RR to meet with locals

May 1, 2007

By John R. Moses

Frontiersman

TALKEETNA - As the Alaska Railroad prepares to meet the public Monday over plans to start busing tourists through a quiet rural neighborhood, its spokesman confirmed to the local Chamber of Commerce that the half-mile-long siding at rail Milepost 223 is of vital importance in solving scheduling problems on the busy stretch of mostly one-track line.

The letter also assured business owners that the flow of tourists will not diminish - Princess Tours will offer direct busing from the stop at the end of East Woodpecker Avenue to the usual downtown tourist drop-off near Main Street. The railroad asked for support for its plans in the face of growing ridership.

&#8220Like you, the Alaska Railroad wants to provide the best Alaskan experience to guests and residents alike,” railroad External Affairs Manager Tim Thompson said in a letter to chamber secretary Melody Blackledge dated Friday.

&#8220We will continue to do what we can to promote Alaska Railroad Corporation tourism in Alaska and in Talkeetna. In turn, we ask the public to recognize that with growth comes change. One such change is the use of our siding at Milepost 223, which is necessary to reduce congestion and thereby better serve our customers,” Thompson wrote.

&#8220By using railroad land at Milepost 223 for loading and unloading the charter trains, we expect to alleviate pressure on the main Talkeetna Depot and allow all passengers to arrive and depart as scheduled.”

Chamber of Commerce President Suzy Kellard said she's hoping for the best, which would mean the railroad is telling the whole truth, tourism won't be affected, and crowding will be eased at the railroad station.

&#8220I think they gave us some answers,” she said.

Not yet answered is what, if anything, can or will be done to cut down on dust from the 10 buses per day that will travel up and down East Woodpecker on Mondays and Saturdays, and the eight buses that will come and go every other Wednesday. Residents of the unpaved road fear huge impacts from the buses as well as support vehicles from Princess and the railroad.

Bill Stearns, of D&S Road Services, told the crowd at an informal meeting on the issue last month that an application of a dust-limiting chemical must be done in the next few weeks if that's the chosen option. The cost of the chemical and the manpower needed to do the job is about $5,000.

The old road was one mile long. It got a little longer just over a week ago when heavy equipment eliminated a swath of trees and a grader leveled the soil to create an extended roadbed to reach the siding.

Chuck Braun, manager of the Mat-Su Borough's Operations and Maintenance Division, said there has been no commitment yet by the railroad or the borough to put down a 100 percent solution of calcium carbonate on East Woodpecker. The chemical is a great road-sealer, he said, and helps with road maintenance.

Everybody wants it on their road, he said.

&#8220We use it on roads all over the borough. It's poor man's pavement.”

According to Wikipedia, the free online and viewer-written encyclopedia, calcium carbonate is the main ingredient in seashells and is 95 percent of what makes up egg shells. It is the active ingredient in agricultural lime and is found in such substances as chalk and travertine. It is not water soluble and is a primary cause for so-called &#8220hard water.” Pharmaceutical grade calcium carbonate is often made in labs and used in antacids.

The town council and chamber will host a meeting Monday at 6 p.m. in Talkeetna Elementary School, where railroad CEO Pat Gamble will discuss the situation with concerned residents and business owners.