Bus traffic concerns

neighbors

April 15, 2007

By John R. Moses

Frontiersman

TALKEETNA - It's an unimposing stretch of dirt road leading to a battered stop sign and ending at a locked yellow gate. It's what's behind that gate, and what will go through it this summer, that has residents of East Woodpecker Road and their neighbors on Wolf Track worried.

The main drag out of a small subdivision will host a procession of up to 10 tour buses two, sometimes three days a week. They'll pick up or drop off tourists at a new rail siding instead of the relatively new downtown station, according to an Alaska Railroad spokesman.

Railroad officials plan to attend the May 7 Talkeetna Community Council meeting to hear community concerns.

The plan was the talk of Thursday night's Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce meeting, and residents of the presently peaceful road are talking about it as well.

East Woodpecker Road resident Heather High has two small children who spend their summers enjoying the front lawn and riding bikes along the kind of sparsely used street where residents usually know who is driving when they see an approaching car. In the summer, when it's not wet from rain, the car will trail a cloud of dust.

&#8220This is a dirt road. My lawn faces the road. It's going to be a dustbowl here,” she said. &#8220It's going to be gross.”

Planned use of a siding at the railway's Milepost 223 isn't an expansion of tourist activities, it's a way to cope with too much rail traffic from a special tourist train, said Alaska Railroad spokesman Tim Thompson.

Congestion and mandatory train spacing rules have meant delays when special trains arrive Saturdays, Mondays and every other Wednesday in the summer to deliver tourists to buses bound for Denali National Park.

Buses will meet the trains near the siding - three miles away from Talkeetna Station at Milepost 223 - instead of backing up regular rail traffic just so passengers can get off at the Milepost 226 Talkeetna Station.

&#8220One of the main reasons is the congestion this train is causing,” Thompson said.

&#8220We've got too many trains in one area,” he said.

He said no permanent structure is being built at the siding.

The area has served as a rail welding yard and was once home to a stockpile of used railroad ties.

Recycled asphalt will be installed so tour buses can pick up and drop off passengers.

The buses would operate between the hours of 12:30 and 2 p.m.

With as many as 10 buses at a time to accommodate 300 to 500 passengers, the maximum number of trips in and out per day it is used would be 20. On most weeks, there will be a maximum 20 round trips per week, with at most 30 round trips each week that a Wednesday train runs.

Residents wonder if that means someone plans to pave or re-gravel the road. The answer from Thompson is no, although the railroad is talking to borough road officials.

The borough's road officials were in a meeting and could not be reached for comment Friday.

Talkeetna's borough assembly representative has property that borders the tracks several miles up the Talkeetna Spur Road in Sunshine. Tom Kluberton is familiar with the special train. Kluberton said he is investigating the situation and wonders if the railroad and/or the bus operator should get some of the bill or be required to pave the road.

&#8220It sounds to me like they ought to be seriously considering paving,” he said. &#8220It sounds like it's time for someone to have that conversation.”

From a practical standpoint, Kluberton said, tour operators should want their customers to see Talkeetna's green trees and a tidy road instead of dust clouds.

&#8220Can you imagine being a passenger in the fifth bus?” he asked.

A Princess Tours spokesperson said she could not confirm that the company is the one operating those buses and said she would investigate the matter.

Contact John R. Moses at 352-2270 or john.moses@frontiersman.com.