Catching up with Commuter rail and the Interstate Commerce Connectorr

First off, and a few days late, but there was a letter in the Muncie Star Press in favor of studying light rail from Indianapolis to Muncie. The writer made a few interesting points:

As a person who has commuted off and on between Muncie and Indianapolis since the fall of 1999, commuter rail would be a real asset. Three years ago, The Star Press reported that over 1,200 Delaware County residents worked in Marion County, and it's likely that this number has increased since then. The market for commuter rail is there.

I believe that, ultimately, the concept will be viewed as not feasible. No rail line currently exists between Lapel and Noblesville, and the cost of construction ($1 million per mile) would most likely be prohibitive. In addition, detouring to Noblesville is not the most direct route between Muncie and Indianapolis, and I strongly believe that the levels of ridership on any commuter train will depend upon it being the best alternative available. An indirect route is not the best option and would negatively affect ridership.

I found the comments pretty reasonable, too.

Yesterday, TDW posted an e-mail where the person touted Might Mitch's poll numbers under the title Oh, The Hilarity: Indiana's Federal Rep Scrounges To Make Guv Look Good. Reading the e-mail, I noticed the polls showing the majority do not favor the Interstate Commerce Connector (ie., the Road to Nowhere).

Then tdoay the Indianapolis Business Journal announces that a Shelby County group is forming to boost the ICC.

The Shelby County and Morristown chambers of commerce and Shelby County Development Corp. say their coalition is in the spirit of an earlier decision by Shelbyville's Common Council asking that the Indiana Commerce Connector be studied under state sponsorship.

Luke Messer, an attorney at the Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller LLP and a former Republican state representative from Shelbyville, has been hired by the Morristown chamber to consult in building broader support for the project.

I would love to know where the impulse for this came from - up Brookville Road to Ice, Miller or from Ice, Miller down to Morristown.