Selectman Simon stated in March that a greenway cannot be constructed in Sudbury because “The Sudbury Greenways funding proposal depended on Sudbury obtaining, free of charge, the steel rails from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation”, known as MassDOT. He went on to state “Sudbury cannot get the rails from MassDOT to give to Iron Horse. It’s a plain and simple fact.”
http://sudbury.patch.com/groups/leonard-simons-blog/p/the-great-greenway-hoax
So why was Iron Horse Preservation Society asked to remove the rails and ties for a proposed 1,700 foot extension to the existing trail?
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The town of Westford applied for a MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant in 2011, and the application is available online here:
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This project clearly relied upon Iron Horse taking the rails and ties from the 1,700-foot section. The Selectmen of Acton, Carlisle and Westford all supported it. The Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail supported it. State Representative James Arciero and State Senator Eileen Donoghue submitted a letter in support, which reads in part “Iron Horse Preservation Society, Inc. has committed to extend the BFRT an additional 1,700 feet to connect to a feasible parking location immediately adjacent to the rail trail. This is a creative, efficient, and collaborative idea that will result in an ADA/AAB compliant design and construction that incorporates MassDOT guidelines.”
Quite possibly MassDOT won’t just give the rails to Sudbury, but allowing Iron Horse to dispose of the rails to construct a greenway in Sudbury is a very different question. Surely we could get the support from our legislators that Westford received from Representative Arciero and Senator Donoghue. Why would MassDOT support giving Iron Horse access to the rails in Westford but not in Sudbury?
If we proceed with the 25% design, in two years we’ll have a document. If we proceed with the greenway, in two years we’ll have a trail. It’s a plain and simple fact.
