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At this year’s Town Meeting (starting April 4, 2007), residents will be asked to approve an additional $145,000 of CPA funds for the rail trail (Articles #22, 23 and 24). This is yet another “installment” of many, as Sudbury actively pursues the conversion of the abandoned ROW to a bikeway according to MassHighway requirements. At this time, SCRLS believes there are too many “ifs” to warrant additional coveted CPA funds to be spent on this non-essential amenity.
Residents may be interested to learn, that in a recent survey conducted by the Rail Trail Conversion Advisory Committee, only 33% of 105 respondents were interested in a multi-use path. Furthermore, the survey, which solicited input from both abutter and non-abutters of the rail bed, found that only 22% preferred the multi-use trail to be paved. This should be of no surprise, as the 2001 Town Master Plan found that 88% of respondents thought
“Sudbury should strive to ensure the protection of critical natural resources and wildlife habitat in all land use decisions and policies”.
In addition, Town officials delegated many issues surrounding a rail trail to the Rail Trail Conversion Advisory Committee (RTCAC) for resolution. From the outset, there were a number of problems that were evident with this process.
· Many members of the RTCAC have strong ties to bicycle lobbyist and special interest groups, whose vision of a bike trail may be quite different than the needs of our community.
· The RTCAC’s charter is to make the rail trail occur - not to evaluate the need.
· The Sudbury Master Plan is not specific to a particular bike trail design or standard, and accordingly, is open to interpretation. At this time, only the RTCAC is providing interpretation and design input. The community must have a larger stake in this process.
· The Selectmen presented numerous issues associated with building, maintaining and living with a rail trail, yet none of these issues were publicly considered, addressed or debated prior to the vote. Not surprisingly, it is now recognized that many of these issues are well beyond the scope of the feasibility study.
· Alternative, and possibly less expensive, bicycle and pedestrian projects, also supported by the Sudbury Master Plan, were not considered or presented to the community.
In examining many of the issues surrounding the construction of a rail trail, it is evident that the need for responsible land management is greater than simply preventing the misuse of a great natural resource. It also calls for sound use of our tax dollars. In addition to providing information on the rail trail conversion, SCRLS will explore alternative ways to use Sudbury’s resources to the benefit of the community as a whole, and not cater to special interest groups. The organization is committed to providing accurate and truthful representation of all the issues, and presenting a strong voice to the town government.
The first goal of SCRLS is to demonstrate the rail trail conversion project is not in Sudbury’s best interest. The SCRLS believes the trail will
· negatively affect our environment, conservation land and wildlife habitat
· be expensive to build, maintain and monitor
· create safety and security concerns that do not exist today (and can only be partially alleviated with additional spending).
· change the quality of life in Sudbury by altering the character of our historic roads and recreation areas
· further exacerbate our parking and traffic problems
· Expand to the CSX line south of Route 20 and to the East-West rail beds.
We welcome anyone to join our organization or just get the facts about the rail trail. We need a concerted, organized effort to provide alternatives to this project. We want to avoid spending huge sums of money that benefit very few, and to use the limited financial resources for higher priority programs, such as improving schools, caring for the elderly, maintaining our existing infrastructure, and taking better care of our land. If not, we will have the equivalent of a very ugly and expensive “paved highway” running through our woods.
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SCRLS |
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Secrets, Myths and Misconceptions on the proposed rail trail (PDF)
Support Article #35 at Town Meeting
SCRLS statement to the Sudbury Finance Committee
SCRLS statement to the Community Preservation Committee
Sudbury has completed the draft feasibility study.
Feasibility Study: Sudbury (6 MB)
The Town of Weston did not support the rail trail in their community. For details, please refer to the Weston Rail Trail Task Force report and recommendations
Weston Rail Trail Task Force report
Safety and security issues, as well as associated costs, should be a concern for all residents. SCRLS is hopeful our questions sent to the Sudbury Police and Fire Departments will be addressed in the $25,000 feasibility study
Questions to:
If you agree the Town should stop further development of the rail trail due to its overall impact to the community, please download and submit our “Petition to the Town of Sudbury”
Petition to the Town of Sudbury
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Proposed Rail Trail |