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Poll: Florida voters favored rail plans scuttled by governor
Voters in Florida’s critical swing Interstate 4 corridor favored the construction of a high-speed railway between Tampa and Orlando that was killed by Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott.
Early into his first year in office in 2011, Scott (R) turned down $2.4 billion for a high-speed rail line that had been one of the centerpieces of President Obama’s vision for a nationwide rail network.
Scott said at the time that the train would not generate
enough ridership to sustain its operations after it was built. But a new poll
from the Tampa Bay Times shows that
51 percent of voters in the corridor wish
he would have taken the money.
The Obama administration redirected the money it had earmarked for the Florida high-speed railway to 15 states, including California, which was the only state offered more money in the Obama administration’s initial rail grants.
