Jim Fair
City Councilman Jay Arrowood said landscaping along Moore Street was to include a berm that would obstruct the view of the tracks at street level (left) and thus help reduce some noise.
Jim Fair
A black nylon-fabric fence and a pile of branches remain at this Moore Street cul de sac that was designed to prevent traffic to drive parallel Moore Street. Railroad ties are collected at another cul de sac.
Jim Fair
The berm (background) is scaled in height as a landscape enhancement at the back of the port's property adjacent to the Greenville International Airport.
City Councilman Jay Arrowood first spoke out on these two topics more than a ago to GreerToday.com, at the time the nearly $50 million South Carolina Port Authority (SCPA) declared the port complete and operational with a grand opening in Greer. City Administrator Ed Driggers addressed those two topics at last Tuesday’s council meeting, confirming Arrowood’s concerns.
Arrowood said city leaders, council and Moore Street residents were told by officials representing the Inland Port, that landscaping along Moore Street would include a berm that would obstruct the view of the tracks at street level and thus help reduce some noise.
At that same meeting at City Hall, that was not open to the public, Arrowood said Norfolk Southern reportedly claimed there would be no undue delays at city railroad crossings. GreerToday.com twice requested access to that meeting from city officials, was initially approved but was not notified until after it had taken place.
“The Moore Street landscaping was done differently than what was expected,” Driggers told council last Tuesday. “Modifications were done."
At a public forum last June 28 at the Cannon Centre, the SCPA, Norfolk Southern, S.C. Department of Transportation and city entities attended with detailed port plans on display and officials answering questions from the public.
“I’m not aware of any undue delays at crossings for public safety,” said Sgt. Chad Richardson at the council meeting.
Arrowood, a retired volunteer fireman, said trains blocking crossings force fire officials to make a split-second decision whether to take another route not knowing the length of the train in concert with its speed.
“We have had complaints of stoppages at city crossings,” Arrowood said. He questioned Norfolk Southern’s movement on the tracks considering the company’s adding 1.5 miles of track – 2,600-feet of working tracks and 5,200-feet of storage tracks.
“Slightly longer blocked crossings (4th Street and crossings west of there) are due to SCIP trains going in and out from the downtown Greer side,” said Robert Chapman, Director of Public Relations at Norfolk Southern. “They need to run at a restricted speed, currently running at about 8 (miles per hours).”
Two Moore Street area residents spoke with Arrowood last Tuesday night about Norfolk Southern’s stoppage near their home. Typically, the train engines are left idling but the residents told Arrowood the vibrations shake their nearby homes.
“There are significant traffic changes and delays on Line Street and there are logical concerns,” Driggers said. “Two trains a day enter the port but there are about 50 trains a day on that line. Most of the stoppages occur on Line Street.”
Mayor Rick Danner said, "It's just growing pains."
Driggers said truck issues have been minor and the city’s delay in posting signage directing port-specific traffic away from the city has not caused any concerns.
“(The Port Authority) hasn’t done what they led the city to believe they were going to do,” Arrowood said.
“We are recognizing the substantial economic impact the inland port will have on the Upstate, Spartanburg and Greenville counties and Greer,” Driggers said. As the public entity nearest the site, it’s our responsibility to follow through with this.”