Save Straub

21,321 Views | 81 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by LOYAL AG
jac4
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AG
The following is reposted with permission from the Save Straub Facebook page:

"Wade Road and Straub Road Railroad Crossings are to be closed permanently. County has hired an Engineering firm to advise if Greens Prairie can be opened for a RR crossing. The Siding (a rail car "temporary" parking lot or second track) is slated for where Straub/Wade crossing currently exist, but again those crossings will be closed. A resident of Saddle Creek was at the Tuesday Commissioner's Court meeting but the County would not answer any of his questions since the County Attorney was not present during the preceedings. All southbound traffic out of Saddle Creek heading towards Houston will go through Duck Haven according to Union Pacific and County.

Question to Saddle Creek and surrounding affected areas. What's your pulse on all of this? Am I in the minority in being furious with UP and our elected officials? Comments? We can seek legal remedies and PR strategies that could influence the final decisions, but really need the pulse of the community first before we do anything."
Fishing Fools
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Why is the County scared to answer questions without an attorney present?
carpe vinum
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AG
End of the day UP can do what they want on their easement. That said they are pretty good about working with folks to accommodate both sides. This doesn't affect me but if it did and I wasn't satisfied with what my elected officials were doing I'd be on the phone to UP. Find their area rep.
carpe vinum
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AG
I would definitely be all in the ear of the commisioner and county judge too.
jac4
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AG
It's hard to piece together exactly what is going because the county has been intentionally opaque. This has been going on since at least June, but the public wasn't made aware until September.

I think UP originally wanted to close Straub and upgrade Wade. The county wants to get the most of the railroad dollars and apply them elsewhere thus shutting down Wade too. It is more or less a done deal as the county judges have not been receptive other than ordering a repeat traffic study.
carpe vinum
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AG
Be the squeaky wheel. Why just roll over. Maybe fruitless but you gotta look out for your interests when no one else is.
waltonag05
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quote:
The county wants to get the most of the railroad dollars and apply them elsewhere thus shutting down Wade too.
I did not realize that Wade road could also be shutdown. What a huge inconvenience if true.
SchnauzerMom
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It is very upsetting for those of us who live out there. Like some have mentioned, I was under the impression Wade would stay open with upgrades made to it and the crossing at Dowling/Koppe Bridge. Guess that option is no longer available. I wonder what the people of Duck Haven think about the amount of increased traffic they will see through their neighborhood.
carpe vinum
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County Judge
[url=mailtopeters@brazoscountytx.gov]dpeters@brazoscountytx.gov[/url]


Pct 1 Commish
lwassermann@brazoscountytx.gov
jac4
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AG
There will be a Public hearing on Monday December 8, 2014 at 5:30 pm regarding railroad closings in South Brazos County. The hearing will be held at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan, TX
LOYAL AG
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I live off of Koppe Bridge. I have thought for a long time now that the S. Dowling/Koppe Bridge crossing would be getting a light. That is an awful intersection during rush hour. My son is about to turn 16 and as we've taught him to drive and now have him driving to school every day we've taught him to go to Straub to turn left onto Wellborn. Still traffic but not nearly the mess that South Dowling and Wellborn is. I'm really surprised there aren't more accidents at that intersection that what we see.

My concern with the proposed changes is that S. Dowling and Wellborn is already a mess and it can take 10 minutes or more just to get to the turn and get onto Wellborn Road in the mornings. If you add a light that obviously helps tremendously with safety (I am 100% certain the city will do a poor job of setting up the timing so that people get out in a reasonable period of time, but that's a tangent). What concerns me is that if you close Straub and Wade you're going to force Saddle Creek traffic to S. Dowling which is going to put a lot of pressure on IGN. There's a 4-way stop sign at IGN and Koppe Bridge that is easy right now but will quickly become a problem is Saddle Creek is using it to get to S. Dowling and Wellborn.

