Possible light rail extension to York
As someone who long ago learned to love the idea of light-rail service that would connect York County to Baltimore and Harrisburg -- then add Gettysburg, Lancaster, Hanover, the West Shore area and perhaps even Washington, D.C., for a perfect scenario -- I'm tickled to death that people seem to be taking it seriously.
A meeting held Monday in downtown York, attended by a half-dozen people, including two York City Council members, posed the question: Is it possible to bring light-rail train service back to York?
Not a novel idea: There was a time, after all, when York countians moved from one end of the county to the other either by light-rail train or trolley service. I have faint memories, in fact, of making the trip from York City -- my parents lived there at the time -- to Glen Rock and back on weekends to visit my paternal grandparents. And we did it by passenger train.
It was a terrific experience. And it must have been very useful for families throughout York County who didn't own a car -- my parents -- or didn't choose to drive. Or maybe they just enjoyed traveling by train.
Well, there is talk again about light rail here in York County.
Of course, right away there were comments about the economic-development aspects of light-rail service through York. York City Council member Joe Musso made the point that a light-rail line connecting York with Baltimore and Harrisburg would bring people into York City in droves. While here, of course, they'd
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spend all of their money.
More leaving than coming: Not to cast too big a shadow over that possibility, but I doubt that's going to happen in a big way. Certainly there will be people from Harrisburg and Baltimore who will come to York to shop, visit friends or whatever. I suspect, however, that it's more likely that York will be a pass-through for people going from Harrisburg to Baltimore and back or vice versa.
Sure, York countians will use the light-rail service as transportation to Baltimore or Harrisburg for business purposes, jobs or recreation. But a lot more Yorkers will be going to Baltimore or Harrisburg than people from Baltimore and Harrisburg will be coming to York.
Not to worry too much, though, because this is not a project that's going to happen anytime soon. It'd be great if trains were running in two or three years, but that's not likely. In fact, I'll be lucky to live long enough -- and I hope to live to a ripe old age -- to see it come to fruition.
But it's an idea with merit because mass transit is going to become more and more important to society as years go by. There's a limit, after all, to the number of fossil fuel-guzzling cars we can put on York County highways -- now, and 30 years from now.
There are plenty of obstacles to light-rail use in York County, of course -- land acquisition, funding, community support and coordinating the various transit authorities in two states, a half-dozen communities and dozens of related agencies, just for a start.
But like anything else, it can be done if we want it badly enough. There must be a sense of urgency about this project to get it moving forward -- something unrelenting like we've had with the baseball stadium project in York City, for example.
Can there possibly be anyone who seriously believes a light-rail system isn't more important to the future of York County than an independent-league baseball stadium?
It's laughable to even suggest such a possibility in a county that has grown 25 percent since 1990. You can build only so many roads, expand so many highways to accommodate traffic in and through York County.
An alternative transit system, such as light-rail, seems an intelligent partial solution to that problem.
If only we care enough to make it happen.
It sounds like it's probably not going to happen, but maybe the commuter rail project will end up going through eventually