Since Brightline first announced plans to run a train through the Treasure Coast, the company has caused nothing but problems.  And each time Brightline creates a problem, it asks taxpayers for a bailout.

This latest issue is no exception: as long as their profits aren’t disrupted, Brightline has no problem sending dozens of high-speed trains through our community each day and disrupting boating traffic at the St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge.  In a 15-page comment to the U.S. Coast Guard, Brightline asked for NO set schedule for the bridge operations and claimed that the company’s ‘mitigation measures’ would be enough for boaters.

Spoiler alert: it’s not enough.

The ‘mitigation measures’ are actions that Brightline should already be taking, and no schedule would mean boats could still be stuck on either side of the bridge for unknown lengths of time.

The bottom line is that Brightline is not interested in what is best for our community—only in what they can get from our community.  I’m going to keep up the fight to make sure Brightline does not destroy the Treasure Coast way of life.