There are no good answers for a stretch of Wellborn Road that needs to get wider and needs a couple of lights. It also needs a light at Capstone/Barron.
etj77845
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Like a lot of others I will be watching developments.

In a letter dated Oct. 20, 2014 from Commissioners Court a third option was floated: Locate the siding from Wade to Duckhaven and away from high traffic count crossings. There was a 'recount' of traffic on Straub done within the past month, we will see how that works.

But then the Commissioners Court document attributed the increase in traffic ultimately to the 'Panama Canal expansion' and increase in traffic to Port of Houston AND the switch yard in Robertson County..

Bottom line if you live between Koppe Bridge and the new Duckhaven-Saddle Creek exit- WASS.

PS3D
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To me, rail traffic is just now getting back to pre-2008 levels.
YellowPot_97
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AG
Will the new set of tracks be between the current rail and Welborn Rd or on the other side of the tracks?
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wysiwyg
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After doing some research, the proposal is not as bad as I expected. County Commissioners hope to create a new crossing at Greens Prairie Trail to IG&N with a traffic light on 2154 to allow a better exit from the west side to the east side. Sounds like TxDOT and the railroad may both be willing to help. Would require closing Wade and Straub, but still a net of one closing and possibly a much better and safer way to cross tracks. Public hearing Monday, 5:30 at the Brazos center to explain the proposal.
deh40
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If there was a guarantee of the lighted crossing at Greens Prairie, I agree, but I don't trust anything they say. They made every attempt to ramrod this through under a veil of secrecy.
etj77845
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The following is from an e-mail floating through the Wellborn area residents:

quote:
Monday's 5:30 County Hearing on RR Crossing Closures, Here's the details:
1) A union pacific representative will be present.
2) The county will offer up all of the options on the table........
3) Straub to be closed, and Wade is also planned BECAUSE union pacific expects to block it 70-80% of the time with the siding (Second Track).
4) Re-read #3, that speaks directly to anyone holding out hope that a Greens Prairie crossing is a perfect idea - it is in principle until the realization hits that those trains switching out will add 10-15 minute wait times at GP. Current posted rail road speed is 55mph, the trains will slow to 5 mph or less to switchout.
5) 70-80% of the time, that also means that union pacific could park Toxic Inhalation Hazards (TIH's), fertilizer, crude, chemicals and other flammables within .5 miles of 3 schools 70-80% of the time.
6) Due to #5 the request was made this afternoon for Lloyd Wasserman to invite Department of Homeland Security from Houston to attend. Also asked Lloyd to reach out to any CSISD Board or personnel to attend the Monday hearing.

7) An anonymous source has pledged $5,000 to our legal fund in the event Saddle Creek HOA wants to seek a legal remedy to all of this.
8) KTBX plans to be there Monday.
9) The Eagle plans to be there Monday.
10) And for those counting this is the 3rd hearing, no one knew about the 1st one, we had 1 day notice on the 2nd one, and we found out today Friday for a Monday hearing....My gut tells me Monday will be the last time we will be able to legitimately influence the Commissioner's Court on all of this, short of legal remedies and waiting for elections - so PLEASE ATTEND the hearing!!!! Strength is in the number of concerned citizens!"There will be a Public Hearing on Monday, December 8, 2014, at 5:30 P.M. relative to the RR Crossings closures in South Brazos County. The hearing will be held at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Dr., Bryan, Texas."

Correspondence from Mr. Wassermann today (from a saddlecreek resident):

There is no intention by Brazos County to make Drake Dr. a thoroughfare street. Both developers of Saddle Creek and Duckhaven mutually agreed to connect their subdivisions with a new street named Canvas Back Cove. All rural subdivision streets within Brazos County are initially constructed by the developers with private contractors. After a period of time the construction is inspected by Brazos County Road & Bridge Dept. employees and the road is then accepted into the Brazos County Road Maintenance Program.

