Restoring Passenger Rail Service: Schuylkill Metro

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Restoring Passenger Rail Service: Schuylkill Metro</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring City Projects: Bury Wires Canal"><U><B><IMG SRC="002151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Law Firm History Through 2000"><U><B><IMG SRC="0060d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="curriculum vitae "><U><B><IMG SRC="0051b1d0.gif" border=0 width="27" height="29" ALT="down" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B>                         </B><A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LINKS TO OTHER SITES"><U><B>LINKS</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="George Reitnour"><U><B>Announcements</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Law Firm History Through 2000"><U><B>Law Firm History</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How George Can Assist You Now"><U><B>Investors Trust Company</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forms to Obtain Power of Attorney"><U><B>Obtaining POA</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>COMMUNITY </B></div> <div> <B>  </B><A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring City Projects: Bury Wires Canal"><U><B>Spring City</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>  </B><A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pennhurst Park Project"><U><B>Pennhurst Park</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>PERSONAL</B></div> <div> <B> </B><A HREF="id1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="curriculum vitae "><U><B> Resumé</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>  </B><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poetry"><U><B>Poetry</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The following materials relate to restoration of passenger rail service to Phoenixville, Springford and Pottstown areas (Schuylkill Valley Metro).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="541" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1219 WIDTH="529"><div> TO:    SpringFord Chamber of Commerce Members</div> <div> Date:   April 10, 1992</div> <div> RE:     Transportation and Utilities Committee (TUC)</div> <bR> <div> You may have noticed articles in the Mercury concerning the possible restoration of passenger rail service to our area.  This restoration effort is a result of many years of intermittent lobbying, letter campaigns, and public meetings.  TUC has participated in all of these efforts since the 1990 creation of the Committee.</div> <bR> <div> TUC has thus far been a 1-person committee, but now, help is needed:</div> <bR> <div> 1.  Leo Bagley's passenger rail restoration plan calls for a station at Oaks.  Does this mean that downtown Phoenixville and Royersford are being bypassed?  Sold out?  What would be the effect of that decision on the substantial borough populations which due to disability or poverty do not drive (i.e., "carless" people)?  Will that have an impact on the Boroughs' economies and quality of life?  At least 4 people will be needed to pursue these issues: a liaison with SEPTA, a liaison with Chester and Montgomery Counties, a liaison with the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce and a liaison with rail riders advocacy groups.  </div> <bR> <div> 2.  Tri County Chamber of Commerce monthly Transportation Committee meetings are attended by various municipalities and businesses which work through the Committee to establish and pursue priority projects.  Our Chamber has been represented on that Committee for some time, but there is a need for some of Spring Ford area's larger business and municipal representatives which are Tri County members to pursue our areas' needs through that committee.</div> <bR> <div> 3.  A new organization has been formed called the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association.  As in the case of Tri County, we need a substantial business or municipality to join the organization and represent our area's interests on that Association.  Recent meetings included a series on ISTEA (the 1991 Federal Transportation Act) with Congressman Larry Coughlin (the Act's sponsor) and state and regional authorities explaining how local governments can reap the benefits of the $7.4 billion going to Pennsylvania.</div> <bR> <div> 4.  TUC needs someone to get to know and represent our interests with our area utility companies and Pennsylvania's Small Business Advocate, who represents our interests in TUC matters.  Utility decisions affect us not only through rates, but in decisions to bury electric lines to beautify towns, or to allow the use of their properties for recreation use.</div> <bR> <div> Each additional member of TUC will make a substantial difference in our area, because transportation is more than just a matter of fixing roads.  Fundamental social, political and economic consequences result from transportation decisions.  The interstate highway system, for instance, created the suburbs.  Decisions like that one are being made, on a smaller scale, every day.  Every time a Township applies for highway funds without including a request for funds for sufficient berms to allow for safe biking or walking beside that road, a decision is being made.  Get involved.  Call George Reitnour, TUC, Chairman 948-0808.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="542" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1005 WIDTH="530"><div> To:  Pottstown Mercury</div> <div> April 6, 1993</div> <bR> <div> Former U.S. Congressman Coughlin, explaining why he sponsored an Act to spend $121,000,000,000 on the U.S. highway system while mass transit gets one quarter that amount, lauded the interstate highway system as the "greatest public works project in world history.  It led to the development of the suburbs...half of our bridges are in disrepair; traffic congestion has risen by 50 percent in the last ten years; there are now over 8 billion hours of delay in the Interstate System; the nation currently loses more than $120 billion a year in wasted time and fuel..."  