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&9)SF <br />Indian River County <br />Chamber of Commerce <br />December 21, 2015 <br />Mr. Michael Johnsen <br />Federal Railroad Administration <br />1200 New Jersey Avenue <br />SE Room W38-311 <br />Washington, DC 20590 <br />Dear Mr. Johnsen: <br />The Indian River County Chamber of Commerce represents about 900 individual <br />businesses in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Wabasso, Winter Beach, Gifford and the <br />unincorporated areas of Indian River County. <br />As 2015 draws to a close, I am writing on behalf of our Chamber to let you know that we <br />continue to oppose the All Aboard Florida, now being called "Brightline", project. <br />We believe the proposed additional railroad tracks along with All Aboard Florida's high <br />speed passenger trains will have many negative impacts on our community. The <br />proposed All Aboard Florida passenger rail service will travel at 110 mph through the <br />heart of our community 32 times a day. <br />In addition to the current 8-10 freight trains each day, the 2014 DEIS reflects that by <br />2019 Florida East Coast Railway anticipates another 22 freight trains daily. And, those <br />same new tracks will also allow that additional freight train traffic to travel at speeds of <br />70 mph through our community. A total passenger and freight number of over 60 trains <br />a day will travel at speeds between 70-110 mph not through the countryside but through <br />populated'downtowns, government, residential and business areas. We stand firm in <br />our concerns for our public safety, our environment, and the well-being of the many <br />historic and cultural structures which are located along the tracks <br />As we monitor how the All Aboard Florida project appears to be moving along, we have <br />these concerns and comments for you and your team: <br />• Archeological sites- In addition to the historic and cultural structures along the <br />existing tracks is the Old Vero Ice Age Site. The site was first discovered in 1913 <br />and most recently was under archeological study by Mercyhurst University and <br />now by Florida Atlantic University. From the Old Vero Ice Age site, ancient <br />artifacts 12,000 to 14,000 years old have been discovered. This is an active, <br />internationally significant archeological site. The railroad is within 50 yards of the <br />excavation site. The Old Vero Ice Age Site extends to the west, east, along and <br />CHAMBER OF COMMERCE <br />1216 21st Street - P.O. Box 2947 • Vero Beach, FL 32961 - Tel 772.567.3491 - Fax 772.778 3181 <br />www.indianriverchamber.com • e-mail: info@indianHverchamber.com 5 <br />