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will move forward,” said Naomi Dreeben,
chairwoman of the Swampscott Board of
Selectmen. “Now it’s time to heal the rift in
our town.”
In addition to trail-related concerns
voiced by other communities facing similar
decisions, Swampscott residents must still
address controversy over land ownership
along the former rail corridor.
The Boston & Maine Railroad once
operated trains along the route. When the
company divested, the land was sold to the
Massachusetts Electric Co., now known as
National Grid. The electric company utility
poles were installed along the right-of-way
and remain in place to transmit kilowatts to
Marblehead.
Over the years, the steel rails and
wooden railroad ties were removed, and
some abutting residential property owners
began using pieces of the National Grid
land as their own. A few of those abutters
attempted, and in some cases may have
succeeded, in obtaining title to those plots.
“If certain residents encroached on land
owned by National Grid, that means they
have been using it and might not be paying
taxes on it,” said Swampscott Community
Development Director Peter Kane. “We’re
not looking to take anyone’s land. We
simply want an easement. We can’t go
forward with any grant application until we
have the acquisition rights in hand.”
Of the $850,000 approved by Town
Meeting, $610,000 will be used to acquire
the land-use rights. The remainder would
cover design and planning costs.
If a property title search indicates an
owner has encroached on the National
Grid land, it would be difficult to challenge
the town’s intent to obtain an easement.
However, if the property owner holds title to
an abutting piece of the utility corridor, the
town would be forced to take legal steps.
Kane acknowledged the ownership
borders are murky along a small section
of the rail corridor, adding, “This isn’t an
eminent domain taking. We just need to
clarify ownership through title searches.”
Kane’s office will now solicit bids for
design and engineering plans. The annual
debt service on $850,000 is approximately
$65,000, he said.
The proposed 10-foot-wide trail would
follow a route from the Swampscott train
station to the Clarke Elementary School,
Swampscott Middle School and Stanley
Elementary School until it connects to
Marblehead’s trail.
“The plan is for a stone dust surface,
which would be aesthetically in keeping
with Marblehead’s and much less costly
than an asphalt surface,” Kane said.
At slightly less than two miles in length,
trail construction would cost approximately
$400,000, but that estimate is not definitive
nor is it included in the funds approved by
Town Meeting, he said.
Kimberly Nassar, who headed the
opposition group, said in a statement
following the June 29 vote, “We will
now continue the legal steps needed to
demonstrate what we have stated all
along: that the abutters own much of the
land along the proposed rail trail and for
the town to acquire that land by eminent
domain will require millions of dollars in
taxpayer monies.”
As for other concerns unrelated to the
land titles, Kane said, “They’re pretty much
the same wherever somebody proposes
building a trail. It’s fear of the unknown,
fear of change. I read a newspaper story
that quoted a Danvers resident who was
very much opposed to the Danvers trail but
now uses it regularly and can’t say enough
good about it.”
LYNN
In Lynn, the plan for a bike and
pedestrian trail has been under discussion
for years. Bike to the Sea has been part
of those talks, which involve obtaining a
necessary right-of-way.
“You must sign an agreement with the
property owner that says you will take
care of the right-of-way. That just hasn’t
happened in Lynn,” said Attorney Stephen
Winslow of Malden, founder of Bike to
the Sea, an organization that over the past
two decades has actively supported bike
trail initiatives.
In some communities, that agreement
may mean accepting responsibility for
routinely clearing brush, maintaining
pathways and elevated walkways, and even
plowing snow in winter if the trail surface
is asphalt.
“If the trail becomes an integral part of
the community, where it provides a walking
PHOTOS: MARK LORENZ
route to the schools or the local businesses,
then it might be kept open year round,”
Winslow said.
According to Lynn Community
Development Director James Marsh the
city’s trail project is currently in the predesign
phase. If built, it would extend 1.2
miles through Lynn along a former MBTA
railroad corridor, starting where Boston
Street crosses the Saugus River and ending
on Spencer Street.
“Before we jump into it, we want to know
all the variables that are associated with
liabilities,” Marsh said. “That’s why we’re
taking baby steps. Those are important if
we’re going to make this a reality.”
Marsh estimated the design would
cost $50,000 to $75,000, 50 percent
of which would be paid for by a grant
from the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon
Foundation.
The foundation strives to increase
access to the state’s natural, cultural and
recreational resources and recently assisted
the Watertown Riverfront Park and
Braille Trail.
Marsh, representatives of the Office
of the Mayor, and local property
management executive Gordon R. Hall
have been overseeing the plan, which
includes discussion of a long-term land
lease from the MBTA, Marsh said.
Lynn officials also have been monitoring
the waterfront along the Lynnway where
new development is slated because any
construction would impact the proposed
pedestrian boardwalk connecting the
Nahant traffic circle to the General
Edwards Bridge.
Marsh cited the former Beacon
Chevrolet property across from North
Shore Community College and the
O’Donnell property near the Saugus
River as waterfront development sites.
“Under Chapter 91, a boardwalk would
be required at each site and the private
developers would pay for it,” he said.
“But all of that is many years away,” he said.
10 | ONE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017