Greatness has its price, apparently.  The infrastructure that America developed to support the suburbs is only 30 years old, and the bills, which <U>are</U> our federal deficit, have just started coming in.  Other costs, other losses, become evident when you look at what once was our countryside and agricultural heritage.  Power and money poured from our hemorrhaging cities and towns into the fortified suburbs.  Now, the bridges are burning: the spiritual bridges of compassion for people who are different than us; the physical bridges of public transportation (watch Montgomery County's effort to pull the proposed passenger rail line out of downtown Phoenixville and Royersford and put it where the "car-less" poor, minority, elderly and disabled people, who tend to live in downtown areas, can't easily use it) and trails and pedestrian walks which would allow lower income groups to experience nearby recreational resources like French Creek and the Schuylkill River (e.g., Limerick Township, the Coventries and the Vincents have all experienced the genuine fear and anger of property owners whose homes adjoin these trails).  </div> <bR> <div> When Kimberton's Kennedy Covered Bridge burned, we felt a sense of loss that translated into a state expenditure of a half million dollars to rebuild the bridge with fireproof wood.  Rebuilding these other bridges, though, requires more of us.  Our hearts would have to be moved to serve people we don't like, to long to redeem an ugliness we don't even want to see; to feel these longings as deeply as we feel the loss of our history and of beauty in our environment.  It can happen when our spiritual leaders (including journalists) lay down their torches and pick up their crosses--starting businesses, taking up the arts, and writing from experience.  And it can happen when our political leaders "go to the mountain":  Spring City to Main Street, Pottstown to Penn Village, East Vincent to Park Springs, all of us to Philadelphia.  American business, however oppressed by the taxes & rules of a cultural elite who lack life experience, alone continues to carry the pragmatists' task of bridge-building.  Our local business community has made real efforts in this regard, and we could all do more to recognize their contributions.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="542" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 522 WIDTH="530"><div> 1993</div> <bR> <div> I enclose a proposed letter of support which I request that your municipality consider approving.  If approving, please resolve that the appropriate officer be authorized to sign and provide a copy of the signed letter to me by the end of October, 1993.  I will enclose your copy of the resolution with those of any other approving municipalities and submit them to Delaware Valley Regional Authority, SEPTA, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.  These will be used to express support for the restoration of passenger rail service along the existing lines, rather than placement along Route 422.</div> <bR> <div>                               Sincerely,</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <bR> <div> GFR/md</div> <div> *********************************************</div> <div> Sample Letter:</div> <bR> <div> This municipality supports restoration of passenger rail service to downtown Phoenixville, Royersford and Pottstown.</div> <bR> <div>                               By: ___________________________</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="539" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 625 WIDTH="527"><div> TO:       Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission</div> <div>        The Bourse Building</div> <div>        21 South Fifth Street</div> <div>        Philadelphia, PA 19106</div> <bR> <div> Date:       October 23, 1993</div> <bR> <div> I enclose letters of support for restoration of passenger rail service along existing lines.  These letters from East Vincent Township and the Borough of Phoenixville may be added to the letters from the Boroughs of Spring City and Royersford and the Township of East Coventry.</div> <bR> <div> Thank you for reviewing this issue in the context of your 2020 Plan for inclusion in your next Transportation Improvement Plan.</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <bR> <div> GFR/md</div> <div> CC:     Borough of Spring City</div> <div>      Borough of Royersford</div> <div>      Township of East Coventry</div> <div>      Borough of Phoenixville</div> <div>      Township of East Vincent</div> <div>      Township of East Pikeland</div> <div>      Chester County Commissioners</div> <div>      Montgomery County Commissioners</div> <div>      SEPTA</div> <div>      PADOT</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="543" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 674 WIDTH="531"><div> October 29, 1993</div> <bR> <div> TO:       Commissioners of Chester County</div> <div>        Chester County Courthouse     </div> <div>        2 North High Street, Suite 512</div> <div>        West Chester, PA 19380</div> <bR> <div> FROM:  George Reitnour</div> <bR> <div> I enclose letters of support from the Boroughs of Royersford, Spring City and Phoenixville and the Townships of East Vincent and East Coventry in support of the restoration of passenger rail service to downtown Phoenixville and Royersford.</div> <bR> <div> Again, I think that northern Chester County would appreciate your leadership and advocacy with SEPTA and with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to ensure that SEPTA first restores passenger service to downtowns before building a new line to service imagined villages along Route 422 in Montgomery County.  The "village" concept is worth supporting, but not at the expense of our existing towns.       </div> <bR> <div> Of particular importance is the need to plan with SEPTA and the Boroughs of Phoenixville (and Royersford, just across the County line from Spring City) for rail service that provides longer hours than the Norristown bus lines and better parking than Paoli; in short, to create the kind of access that will make the line profitable over the long term, despite the initial years of costly development.