Editorial: Competing agendas
Sudbury Town Crier, Thursday, July 21, 2005

There’s been a lot of posturing and pounding on chests in Sudbury lately.

    Most of it is regarding the possible creation of a rail trail on the former Penn Central right-of-way, a project that is a good two years away from being voted on at Town Meeting. Two weeks ago The Town Crier ran an article about the creation of a group committed to fighting this trail.

     The Sudbury Citizens for Responsible Land Stewardship (SCRLS) is aiming to promote thoughtful land use planning and land preservation, and says that the construction of a paved trail on the railroad bed will damage wetland habitat vital to some endangered species of turtles.

     After the article ran I received an e-mail from Dick Williamson suggesting that we do an article on the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (FBFRT) to “balance some of the negative tone of rail trail information in the paper.” The FBFRT is a regional group of advocates that is trying build a large regional system of bike trails.

     Mr. Williamson, is also the co-chair of the Rail Trail Conversion Advisory Committee. You may begin to see the problem.

   The SCRLS was started by mostly abutters who, understandably, don’t want to see increased foot traffic behind their homes. They were joined by individuals who don’t want to see the large paved bike trail that is one of the options currently being tossed around. This made them concerned about members of the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail sitting on an advisory committee and see it as simply as a vehicle for the FBFRT to drive through their agenda.

     The Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail has been a little more patient and less vocal recently than the SCRLS, but they have gotten the discussion moving and can take a back seat for now. It’s still early in the process and but there are already special interest groups revving up their public relations departments ready to spread their information. Both groups are already claiming that their way is the only way, and the advisory committee is caught in the middle. It’s the whole reason the advisory committee was created, to have open dialogue and find out what was best for the town.  

The members of the advisory committee were appointed by the Board of Selectmen to represent the whole of the town. There are abutters serving on the committee, and residents from parts of town that would not be directly impacted by the traffic on the possible trail. There are those who feel strongly against a bike trail and members of the FBFRT, just as it should be.

     The members of FBFRT serving on the advisory committee are members of the community that wanted to see something done with the abandoned railroad bed. The group was influential in generating the discussion for the possible trail, and they are currently working with other communities to build a regional system. SCRLS would likely be represented if they had been around when the advisory committee members were chosen. But no matter how much they want their bike trail, or don’t want it, they need to remember that they are residents of Sudbury first and bikers second, and they were appointed to be impartial.

    Committee co-chair Pat Brown is determined not to let any group drive the agenda for the advisory committee, and committed to ensuring every option for the trail is reviewed before making a recommendation. That approach is part of the reason little has been done just yet. The town has never done anything like this before, so there isn’t exactly a blueprint on how to proceed.

     On Monday the advisory committee met with representatives of companies being considered to do the feasibility study for the trail. The committee is trying to find out just what might be left out of the study or what may need to be examined further. Another representative will meet with the committee during their August meeting offering still more suggestions with how to proceed.

     To date nothing has been approved or recommended. The committee hasn’t even decided whether it should be a walking trail or a wide multi-use trail. They are still gathering information and weighing options, but all around them special interest groups are toting their own agendas. The committee’s job will be long and hard enough without other groups making waves.