does get funding, the commuter railroad's plan calls for no direct link to the airport. He wanted to know if either the airport or the South Shore had weighed in on the proposal for a study.
Hodges said neither the airport nor South Shore operator Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District had weighed in directly. But the airport is on record as favoring having all forms of transportation feeding into the airport, Hodges said.
