After the presentation of the new development downtown I addressed the council at the informational meeting (at end of meeting). I basically told them as long as the train noise and increased traffic exists it will be detrimental to further development downtown. I also said it was time for our Washington delegation to get off their duffs and have a conversation with BNSF about moving the switching and storage of cars out of DTSF.
The train traffic and noise DTSF needs to go
by l3wis
Posted in: Downtown Sioux Falls, Railroads, SF City Council, Sioux Falls
You should know now you can’t ‘train’ the council. You have to ‘whoo-whoo’ them first. Their ‘track’ goes nowhere without a ‘switch’ and kick in the ‘caboose’. BNSF is still rolling on the ground with laughter for selling inferior land for 40 million to Huether. Land they would have eventually had to clean up before they abandoned it and moved switching. In paraphrased words whispered to Cosner in ‘Field of Dreams’, build a switchyard and they will come. They want the same sucker they sold toxic land to give them a 50mil TIF.
This whole project is about image. It is about the image of doing something that you really haven’t done. Wasn’t the intent to remove all of the rails from Downtown Sioux Falls? How does removing some achieve the intent?
It does, however, free up some land for development; but it is land that is being sold for less than it is worth. So what was an attempt to revitalize as become rather a project to profit for the few, who in a few years will have the audacity to complain about the noise in true “Icon fashion,” but then what will be the answer? Certainly, sound deafening material won’t be able to get it done in this case, will it?
This whole project reminds me of an old Eddie Murphy comedy routine, where Murphy recalls as a little boy of how he loved McDonalds. Then one day, his Mother said, “Well, I can make a hamburger as good as McDonald’s,” and the young Murphy answered, “You can?” Then soon later, his mother came out with a hamburger made of a patty between some Wonderbread…
#ThisIsNotWhatWasPromised
LMFAO! I have often joked with friends I didn’t know what a hot dog or hamburger bun was until I was about 23.
#bitteraboutwhitebread
My later father-in-law use to say that white bread was meant for rats…. And maybe some slices of pizza, too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPXUG8q4jKU
Have you met my stepfather?
Why doesn’t our Congressional delegation get off their duffs and get Trump to stop these tariffs that are hurting the state’s farmers? Sioux Falls can run it self.
This is a federal EARMARK I have followed since the early 2000’s. Johnson and Thune were involved, but its inception actually occurred during the time Tom Daschle was Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate.
It is a flawed plan (earmark) which has cost federal taxpayers (yes, folks, that’s us) over 40m dollars.
Why? Because the plan from the beginning was to only remove 3 of the 5 tracks from downtown.
This has pushed some of the switching into residential neighborhoods (ex: Bel Aire and Riverdale) and created bottlenecks for traffic on one of SF’s major north-south routes (Cliff Avenue). Ex: I have waited 20+ minutes because the train has blocked Cliff Avenue just north of 14th Street.
Noise. The trains have been blowing their whistles in downtown SF for over 100 years. I doubt that will change.
So, who are the real winners?
Warren Buffett who walked away with 27m dollars.
Black Iron Railyard LLC (David and Erika Billion and ?) who are proposing to purchase approximately 4 of the 10 available acres for only 2.6m dollars!
And, whoever purchases the remaining 6 acres.
I miss earmarks, because our School Board could use one right now.
#MillionsBecomeBillions