Once a subdivision is built out to a certain percentage of the lots which are available for sale. The developer is bound by law to develop or construct more than one (1) ingress or egress to that subdivision. Since both Saddle Creek & Duckhaven are located within the College Station ETJ (Extra Territorial Jurisdiction) this is a mandate required by policy. Also both Drake Dr. & Saddle Creek Dr. are on the major thoroughfare long range traffic plan for the City of College Station.

With regard to the RR crossing closure presented to Brazos County by Union Pacific RR, I have been in every meeting that has been held with UPRR Representatives, Brazos County Personnel, and TXDOT (Texas Dept. of Transportation) relative to what will take place if these closures proceed. Eventually, the City of College Station will have to come to table with UPRR, TXDOT, and the city because the crossing improvement that needs to be made at South Dowling Rd. & FM 2154 will be the be the COCS responsibility since they annexed Wellborn.

My plans are to continue to negotiate toughly with UPRR and try to arrive at the best possible solution for my constituents of south Brazos County that are affected by what UPRR wants to accomplish.

There is a public hearing scheduled for Monday, December 8, 2014, at 5:30 P.M. the Brazos Center located at 3232 Briarcrest Dr. Bryan, Texas.

At his time Brazos County residents will be able to voice their concerns.If I can of any other assistance to you, please contact me at (979) 361-4106

Respectfully,
Lloyd Wassermann
Brazos County Commissioner, Pct. 1



curry97
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Half mile from 3 schools?
etj77845
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Curry

That sorta got my attention as well.. (1) elementary on GP Trail exists inside .5mi (2) are proposed or building but I think one is out side the S. Dowling-Wade area by more than .5mi.

The TIH and other hazmat issues cited may be a nonstarter. According to 49CFR part 179 tank cars must maintain containment if involved in an 18mph event. Certainly a stopped train would not have this potential. In 2014-acording to GOOGLE- there have been 3 loss of containment incidents nation wide. Wile this is not '0' risk it is very unlikely to happen.

I live in the area most inconvenienced by closing Straub and I do not favor this idea. I think the Wade to Duck Haven or Duck Haven to south to have lesser impact on traffic and ingress-egress for emergency vehicles.
Wellborn43yrs
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When I attended a meeting at the administration building I spoke with the UP representative. I asked him about a couple other options and he stated that he had measured Exactly what was needed. He said that they HAD to close from just north of Wade all the way to South Dowling in order to make it work. AND that they had to close STRAUB because the track would more than likely be close 80% of the time between North of Wade ALL THE WAY to South Dowling.

I have two things to say.

1. I feel that he lied to me now that they have to close Wade as well.

2. WHAT GOOD WILL A LIGHT AT GREENS PRAIRE TRAIL BE? Won't it be closed 80% of the time too?????? HE SAID FROM NORTH OF WADE ALL THE WAY TO SOUTH DOWLING! Last I checked GPT would be between Straub and South Dowling!!!! SO Unless they put us in an over pass AND DO THIS "BEFORE" THEY CLOSE WADE AND STRAUB, IT MAKES NO SENSE! Maybe I'm missing something???
DDMOVERS
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carpe vinum
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There are miles of track around Millican without crossings that could serve this purpose without the impact on people. If they say it has to be here they are full of ####.
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slop01
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quote:
There are miles of track around Millican without crossings that could serve this purpose without the impact on people. If they say it has to be here they are full of ####.

This is what I want to have answered!!!!
DDMOVERS
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DDMOVERS
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quote:
quote:
I personally have a 10yr lease on that property and I spoke with the owners last night (which will be in attendance this afternoon) and they
confirmed that no way would they allow that option to have a road
separate their property!
Dan - It's called Eminent Domain. They can take that land whether you as the leaseholder or the owner likes it not. The railroad has more power than even TxDOT does in matters like this.

Also I am very aware of "Eminent Domain", I only published that information to keep everyone in the loop that we were not in any kind of agreement with the county to give up any land without a fight! Simply using this forum to communicate with the citizens that are being affected about all factors involved!
curry97
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quote:
There are miles of track around Millican without crossings that could serve this purpose without the impact on people. If they say it has to be here they are full of ####.


