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City of Baker City Planning Department Baker City Hall 1655 First Street, Suites 105 P.O. Box 650 Baker City, OR 97814 (541) 524-2030 / 2028 Fax (541) 524-2049
Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson Government Affairs Office Amtrak West 530 Water Street Oakland, CA 94607
May 12, 2009
Dear Mr. Hutchison,
The City of Baker City Planning Department would like to urge restoration of the Pioneer passenger rail service with a stop at Baker City – a potential action that we understand is under consideration. The demographic, geographic, and transportation dynamics of Baker City are such that passenger rail service is a critically important transportation link for the community and one of the keys to economic renewal for our city.
Even by Western standards, Baker City with a population of 10,000 is a particularly isolated community. Our nearest effective commercial air service links are in Boise, Idaho (2 hours), and Portland, Oregon (5 hours). These two metro areas also hold the key to Baker City’s economy. Our immediate regional service center neighbors of Ontario, Oregon (1 hour), La Grande, Oregon (1 hour), and Pendleton, Oregon (1.5 hours) also represent important business, services, and social connections for the city. All six entities – Boise, Ontario, Baker City, La Grande, Pendleton, and Portland – are on the Pioneer route and would benefit from the improved transportation linkage if passenger service were restored.
More over, Baker City and Baker County, in conjunction with other towns in the region, are currently developing an aggressive destination tourism economic development strategy based on our outstanding winter and summer recreation assets. The strategy is central to our economic wellbeing as a community. Our primary markets are foreign visitors and the metro areas of Boise, Portland, and Seattle with a projected annual visitation rate of 250,000 to 300,000 people within 4 to 7 years. Passenger rail service is a fundamental issue in the implementation of the strategy. We currently have no effective public transportation options for visitors originating from the commercial airports in Boise or Portland. This is a particular issue during the winter months when our Interstate passes often represent significant hurdles. If rail passenger service were available it would be one of the cornerstones of our annual marketing efforts, lending support to the Amtrak service.
We appreciate your consideration of what it would mean to our collective communities if the Pioneer route passenger rail service was restored. Please include the Baker City Planning Department in communications regarding Amtrak’s feasibility study. If we can provide further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Donald Chance, Ph.D. Baker City, Oregon Planning Director |
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