I heard on the local television news this week that the Stuart city commissioners, two of whom were just recently elected, voted 5-0 to revisit the agreement to build a train station in downtown Stuart, Florida that they made with Brightline, which operates a high-speed train between Miami and Orlando. There was quite a competition the past few years between Stuart and Fort Pierce to be the location for that station, which would be, at least for now, the only stop between West Palm Beach and Orlando. Stuart won, and everyone in the city was both surprised and ecstatic about it, since Fort Pierce had been the clear-cut favorite. However, with new commissioners elected on a platform of slower growth, they might very well back out of the deal. Major concerns are the cost ($30 million), the increase in traffic, and possible new development in downtown Stuart that might destroy its character. And does it really matter if the station is built in Fort Pierce instead? I myself was all in favor of the station being built in Stuart until I found out how expensive those Brightline tickets are. A trip from the Orlando Airport to West Palm Beach (30 miles south of Stuart) costs $99 one way. Round trip $198. No wonder Brightline is struggling financially - what a rip-off. You can take a redeye flight on Frontier from Denver to Orlando for $75. Does this not strike you as crazy, or what? Build the damn station in the middle of the Everglades as far as I am concerned. And by the way, the photograph above is of a Brightline train passing through downtown Stuart. And yes - that is indeed a sailfish fountain in the foreground. Stuart, as everyone knows, is the "sailfish capitol of the world," although the only one I have ever seen is that one in the fountain.
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