Proposal for use of railroad threatens goal to turn corridor into trail

Advanced Drainage Systems has applied for a special use permit to manufacture plastic pipe and product at the Certified Grocer site located at 6026 SE 83rd St. and utilize the Florida Northern Railroad that runs through downtown Ocala [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Two futures for the railroad that runs through Ocala stand before it—one that would increase disruptive train traffic on the worn-out railway, and the other that would pave a way for the railroad to be turned into a community trail.

Community revitalization advocates have long dreamed of turning the Florida Northern Railroad that runs through downtown Ocala into a multiuse trail that could not only connect the community with each other, but with nature. Now, a manufacturer is applying to use the railway to transport plastic parts and run trains with over seven times as many cars through neighborhoods in the heart of Ocala.

On Sept. 16, the Marion County Commission will vote on whether to approve an application from Advanced Drainage Systems to manufacture plastic pipe and product at the Certified Grocer site located at 6026 SE 83rd St. This manufacturer would utilize the railroad, which runs through downtown Ocala, through residential southeast Ocala neighborhoods, behind Forest High School, residential neighborhoods in Silver Springs Shores and ends at Lake Weir High School.

The train currently runs four to five cars, but ADS anticipates that it could run up to 48 rail cars, based on current market forecast and rail availability. Increased rail traffic could lead to additional noise and traffic disruptions.

For the past several years, several local and state stakeholders in community revitalization and transportation have drafted plans to turn this same railway into a nearly 14-mile-long multiuse trail that would connect Ocala to the Heart of Florida Trail Corridor that spans through much of central Florida.

Jon Barber, a real estate broker who is the driving force behind the rail-to-trail proposal, has brought up the plan with city, county and state officials to suggest purchasing the railway from CSX Transportation to make the idea a reality.

“Trails in communities across Florida, across the country, across the world, give people an opportunity to travel to places without cars,” Barber said. “Imagine a linear park with a trail connecting Tuscawilla Park to downtown Ocala, past the S-Curve to Brick City Park then on to Forest High School, the Rotary Sports Complex, the Cross Florida Greenway, Baseline Trailhead and Lake Weir High School. That’s a transformational change for our community that cannot happen for the foreseeable future if the county commission approves that application.”

Ted Schatt, an attorney and board member of Ocala Main Street, coordinated with Barber to begin scheduling conversations with city and county officials in May until the competing proposal halted their progress.

“We’re not a huge fan of this train running through downtown now, when it runs through with four to six cars,” Schatt said. “If they’re talking about it being a 30-car train, it’s going to stretch from one end of downtown to the other end of downtown when it’s going through, and that’s going to be bad for the redevelopment efforts that we’re doing.”

ADS officials said using the 450,000-square-foot Certified Grocer facility for manufacturing plastic polypropylene, polyethylene pipe and products could create up to 300 new jobs. The site is currently zoned as Heavy Business, and the special-use permit application must be approved to change the zoning to Heavy Industrial for the project to move forward.

In addition to ADS using the facility for manufacturing, it would also need to construct 36 silos, each 60 feet tall for storage, “which will be served by expansions made to the existing rail spurs,” according to the application.

Advanced Drainage Systems has applied for a special use permit to manufacture plastic pipe and product at the Certified Grocer site located at 6026 SE 83rd St. and utilize the Florida Northern Railroad that runs through downtown Ocala [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

“The maximum capacity potential for the railcars using that section of railway has been considered but is not expected to be reached for at least three years. At full capacity, the railroad crossings would stop traffic for an additional 1.5 minutes,” wrote county spokesperson Stacey Causey. “This application is for the revitalization of the pre-existing facility, which was built in 1972 and is coming back online.”

Trains that run the line, which was built in the 1800s, must travel at slow speeds to avoid derailment. At least two train derailments have occurred in the past decade.

To remedy this, the rail-to-trail proposal suggests that the line be broken down into three trails. Osceola Trail would stretch 2 miles from Tuscawilla Park, through downtown, past Osceola Middle School until Brick City Park. The Wildcat Trail would stretch about 5.5 miles from Brick City Park, past Big Sun Soccer, and east of Forest High School and the Rotary Sportsplex. The Hurricane Trail would stretch 6.2 miles from Silver Springs Shores, past the Leeward Air Ranch and end at Lake Weir High School.

Advanced Drainage Systems has applied for a special use permit to manufacture plastic pipe and product at the Certified Grocer site located at 6026 SE 83rd St. and utilize the Florida Northern Railroad that runs through downtown Ocala [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

“Rails-to-trails are documented to create jobs and locally owned businesses. This economic development results in the creation of local wealth benefiting the community,” according to the proposal.

Additionally, rails-to-rails are documented to increase the value of surrounding residential and commercial property and provide health benefits for users.

Given that the line runs adjacent to many residential areas, residents in the Laurel Run community have expressed opposition to the ADS application out of concern over the potential for increased train traffic. The rail crosses at the nearby 18^th Avenue, just east of Brick City Park.

Janet Behnke, attorney and Laurel Run resident, wrote to the county commission in opposition to the ADS application.

“I remember riding horses down this track as a girl in the early 1960s, from Tom Smith’s stables, located where Woodland Villages now stands, adjacent to where Laurel Run now stands, to Candler,” Behnke wrote. “A similar use today, as a multipurpose trail, would be a much better use than increased rail traffic.”

Advanced Drainage Systems has applied for a special use permit to manufacture plastic pipe and product at the Certified Grocer site located at 6026 SE 83rd St. and utilize the Florida Northern Railroad that runs through downtown Ocala [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Other crossings of concern include Southeast 17^th Street, Southeast 31^st Street, Southeast 36^th Avenue and Baseline Road.

Commissioner Craig Curry said he has received calls from the public in opposition to the application. Curry lives in an area where the train passes behind his home, but said he doesn’t plan to recuse himself from the vote unless the county attorney advises him to do so.

Parcel owners near the Certified Grocer site were given public notice about the ADS application through the mail and by published legal ads. Lauren Run residents were made aware of the potential for increased rail traffic through a message from the neighborhood’s Homeowners Association.

If the city of Ocala, Marion County or grassroots partners wish to purchase the rail line from CSX to create a multiuse trail, there is an opportunity for state funding to be offered for the project, said Mickey Thomason, former manager of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway. Now retired, Thomason has over 30 years of experience with the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails and the Florida Park Service.

“The state does get funding through the Office of Greenways and Trails, depending on how much money is funded each year by the Legislature and the governor into Florida Forever, then they get a chunk of money to pursue the acquisition of these rail corridors. They’ve been successful in buying them in a lot of places around the state,” Thomason said.

The rail-to-trail proposal for Ocala mirrors the Nature Coast State Trail in Gainesville, a 30-mile trail that was created after the state acquired a portion of the rail corridor.

Thomason said that before he retired, CSX expressed interest to Trust for Public Lands, a nonprofit that creates park spaces, in selling the portion of railroad in Ocala.

“I know it’s been on the state’s list for a long time of something they were interested in, as far as part of the regional and statewide Greenways and Trails Network,” Thomason said.

If the commission approves the ADS application for use of the site and railroad, then the chance to create a trail through the heart of the community will be taken off the table.

“Ocala and Marion County should not let that opportunity slip away,” Barber said.

[Florida Northern Railroad]