Selectmen approve bikepath lease agreement with MBTA
Published on January 8th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - A fifteen year grassroots campaign to create a recreational bikepath in Stoneham took a huge step forward this week after town officials endorsed a 99 year lease agreement with the MBTA. The Stoneham Board of Selectmen voted by a 3-2 margin to approve the agreement that allows the town to lease the former Boston and Maine railroad bed and transform it into a 1.4 mile multi-use bike trail.
“There is clearly a calculated risk to going forward with this plan, but I think that, in the final analysis, the benefits far outweighs the risk,” said Selectmen Chairman Anthony Kennedy, who cast the deciding vote in the decision. “I purposely asked a lot of questions tonight, so I could uncover all the risks.”
Selectmen Bob Sweeney and Cosmo Ciccarello both voted against endorsing the contract agreement, and consistently voiced their concerns about a 900 foot parcel of the railway that runs parallel to Maple Street. Ciccarello continually wondered about the level of contamination at the site, and also possible future litigation involving an abutter, or encroacher according to some (identified several times as Dale Halchak) who had made use of the MBTA land.
“I wish that 20 years ago we had never agreed to take the right-of-way for the railroad off the MBTA’s hands,” said Ciccarello.
At the heart of the matter was a stipulation in the lease agreement that prevented town officials from ever testing the 900 foot parcel for contamination.
The Selectmen would, in essence, be leaping into bed with the MBTA without knowing whether they were wearing radioactive pajamas or a plain old polyester night-gown, and they wouldn’t know even after the bikepath was completed.
“I don’t want this to turn into another Central School,” said Ciccarello of the current school site and former railroad site that needed a lengthy and expensive clean-up effort. “First we get a test that says the land is okay, and then Cheryl Walsh comes back with land samples that are full of contamination. Then the next thing you know it’s a $1.2 million price tag to clean up the area.”
Ciccarello’s argument was heeded, but a more compelling argument was put forth by many of the bikepath proponents. Many supporters expressed dismay that the “contaminants” worrying Ciccarello are currently resting in the open ground, and provide a toxic area for children, pets and adults in the area.
The lease agreement also seemed clear to both Town Counsel William Solomon and environmental attorney Don Cooper concerning the contaminated land. The town would never be obligated to test the land, and the fill and pave bikepath procedure would solve the town’s contamination worries.
“The bikepath plan is an effective plan for the contamination because it involves burying the contaminated land underneath fill and then paving it over to seal it,” said Bain. “Right now, I would be worried about the young kids playing in the rear of Cottage Street, and all the people that walk their dogs down there.”
“These bikepaths are spreading like wildfire across the country because they’re an effective and safe way to replace the railroads,” said Bain.
The discussion of the bikepath has taken a meandering path since it was approved at Special Town Meeting in 1992, as town officials have battled back and forth about contamination and the rights of abutting business and property owners.
Joe Cunningham, a business owner along the Pomeworth Street section of the path, voiced his support for the bikepath, but then alleged rampant chemical contamination along the embankments bordering the infamous 900 foot Maple Street parcel. According to Cunningham, storage tanks removed nearly twenty years prior have left a tradition of pollution and chemical fallout.
“Shouldn’t we be talking about the storage tanks and the chemical contamination that flows down those embankment? There are records out there of the contamination that people can track down,” said Cunningham. “You can’t just cap an embankment.”
Bain then alleged that he had requested a grant from the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) to take ground samples from the area surrounding “Parcel 900” that Cunningham had mentioned, but that DEP officials rejected the grant and, according to Bain, stated they were satisfied the area was clean of contamination.
The argument continued to heat up as Ciccarello and Charlie Smith engaged in some verbal sparring over the bikepath. Smith alluded to a statement Ciccarello made “that he would never be in support of the bikepath because his son had been hit by a car while riding his bike.”
“So Cosmo, was your son riding on the street or a bikepath? asked Smith.
“The street...” replied Ciccarello who alluded to safety issues with crossing Main Street and Montvale as part of the route. “I spent two months with my son in the hospital in traction after that accident, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep another parent from going through that.”
Sweeney didn’t like the demanding and one-sided tone of the contract with the MBTA, and saw the town’s approval as a “desperate attempt to do business.”
Many of the arguments had been heard in prior hearing, and Stoneham resident Ken Pruitt finally seemed to force the issue to a vote.
“I don’t think I have to be clairvoyant to understand that not every Selectman is going to support this bikepath,” said Pruitt. “After 15 years of of discussion and overwhelming public approval, I would implore you, as a taxpayer and voter in this town, to move this to a final vote.”
The Selectmen took a five minute recess to collect themselves, and then proceeded to vote with Smith, Mary Pecoraro and Anthony Kennedy all voting in favor of signing the lease to join Woburn and Winchester for the Tri-Community bikeway.
“I’d like to give a lot of thanks to Town Counsel and Town Administrator Dave Berry for putting a task force together to get this project moving in the right direction,” said Bain. “It had languished for a little while, and Mary and Charlie were generous with their energy and support.”
The proposed Tri-Community bikeway is a 6.6 mile bicycle/pedestrian/jogging path that is slated to travel through Stoneham, Winchester and Woburn. The 50 foot right-of-way would run down the tracks on Maple Street and would across Montvale Ave., Cottage Street, Lindenwood Road, William Street and behind Stop & Shop before running through Main Street, Stoneham Middle School, Central School and then ending at Rec Park. According to Bain, there has been a great deal of talk from the MDC about linking the bikepath with the Minuteman bikeway that runs from Cambridge to Bedford.
“This was an important step after a 10 or 15 year wait, but let’s take our time and do this right,” said Smith, who added that the task force will be meeting with officials from Woburn and Winchester next week. Town Administrator Dave Berry also planned on notifying the MBTA of their agreement to the lease terms.
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