LTTE: Why I’m voting no on the rail trail plan

To the editor:My husband and I have lived at 86 Perry Ave. for over forty years. I was never considered a direct abutter to the original rail trail when World Tech was involved.

However, this new rail trail design is like comparing apples and oranges, as this new project is not what the town voted on years ago. In fact, I am now a direct abutter. In fact, the entrance to the rail trail has been moved to Ford Avenue and will run the entire length of my house, stripping my family and me of all our privacy.



The first time I heard of this new plan was when surveyors were surveying the street last summer. I was told by the surveyors that they were surveying for the rail trail. I immediately went to see Bob Curtain, who said to calm down, as nothing was final and they were just surveying the land.

Never once until March were we ever notified of this drastic change in the design plan.In 2011, we installed a very costly French drain system because of the extreme flooding on Ford and Perry Avenue. For a few years, we never had a drop of water in our basement.

Then many things occurred. The town rebuilt the middle school football field, and we were never notified that the town would be cutting down many, many trees that were directly behind my house. One afternoon, I came home to a driveway full of branches and leaves.

It looked like a bomb went off directly behind my house. I called Arthur Bourque, who was in charge of the project. After meeting me in my driveway, his exact words to me were, “I’m sorry, Debbie, it didn’t look this bad on paper.

” He, too, was shocked at what had occurred and promised me they would build a berm and place trees around it.Trees were planted, but they could never replace the large oaks, maples, and other trees that were cut, as these large trees drank between 80-100 gallons of water a day. The next thing that happened was that the MBTA cut down many trees and shrubs while clearing the railroad tracks.

Then the town reconstructed Beaver Brook. This should have helped our neighborhood, but for some reason, it made the flooding ten times worse.Now, the rail trail will be taking down even more trees, which will worsen our flooding issues.

How much flooding can one neighborhood take? We have spent thousands of dollars on a very elaborate French drain system and a dry well, and have installed a catch basin in our driveway; we also have two sump pumps that pump 24/7. The entire street pumps either out behind their property or out into the street. We are not alone in this flooding problem.

In January, we were ordered to stop pumping out into the land behind our house, as it was town property. When we bought the house, the original owner left the pipes that pumped out in the back. This has been going on since the house was built in 1952.

My neighbors and I on Perry Avenue and Ford Avenue have had up to two feet of water in our basements. It’s not a new issue, and now the cutting of more trees will exacerbate the flooding. Also, behind our house are hundreds of skunk cabbages, and wetlands with riverfronts.

However, the conservation committee has deemed this a “Limited Project,” and is turning its head on all of the wetland issues that exist right outside our doors.Another issue Perry and Ford Avenue neighbors have been dealing with is a large number of Cancer cases. There have been over twenty neighbors on our short, dead-end street stricken with cancer, both past and present.

Is it in the drinking water, or is it contamination from the RR bed? Nobody has ever checked to see what is causing this.What I am aware of is that this town is pushing full steam ahead to build a trail connecting the middle and high school. Although many of us have been told the School Committee does not want public access through the Middle School, or any public parking at the school.

Well, the people on Perry Avenue, Ford Avenue, and Nicholas Avenue do not want the public parking in front of their homes on their small dead-end streets, where our children have come to play for years.Lastly, the town wants to take abutters’ property by eminent domain (Article 6), wherever they see fit along the rail trail. If we allow the town to take our land by eminent domain, we will be setting a precedent, and they may want to take your land next.

And remember, what looks good on paper doesn’t show people’s bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom windows; they are only feet from the trail. It doesn’t show people’s backyards next to the trail , especially since fencing is no longer covered with this new design. During COVID, I had people cutting through the paper street to get to the tracks, and one person brought a dog, who jumped right up onto our chicken coop.

Will I be forced to worry about this every day going forward?Please vote no, and tell our town to fix our roads, sidewalks, and not add a new project, when we can’t even fix what’s broken now.I say more time is needed before we can vote on this new and very different project.Sincerely yours,Debbie LaConteLynnfieldThe post LTTE: Why I’m voting no on the rail trail plan appeared first on Itemlive.

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