There already is a railroad siding that starts just north of Millican and ends around the Brazos Valley Tree Farm
etj77845
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After Dan brought up to topic, I looked at one or two of the publications on line. It appears that TXDOT and municipalities(over 100K) have control over what happens to existing public crossing in their jurisdictions. Could not find any thing specific to a county... but it is logical to assume a county has some say in closure.

Dan- a publication called Texas Sentinel is reporting from WTAW:
quote:
Public Hearing Monday About Proposed Railroad Crossing ClosingsPublished December 5, 2014 | By Sentinel Staffn Monday-propost?url=http://www.texassentinel.com/category/featured Stories/">News, and StrictlyAutoTagAnchor" href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www.google.com/bookmark?op=editbkmk=http://wtaw.com/2014 d by News . Posted by Bill Oliver
Featured Stories, News
Friday, December 5th, 2014 Union Pacific Railroad and Brazos County officials have proposed closing two railroad crossings as part of building a parallel line along Wellborn Road south of College Station.
You have an opportunity to see the details and offer your opinion Monday evening.
According to a public hearing notice from the county, crossings would be closed at Wade Road and Straub Roadand a new crossing would be built along with the installation of traffic signals at Wellborn Road and Greens Prairie Trail.
Monday's public hearing will be held at the Brazos Center, starting at 5:30 p.m.Short URL: http://wtaw.com/?p=89540
Apparently the county would have to exercise 'Eminent domain' on the pasture... Wonder how that impacts on the COCS' non-annexation agreement? IF correct.
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jac4
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Dan, thanks for being open with information on this forum. The county has certainly not been forthright throughout this process.

My concern is that of the three parties involved in this deal, only the tax payers are not well represented. The county and UP will have their interests considered. Unfortunately, there is a very poor line of communication to the residents and we are still fragmented. The Saddlecreek HOA is pursuing legal representation, however we still need a smaller point of leadership to represent us and to disseminate accurate and timely information to everyone. There is a lot of griping on Facebook, but many of our older residents are not on facebook.

I hope that everyone is able to make it to the meeting tonight. Let's hope that the county officials feel some heat over this and choose to represent the interest of their tax payers.
etj77845
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quote:
I hope that everyone is able to make it to the meeting tonight. Let's hope that the county officials feel some heat over this and choose to
represent the interest of their tax payers.
Here!!
LOYAL AG
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AG
Got hung up in Austin yesterday and couldn't go. Any feedback from last night's meeting?
SARATOGA
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quote:
There already is a railroad siding that starts just north of Millican and ends around the Brazos Valley Tree Farm


So a siding is where there are 2 sets of tracks, so one train can sit parked, and others can pass on the main track ? Kind of like a rest stop off of a highway ?





So, I'll ask - why not just put a 3rd set of tracks (another siding) right next to the current one as described above ?


Or again, put this crap in Navasota - where crap belongs. If Brazos County can work out a way to have its landfill in another county, then surely they can work out how to put a trainyard in another county....
etj77845
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According to Commissioners Court Agenda as posted on website, there will be another public meeting Thursday Dec 11, 5pm at Commissioners Courtroom. The additional hearing indicates County will be moving very quickly- 'fast track' was used by UPRR to describe the action.

Was a most of the meeting last night and it seems UPRR is gonna double track for siding and WILL force changes to Straub and Wade. Peters is adamant the Greens Prairie Trail option is the best deal and WILL go to condemnation for property. With the exception of Peters and Wassermann the Commissioners present were mostly vestigial organs and will rubber stamp the process.


Hudanish, of UPRR, was most condesending at some points- folks in Saddle Creek and surrounding area are really not looking at the greater good- that sorta thing. I lost interest after he invoked Lincoln's signing of the UPRR charter in his presentation. UPRR is NOT open to further discussion.
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