Residents want to see bike trail in Townsend

TOWNSEND -- Bonnie Mullen regularly drives her 7-year-old son to Pepperell to ride his bike.

"There's no place to walk around here," said Mullen, who lives on Townsend's busy Main Street.

While there is a small dirt trail behind her house, Mullen said walkers there must often compete with four-wheelers flying by.

"They're very noisy," she said.

Mullen hopes a local group pushing to build a bike path along an abandoned railroad bed just behind her house will be successful.

"I think it's great if you live on a busy street," Mullen said.

Numerous Massachusetts communities have turned former rail lines into bike trails, including nearby Ayer, Groton and Pepperell.

A group of residents formed the Squannacook River Rail Trail Feasibility Study Committee in October 2002 to study the possibility of converting 9.4 miles of dilapidated tracks running through Groton and Townsend into a recreational path.

The committee in March completed a new feasibility report, addressing several concerns abutters and selectmen expressed in the summer 2003.

The committee now proposes to build a 2.4-mile trail along the rail bed from the Harbor Village Mall on Main Street to Depot Street in the center of town. The rail bed, which is roughly 80 feet wide, is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

"The path would go from Townsend Harbor to the center of town. As it is, you'd have to risk your life on (Route) 119 to get from one area to the other," committee member Bill Rideout said Tuesday.

The committee plans to meet with the selectmen after Town Election on April 25 to discuss taking the next step, Rideout said.

"All we're asking them is to request a copy of the (MBTA) lease to figure things out," Rideout said. "The general rule of thumb is it's seven years from when the trail is first proposed to when they're rolling out a bulldozer."

Committee member Al Futterman said the MBTA offers communities interested in converting abandoned railways into trails an 85-year lease for $1. He noted some communities must purchase old railways from private companies for substantially more.

"It's a good deal," Futterman said of the MBTA's offer.  

The trail could cost as little as $40,000 a mile for a bare-earth trail, or as much as $300,000 per mile for an asphalt trail, according to the committee's March 2005 report.

Current legislation states the federal government would cover 80 percent of a proposed rail trail's construction costs, while the state government would cover 10 percent and the community covers 10 percent. However, there is new legislation pending that would increase the state's contribution to 20 percent, Futterman said.

Selectman Peter Collins said he is dead set against the project.

"Myself being an outdoorsman, I'm vehemently opposed to taking a bulldozer through the woods and creating a trail for what some are portraying as a wilderness experience," Collins said Tuesday. "They want people to enjoy the wilderness by destroying wild habitat."

Collins said he wouldn't even consider the project unless the committee has determined the MBTA maintains clear title of the proposed pathway.

Resident Joseph Shank, who owns Harbor Auto Body, Inc. at 98 Main St., said his land extends onto the old rail bed but nobody from the committee has contacted him about his deed.

"They have not done what the selectmen have asked, which was to see if there are any deed problems," Shank said.

Futterman noted the MBTA owns enough of the rail behind Harbor Auto Body to put in a 12-foot wide path without encroaching on Shank's property.

Shank said he wouldn't allow a path to run behind his property.

"I'm going to vow to fight them to my death," Shank said. "There are businesses on that Groton trail that have lost business because people on the trail stop in and say, 'Oh, my child has to use the bathroom.' Do we need it in Townsend? No. The town of Townsend has how many acres of conservation land? Make a path through the woods."

Shank also is worried about the additional work the local public safety departments would endure from a bike path.

"The way my tax bill is, I have a hard time putting more strain on the police, fire, and ambulance departments to support a bike path," Shank said.

Police Chief Erving Marshall believes that the positive effects of a bike path outweigh the   negative ones.

"I have concerns about how to patrol it. I have concerns about access for emergency vehicles. But at the same time, an unused railroad bed can attract an unfavorable element," Marshall said. "I'd like to see it come through. I know from talking to both people in Pepperell and Groton, it's been very positive for both communities. It's amazing how many people use it down there. I think it has positive effects on property values."

Resident Steve Cloutier of Tyler Road said he frequently uses Pepperell's rail trail.

"Pepperell's is a beautiful, paved rail trail. You can go cross-country skiing, ride a bike," Cloutier said. "Townsend is perfect for it. The town needs a bike path, and a lot of people would use it."

Cloutier said he used to live in Groton, where the path runs very close to a number of houses. He could sympathize with Townsend residents along Main Street, whose back yards would abut the trail.

Charlotte Newcombe, who lives at 112 Main St., would be able to see a bike path from inside her home.

"I just think, with this whole day and age,   it invites trouble," Newcombe said. "I liked it when the train went by once a day. But a path -- I wouldn't have privacy anymore. And that would be at all hours of the day."

Town Administrator Greg Barnes feels the path would benefit the town in numerous ways.

"I think it could be a great quality of life benefit and serve as an economic development tool. There are a lot of mom-and-pop stores along (Route) 119. For example, stores that sell antiques might benefit from the enhanced foot traffic," Barnes said. "I also find it ties in both our developed and undeveloped areas. You can get an ice cream and then go out to the woods."