ail trail lease for Needham, area communities - Needham, Massachusetts - Needha 9/4/12

MBTA green lights rail trail lease for Needham, area communities
By Wei-Huan Chen and Chloe Gotsis Wicked Local Needham Posted Jul 1 8, 201 2 @ 08:1 3 AM Last update Jul 1 8, 201 2 @ 03:48 PM

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Needham A proposal to transform an old railway corridor in Needham, Dov er, Medfield and Newton into a greenway is one step closer to reality . The MBTAs Board of Directors authorized a 99-y ear lease last week, allowing towns to create a new rail trail from portions of the abandoned railroad right-of-way , which stretches through the four towns, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. Each municipality will hav e to approv e a lease with the MBTA independently . The new leases equal 9.1 miles of new trail dev elopment, which will be known as the Bay Colony Rail Trail, Pesaturo said. The path is not continuous. Needhams portion of the rail will be 2 miles, while Medfield has 1 .5 miles, Dov er has 3.5 miles and Newton has up to 2 miles. Needhams stretch runs from the Needham Junction Commuter Rail stop on Chestnut Street to the Charles Riv er bordering Dov er. Activ ists and town officials are cheering the mov e by the MBTA as an energizing milestone for the project. This was the biggest obstacle, said Jerry Reilly , one of the projects coordinators. We could hav e a bike path nex t summer and Im definitely going to push as hard as I can to make that happen. The lease comes at no cost to the communities, Pesaturo said in an email. The agreement allows the MBTA to enter into licenses with utility and telecommunications companies that may want to use the land. The lease also includes the MBTAs standard rev ersal clause stating that the MBTA can take back the land at no cost if it needs it for other transportation uses. The four municipalities are responsible for all maintenance and liability of the land.

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Needham ex pects to continue working with officials from the other towns as well as members of the nonprofit Bay Colony Rail T rail, which aims to promote the trail by coordinating with towns and raising funds. Were looking for sources of funding that are appropriate. Its in our list of goals to pursue this, said Selectmen Moe Handel. Another piece of the puzzle, he said, would be collaborating with the Community Preserv ation Committee. Resident Tad Staley cofounded the Bay Colony Rail Trail group with Medfield resident Christian Donner in hopes of promoting biking and creating a space for bikers thats away from traffic. The point of my organization is, for the sake of the env ironment, health, congestion and the community , to get people out of their cars more, he said. We want to promote fun and natural places to walk and bike. Staley worked with v olunteers from each town and created the website bay colony railtrail.org as well as producing interactiv e maps, v ideos and weekly updates for the community . In March 201 2, the Board of Selectm en wrote a letter to the MBTA ex pressing its interest in a rail trail lease. Members of the rail trail nonprofit continued to gather information regarding the project in the following months. The group recently receiv ed a $1 0,000 grant from Needham Bank. Staley attended an MBTA board meeting along with Selectmen and Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick last Wednesday to confirm the MBTAs approv al of the lease. Now, the rail trail groups focus is on securing funds for a feasibility study that estimates the cost and scope of the project. The MBTAs approv al of the lease was only one small step of the process, said Staley , who also founded the nonprofit Needham Bikes. Probably all three towns will hav e a v ote, he said. Lets say Needham approv es it and Dov er doesnt. We will continue to make the case in Dov er. Especially if Dov er can see the rail trail in Needham and its benefits. Donner said the v ote was more of a formality . At least in theory one less obstacle is in the way , Donner said. But it will still take the towns a y ear to may be two to get to the point where it becomes a reality . In Medfield this will be a matter of another town v ote in 201 3.
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ail trail lease for Needham, area communities - Needham, Massachusetts - Needha 9/4/12
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