Rail yard plan would ruin a neighborhood

I am writing this letter to make readers aware of a proposal that will forever negatively impact the Prairie Park Fishery and neighborhood.

Cargill Inc. has a proposal for a rail yard to be placed in an cornfield on Otis Road SE. Since November 2018, Cargill has provided the same canned statement to local media and in meetings with a handful of residents. This rail yard is going to be directly east of the Prairie Park Fishery and nature area.

Thousands of people use this area for fishing, hiking, trail walking, bicycling, and various sponsored runs and bicycle rides. When this project is complete, Cargill has maintained they will construct 20-foot berm that will mitigate all of the noise and diesel exhaust particulate matter drifting from this site everyday, as this is a seven-day-a-week, 20-hour a day operation.

I am in no way saying I do not want to see Cargill continue to succeed in the area and keep our community growing, but this location is not the place to put this rail yard. Since this location is an established neighborhood, there are houses as close as 10 feet of this site and a city park just one block away.

There is a public meeting scheduled for Monday (July 15) at 4:30 p.m. at the Indian Creek Nature Center Auditorium. Your attendance will be appreciated.

Dennis and Debbie Hogan

Cedar Rapids