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You've surely heard the story of the two hikers who came upon some strange tracks in a clearing: as they stood on the tracks, arguing about what sort of animal might have left them, a train ran over them.

 

The villain in that story, of course, is neither the train nor the tracks but rather the ignorance that prevented those hikers from grasping the implications of their discovery.

 

Today, Florida has come upon a clearing of sorts, and how we conduct ourselves matters more than we can imagine. I only hope we avoid the mistake of arguing our way to misery - or worse. While the story of the hikers is fictional, our state's challenges are very real.

 

I believe that the future of America, like much of its past, will be shaped by rail. At its inception, many of our nation's early population and commerce centers were situated on or near waterways, either in coastal regions or on major rivers. Later, throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, passengers and freight were primarily moved by trains, and demographic shifts reflected this dynamic. My city, Lakeland, is one of many that owes its origins and vitality to rail.

 

With the advent of the interstate highway system, however, the last half of the 20th century came to be dominated by concrete and asphalt. It is now virtually impossible to find a large, thriving community that is not served by at least one interstate highway - and the larger metro areas tend to have more than one such access point.

 

Now, as energy shortages, environmental worries, unmitigated congestion and safety issues have undermined the infinite hopes we once had for highways, the power of rail is once again stepping to the forefront.

 

Centuries ago, a community without water access was doomed to obscurity. Decades ago, a community without an interstate exit was destined to shrink. Soon, the health of a region will be judged once again by its rail. The capacity to move people and goods quickly, safely and economically remains vital.

 

What Europe has done for decades, the United States is now preparing to do: invest in high-speed rail. The Federal Railroad Administration will be allocating billions of dollars in the coming years to the development of cutting-edge technology and game-changing infrastructure. This stimulus funding, also known as the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program, could result in high-speed-rail service linking Tampa and Orlando, and setting the stage for a subsequent link to Miami as early as 2017.

 

Massive investments will go somewhere, and future investments from both the public and private sectors will follow. Thus, the somewhere matters immensely. We have seen earlier cycles of financial prosperity follow waterways, then railroad tracks and later highways. The next cycle will favor high technology, including the dynamic innovations associated with high-speed rail. The coming federal investment in high-speed rail will transform the regions in which it is made.

 

Most observers anticipate that California will be the initial beneficiary of federal investments in rail. The same state that led the nation into the information economy is nicely situated to lead the rail revolution. The most populous state, despite its current financial woes, has established a dedicated funding source to address operating costs of a new high-speed-rail system, and the state's congressional delegation is unified and mobilized to grab whatever federal funding may become available.

 

Florida, to its credit, has secured the right-of-way necessary to lay down the requisite tracks and facilities. This land has been valued in excess of a half a billion dollars and is obviously a significant asset as we make our case to federal officials. However, Florida has no source of operating funds. Even if our federal delegation could be mobilized on the rail issue, the state is challenged to compete with California and several other states who have made aggressive cases for federal funding.

 

Thus, we find ourselves in a metaphorical clearing. Will we argue with one another here in the Sunshine State, while history passes us by (or runs us over)?

 

Or will we grasp the significance of this moment?

 

A special session of the state legislature could address our competitive deficit, just in time to make our case for federal investment more compelling.

If Florida secures high-speed-rail funding, we will become a magnet for smart growth, innovation and jobs. The state and its people deserve no less.

 

[Dr. Marshall Goodman is the CEO of the University of South Florida Polytechnic in Lakeland. USF Polytechnic is building a high-tech campus on Interstate 4, along Florida's designated high-speed-rail corridor. For more on Florida's high-speed-rail application, visit www.floridahighspeedrail.org.]