Town Meeting Turns Down Rail Trail Collaborator, Traffic Study

DEDHAM, MA — Efforts to bring in a collaborator and conduct a traffic study related to the use of the land targeted for the proposed Dedham Rail Train was shot down Monday night.

Town Meeting members rejected Article 19 by a vote of 105 for the article and 146 again. If it passed, a collaborator would have been hired by the selectmen to develop and work with key stakeholders, including abutters, to identify the interests, concerns, and goals for the trail. A traffic circulation study around the Avery School, Dedham Middle School, and Dedham High School would have been authorized and possibly a rail trail study committee would have been formed if recommended by the collaborator and accepted by the selectmen.

The original article called for an appropriation of $400,000, but that was lowered to $135,000.

Selectman Dennis Teehan said the study would have looked at all options for the 10 acres of town-owned land and not just for a rail trail.

"There are people who support this, we wanted it mentioned in the article, but we also wanted to put the phrase land-use study because we’re going to look at all possibilities," he said.

Supporters of the article said that the article didn't have any bearing on whether a rail trail would be built in the future and only brings stakeholders to the table.

"Let us create a conversation that isn’t dominated by social media with its total lack of rules, lack of standards regarding the truth, and lack of acceptable behavior," Margaret Matthews, town meeting member and member of the Friends of the Dedham Heritage Rail Trail, said.

Opponents, however, felt that the article was a way to sneak in a rail trail. Town Meeting member Susan Butler said she supported a traffic study for the schools but accused the bundling of it with the collaborator as part of an effort to obtain a $50,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. She also wanted the study to take into consideration the construction going on around town, including Dedham Square and in Readville, which is 500 yards away from the end of the trail.

"The traffic study of this school campus area stands on its owned merit. It should be not rushed to obtain money for real use or the rail trail," Butler said. "We ask for Town Meeting to come back in the fall to ask for a separate traffic study... If not, this traffic study will be obsolete before we even need it."

Proposals for the rail trail call for a 1.25-mile trail from Dedham Square to about 500 yards away from the Boston city line.

Image via Town of Dedham