Opinion: Your Vote Is Essential To Advance The Rail Trail

A Letter to the Editor from Patrick Curley:

I am writing to encourage Lynnfield voters to vote YES for the Rail Trail at the April 9th Town Election.

Two years ago, I stood before the nearly 700 attendees at the April 2017 Town Meeting and led the PowerPoint presentation outlining the benefits of the Rail Trail. That night, a majority of voters passed Warrant Article 24 to authorize the Selectmen to sign a lease with the MBTA for the purpose of constructing and operating the Rail Trail.

Today, I ask for your vote again. The Selectmen put the Rail Trail on the April 9th Town election ballot to draw the participation of a larger share of Lynnfield’s voters than attended the 2017 Town Meeting. Your vote is essential to advance the Rail Trail to the final design phase.

It is a ballot vote – not a Town Meeting vote. Registered voters can vote at Lynnfield High School from 7 am to 8 pm on April 9th, or by requesting an absentee ballot from Town Hall before that date. Your vote can make the difference so please vote!

In recent weeks, opponents have portrayed the Rail Trail as a “divisive” issue. The media has jumped onboard with sensational headlines. Yet, where they claim division, I see friendly democracy and healthy debate. Rail Trail supporters love Lynnfield and love their neighbors.

Indeed, the Rail Trail project has brought together a tremendously diverse coalition of residents: young people, students, parents with babies, families with minor children, school sports teams, working adults, athletes, recreation enthusiasts, seniors, individuals living with mobility impairments, the medical community, bird watchers, nature lovers, and Scouts. They are unified in their vision of the Rail Trail soon becoming a reality. They want a safe, healthy recreation space that will serve all residents equally.

Many communities have had to pay millions of dollars to private rail road companies to buy former rail corridors for the purpose of constructing their rail trails. Not Lynnfield. The MBTA will lease the corridor to the town at no cost for 99 years.

Other communities have had to pay millions of dollars to construct their rail trails. Not Lynnfield. More than $10 million in state and federal funds are already allocated to pay 100% of the construction costs.

Lynnfield is not blazing a new trail with an untested concept. Rail Trails can be found in the most desirable communities in the Commonwealth. In town after town, Rail Trails are viewed as the public resource most treasured by residents.

With all the fear that opponents have tried to sow, you would think that communities across the state and the country would have had horrible experiences with their Rail Trails and shut them down long ago. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the decades, no communities have closed down their Rail Trails.

I welcome your vote and look forward to joining you on the Rail Trail.

Patrick G. Curley, Locksley Road