The dread generated by a possible terrorist attack, global warming or the words "President Hillary Clinton" pales in comparison to what some area residents see as our worst nightmare: more South Shore commuter trains.
I wrote recently about the dog and power point pony show the Northwest Indiana Forum is performing to promote the plan to expand South Shore service to Valparaiso and Lowell. Valpo's Council liked the show, but the Porter and Cedar Lake councils would have given a warmer welcome to West Nile mosquitoes.
The forum folks cite the great economic development potential of the expansion. The thousands who use the trains or would use them if they were a little more convenient or not so crowded have plenty of other reasons.
A big bone in the complainers' craw is the $350 million local price tag. The total cost for both lines is $1 billion in today's dollars. By the time it's ready for construction, with inflation, that probably will be the cost of a gallon of gas.
Porter's and Cedar Lake's opposition comes from diametrically different directions. Porter is worried the Valpo link would reduce the traffic to the town's Dune Park South Shore station. This could impact local businesses because, let's face it, nobody goes to Porter unless they are headed to the train station or the state park.
Cedar Lake just wants to be left alone. A train station would only attract a bunch of city slickers with their city ways. It's the same parochial, boneheaded logic spewed by those who moved away from the city themselves, some not that long ago, for that clean, country living and think the gates should have closed behind them.
One Porter resident was applauded for saying the expansion would cost too much and promote urban sprawl. As Pogo might say, "We have met the urban sprawl, and he is us." This is the Chicago METROPOLITAN area, not North Moose Pie, Manitoba.
The cost is a toughie. Some aren't impressed that the South Shore's riders bring home paychecks totaling about $250 million a year, which Porter apparently thinks is all spent in their town, or that our taxes paid for more than $350 million over the last 20 years or so to improve the Borman Expressway alone.
These people shut off the logic button when you mention mass transit. To them, subsidizing transportation only applies to building roads on which they can drive their gas-guzzling SUV. Hope they still enjoy that ride when gas is $1 billion a gallon.
The opinions are those of the writer. He can be reached at pwieland@nwitimes.com or (219) 548-4352.