</div> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <bR> <div> cc: Chester County Planning Commission</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>      </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="540" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1173 WIDTH="528"><div> December 10, 1993</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Arthur F. Loeben, Director</div> <div> Montgomery County Planning Commission</div> <div> Courthouse</div> <div> Norristown, PA 19404</div> <bR> <div> Re:     Restoration of Passenger Rail Service</div> <bR> <div> Dear Mr. Loeben:</div> <bR> <div> This letter is in response to your letter of November 24, 1993 in which you state that an upcoming study has been "designed to explore and examine what land use changes may be necessary along the old Reading Main Line to Pottstown if restoration of services is to be considered".  You note that a Review Committee is being formed to participate in this study.</div> <bR> <div> I hope that each municipality appoints strong advocates to the Review Committee.  Strong advocates are needed because the municipal representatives may have to insist upon a reexamination of any study parameters that result in a finding that the boroughs and surrounding municipalities presently lack the population or densities to support the service.  The representatives will have to be wary of accepting findings of trackage rights problems or insufficient parking and access along the former lines, as this may indicate a lack of research and imagination on the part of the study consultant.  Finally, municipal representatives may have to object to proposals which would result in pressure for unacceptable zoning changes and point out alternatives so that these unacceptable demands do not become part of any final study recommendations, as well as informing, guiding and responding to affected property interests in connection with public hearings.</div> <bR> <div> Efforts to revitalize Phoenixville, downtown Royersford/Spring City, Pennhurst Center (linked to Royersford by an abandoned rail bridge which could serve as a pedestrian walkway between the Royersford station and Pennhurst) depend on this effort.  The matter involves both Montgomery and Chester Counties.  Those counties' Planning Commissions, Northern Chester County Federation, the Spring Ford COG, Chambers of Commerce and Schuylkill River Heritage Park Task Force have an interest in and should be informed regarding this matter, along with the municipalities which you mentioned.  I do not see how a Review Committee can be complete without involving these parties.</div> <div>                               Sincerely yours,</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <div> GFR/md</div> <div> CC:     Royersford Borough, East Coventry Township, Spring City Borough, East Vincent Township, Phoenixville Borough, Chester County Planning Commission</div> <bR> <div> P.S. I would very much appreciate a copy of the TAC Design Study and recommendations to reuse the existing rail line. </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="539" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1697 WIDTH="527"><div> December 9, 1993</div> <bR> <div> To:       Rich Henson</div> <div>        c/o Philadelphia Inquirer</div> <div>        400 North Broad Street</div> <div>        Philadelphia, PA 19101</div> <bR> <div> From:  George Reitnour</div> <bR> <div> Re:       "Montco Eyes Old Rail Line" article</div> <bR> <div> Your November 25, 1993 article concerning restoration of passenger rail service to Pottstown along the existing line includes some incorrect assumptions.</div> <bR> <div> First, restoration of service on the existing line is not "battling a headwind driven by market forces".  The only "headwind" driving development out of river towns from Philadelphia to Reading is created by government, not "market forces".  There was no Route 422 corridor until Route 422 was built.  Route 422 created the market, not the other way around.  Investments made by health-related industries along Route 422 arose and are driven by Medicare and Medicaid dollars and government policy, not by independent "market forces".  Your assertion that "market forces", not government policies, lead toward developing Route 422 at the expense of the towns, creates an impression that government is aligning itself against "market forces" if it restores passenger rail service to downtown areas, whereas, in reality, government is fighting only itself and the consequences of its past policies.  The headwinds are changing, and the Route 422 corridor, the towns, and Montgomery County Planning Commission are caught in the whirlwind.  The whirlwind, its causes and direction, is the story of our region in the 1990's, and you don't seem to see it.  The point is, a change in the wind can bring investment to downtowns as easily as it can lead to more sprawl.</div> <bR> <div> The second incorrect assumption concerns a reported study that says that "regional ridership falls dramatically when commuters must transfer from one service to another".  While commuters riding a train into downtown Phoenixville would have to drive or be bused to work or home if they work or live along Route 422, commuters riding a train along Route 422 would also have to drive or be bused from the stop along Route 422 to their place of work or residence because most work places and residences along Route 422 are not concentrated within easy walking distance.  Thus, the ridership study should not be cited in support of locating the rail line on Route 422 as opposed to restoring rail service to downtown areas.  In addition, both you and the Planning Commission seem to ignore the fact that only a downtown line provides secure access to the people who really need it, as well as to those people for whom rail service would be an added convenience.  I am talking about people with disabilities and those who cannot afford cars, who tend to live in these downtown areas.  "Carlessness", not homelessness, is the suburban social issue.  Yes, these people have bus service.  