Changing pace from my last column, which I'm sure riveted tens, I've decided to discuss an issue that's a little less pressing.
I started writing about my position on recent health care reform, but I've found a topic that is just as heated, just as ferociously debated and has just as many people upset: Muncie train crossings.
While my out-of-town readers will be alienated by this article, I'm sure they have run across problematic train crossings over their years and can remember the feeling of watching their life slowly pass them by, one boxcar at a time. To appreciate what Munsonians go through, you should take those feelings and multiply them by 10, or even 15.
Muncie trains are hard to ignore. When I first came to Ball State University, I had a nameless professor that came to class late every single day, always claiming that it was because he was stopped by a train. For the longest time, I thought he was just making up excuses and wasn't very good at it. But the more I got to know Muncie, the more I believed him. In fact, I eventually moved to an apartment downtown and had to sleep with ear plugs in most nights because of the constant roar of train whistles.
One good thing about all the trains is that I hear bank robbers avoid Muncie because there are too many train crossings to plan a safe getaway. This could very well be true. Three major rail lines pass through Muncie, all of them intersecting at the service yard downtown, which accommodates roughly 60 trains a day.
As you can imagine, locals have been dealing with this problem for years now and some are getting tired of it.
For those who love to complain about things without actually doing anything about it (of which I'm a huge fan), there is a Facebook page devoted to this very topic called "Trains causing problems in Muncie, IN." Not a very imaginative title.
But if this issue bugs you, I suggest checking it out. There are a lot of concerned citizens discussing sensible options to relieve this problem, not only because of the sheer inconvenience but also because long road blockages force heavy traffic through residential areas not meant for that kind of flow. So you can see how this is also a matter of public safety. Furthermore, the creator of the page is Muncie City Councilman Mark Conatser, who promises to bring the ideas of the people to the proper government channels.
In my mind, there are only two solutions. First off, Muncie Police need to enforce Indiana Code 8-6-7.5, which states that no part of a train shall obstruct public travel in excess of 10 minutes. However, that law also states that no employee in violation can be prosecuted if they're acting under the orders of the railroad corporation or their supervisor. Does that make sense to anyone?
The second option, the one most likely to succeed, is an all-out railroad relocation project. According to a blog written by Larry Riley, a Ball State professor and columnist for the Star Press, the city has met with a consultant who proposed the relocation of one of Muncie's railroads. The project, however, will not go anywhere unless the city can match some of the federal funds. Riley believes that the only way this will happen is if the railroad companies realize how much more efficient they'll become and offer up the money themselves. This may never happen without more public support. However, this plan has promise; Lafayette, Ind., finished a similar railroad relocation project a while back and has been reaping the benefits ever since.
With all that Muncie is and has become over the years, few realize that the reason our city grew beyond a small farming community in the first place was because a major Indiana railroad was built through it. Muncie is essentially a railway town whose problems are inherent in cities of this nature.
It doesn't have to be that way though. Other cities who share these problems have taken the time, money and energy to fix them because they plan for the future. Muncie can do the same. It just takes a lot of people who really care about their community. Do you?
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