Polk County Rail Hub

Downtown Lakeland merchants are getting more and more aggressive in their quest to keep increased train traffic (the fallout from the proposed CSX hub in Winter Haven and a shift in rail traffic) from damaging their downtown.

A petition opposing CSX's plans appears imminent. So do buttons that promote what is shaping up to be downtown's version of a David and Goliath matchup. Among the slogans being batted about, "Don't Railroad Us'' and "Fight the Freight.'' -- Lakeland Swanshots

It probably doesn't have anything to do with the Winter Haven project, but I noticed a full-page ad CSX placed in Tuesday's edition of the Wall Street Journal in which the corporation outlined the reasons why CSX is "Good For America" and "Good For Investors." - Side Table Spectator

The gloves have come off.

Frustrated that polite meetings between CSX and civic leaders have not spared Lakeland from the prospect of increased train traffic, downtown merchants are taking a more militant stance against the railroad company.

Get ready for "Fight the Freight" or "Don't Railroad Us" buttons. Both slogans were suggested during Wednesday's Downtown Lakeland Partnership meeting as a way of derailing CSX's intentions.

Residents from Sundance Ranch Estates, who are fighting to keep CSX out of their backyards, shared their fears that a proposed rail transfer center on 1,000 acres in Winter Haven would destroy their way of life and put more truck traffic on main arteries like State Road 60 and U.S. 98. -- The Lakeland Ledger

I had a good conversation Wednesday afternoon with Fred Wise, head of the Florida Department of Transportation’s rail office.....

Wise said good progress is being made on the details of the $491 million deal that would realign CSX’s freight rail traffic in Florida and provide commuter rail to Orlando. The Haven hub is crucial to that plan.

It’s been a year since the deal was announced, and it still hasn’t been consummated. But Wise said that doesn’t mean the deal is in jeopardy. On the contrary, he said many difficult details have been resolved. But negotiators are still working through environmental research, surveys, details of operating agreements with CSX and the massive sale contract with CSX.

“There are a lot of loose ends,” Wise said. ... -- Polk County News Blog

Fight the Freight representative Julie Townsend watches Lakeland residents discuss the group's dunk tank at last night's First Friday event. The group is circulating a petition asking Gov. Crist for a meeting.

The Sundance Ranch community made their way over to Lakeland in their ongoing fight against the proposed CSX facility. The rural South Winter Haven community is located next to the proposed site.

At a packed First Friday event in Lakeland, Sundance residents Dee Dee Chiavuzzi and Pam Childers handed out hundreds flyers about the facility, and circulated a petition asking for a meeting with Gov. Charlie Crist, as Childers' son, Scott, sat in a dunk tank dressed in a railroad conductor's hat. ... Hanging in Haven

CSX officials were reportedly meeting with Secretary Tom Pelham of the Florida Department of Community Affairs Wednesday in Tallahassee. Word on the street was that Pelham was planning to talk frankly with the CSX reps about what was expected of them in the expected development of regional application review for the company's freight terminal in Winter Haven. -- Side Table Spectator