But bus service is no substitute.  It's slow; it stinks; and thus it is used predominantly by carless people-- it's a segregating activity that can never be self sufficient and will be cut as soon as it is politically expedient to do so.  It's already set up so that there is no late night service (which is often the only time that people with disabilities need to use it, because they often end up with unwanted late night jobs).</div> <bR> <div> Montgomery County's transit village/high density/rural preservation goals have merit, and so has the idea of designing rail loops to hit new residential and commercial centers, so long as these ideas do not have the effect of abandoning downtowns.  It is only the scheme to bypass downtowns in favor of a Route 422 rail line that is inherently socially divisive, wasteful, and contrary to the direction of our times.  The towns know this.  I enclose copies of letters from Phoenixville, Royersford, Spring City, and other communities expressing their position in favor of restoration or rail service.  Montgomery County Planning Commission has a copy of these letters.</div> <bR> <div> I wish I could believe that Montgomery County Planning Commission truly intends to bury its Route 422 rail scheme and work toward restoring rail service to the towns, but when I read your article, reflecting what the Commission told you, I have doubts.  The Commission is wise enough to know that "the world doesn't always work with these clean ideals", but perhaps not wise enough to see that it doesn't work at all without such ideals.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>                               </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="540" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 482 WIDTH="528"><div> April 22, 1994</div> <bR> <div> TO:       Chester County Office of Housing and Community Development</div> <div>        ATTN: Barbara Wilson</div> <div>        601 Westtown Road Suite 240</div> <div>        West Chester, PA 19382</div> <bR> <div> I enclose a copy of a letter which I sent to CADCOM in Montgomery County, along with Debbie Lee Dollow's card (I met with her April 21, 1994 to elaborate my views on this issue) and copies of related letters of support which I solicited from my area municipalities.</div> <bR> <div> I think that your Board should also be involved.  I am a volunteer and have no financial interests in this matter, so I cannot dedicate the kind of time that is needed to represent the interests of lower income/disabled/elderly residents in this matter, but I hope that you will contact Chester/Montgomery County Planning Commissions and become involved.</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="539" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 458 WIDTH="527"><div> April 22, 1994</div> <bR> <div> TO:       Chester County Office of Housing</div> <div>            and Community Development</div> <div>        ATTN: Barbara Wilson</div> <div>        601 Westtown Road Suite 240</div> <div>        West Chester, PA 19382</div> <bR> <div> I enclose a copy of a letter which I sent to CADCOM in Montgomery County, along with Debbie Lee Dollow's card (I met with her April 21, 1994 to elaborate my views on this issue) and copies of related letters of support which I solicited from my area municipalities.</div> <bR> <div> I think that your Board should also be involved.  I am a volunteer and have no financial interests in this matter, so I cannot dedicate the kind of time that is needed to represent the interests of lower income/disabled/elderly residents in this matter, but I hope that you will contact Chester/Montgomery County Planning Commissions and become involved</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="539" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 450 WIDTH="527"><div> February 24, 1997</div> <bR> <div> Representative Joseph R. Pitts</div> <div> Cannon House Office Bldg., #504</div> <div> Washington, DC   20515</div> <bR> <div> Dear Representative Pitts:</div> <bR> <div> I advocate restoration of passenger rail service to Phoenixville, Spring City, Royersford and Pottstown because I see that service as critical to redevelopment of the town.  Without federal transit funding and ISTEA authorization, there in not much hope for restoration of service.</div> <bR> <div> Thus, I thank you for your support of ISTEA.</div> <bR> <div>                               Sincerely,</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <div> GFR:cbg</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="540" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 674 WIDTH="528"><div> February 25, 1997</div> <bR> <div> The Honorable Thomas J. Ridge</div> <div> 225 Main Capitol Building</div> <div> Harrisburg, PA   17120</div> <bR> <div> Dear Governor Ridge:</div> <bR> <div> I am a businessperson, in one of the many small Schuylkill River towns that grew prosperous along the former Reading and Pennsylvania Railroad lines.   I am continually hindered in my ability to secure qualified employees, to attend to business in  Reading, Norristown and Philadelphia, and to get to cultural and recreational events by dangerous, over-crowded driving conditions.   Simply put, it is a miserable commute to anywhere from here.</div> <bR> <div> Every time I play Monopoly with my 7 year old, I see the answer to my problem in the middle of each block.  The cost of rail feasibility studies and the passing time make me wonder whether, if our methods had been used in eighteenth and nineteenth century America, we would ever have made it beyond the Mississippi.   If it will help move this project along (even though I do not understand why operation of public transit can't be profitable or what a study can accomplish that driving the roads doesn't amply demonstrate), I hope you will support a transportation revenue package which contains adequate funding for public transit studies and infrastructure.</div> <bR> <div>                               Sincerely,</div> <bR> <div>                               George F. Reitnour</div> <div> GFR:cbg</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>