From Bay Colony Rail Trail Study Committee (nice article in Globe West Weekly today too)-
Dear Friends,
Medfield’s Board of Selectmen created the Bay Colony Rail Trail Study Committee last fall and asked it to develop a recommendation for the conversion of the Medfield section of the Bay Colony rail bed into a recreational trail by working with all relevant boards, committees and departments in Medfield, and coordinating activities with the efforts of Needham and Dover.
The selectmen appointed volunteers Al Brenton, George Hinkley, Erik Holm, Susan Lynch, Graham Plonski, and myself to the committee. We spent many hours on researching and documenting a recommended approach.
Even though it will take another year before a specific plan for building the trail can be put before each of the three towns, the cornerstones of a likely approach are taking shape and include the following assumptions:
- The right of way will be leased by each town from the MBTA.
- Environmental liability insurance policies will have to be acquired by each town as part of the (no cost) lease agreement.
- Design, construction, and implementation schedules will be tightly coordinated between the three towns to minimize cost and maximize the benefits.
- The trail will have a crushed-stone, stone dust, or a similar soft surface
- Existing horse trails that run in parallel or cross the trail will remain usable
- Privacy concerns of abutters will be mitigated by installing visual barriers if requested
- A portion of the trail can be funded by salvaging the iron of the rails. The Bay Colony Rail Trail Association, a local non-profit organization founded in the 2009 for this very purpose, will coordinate and execute fund-raising efforts to cover the remainder of the cost.
- The Bay Colony Rail Trail Association will coordinate maintenance through volunteer programs with town participation if necessary
A rail trail warrant article will be decided on by Medfield voters this year. We anticipate many questions and concerns that residents may have and decided to invite the public to an informational meeting and the presentation of our findings to date. This event will be held at the
Center at Medfield
One Ice House Road
Saturday, April 7th, at 10am
One Ice House Road
Saturday, April 7th, at 10am
We expect the meeting to last one to two hours depending on the number of questions from the floor. If you have any questions about the event or are unable to attend and would like to receive an electronic copy of our draft report, please email me at cd@baycolonyrailtrail.org or call me at 617-610-1527.
Best regards,Christian Donner
Please visit the FAQ section on the BCRT website for an overview of frequently asked questions and preliminary answers that reflect the current state of the research of study groups in all three towns.
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