There is no public benefit that comes from the operation of this line. There is minimal revenue from the operation of this line, Mass Coastal’s biggest customer being a private operator that uses the track to move some of its constructionand demolition debris off Cape. Mass Coastal operates over the Falmouth Secondary line thanks to the financial support of the public, which includes taxpayer-funded repairs to keep the rail line operating. The Cape Cod Rail Trail also contributed to 4,000 fewer vehicle trips during the four-month study period. In addition, the underutilized segment of track - the Falmouth Secondary -that would be removed generates far fewer economic benefits than would the BRT, as demonstrated by the results of other pedestrian/bikeway pathways.Ī 2019 study conducted for MassTrails estimated the Cape Cod Rail Trail contributed $9.2 million in economic activity and generated $1.5 million in state and local tax revenue in just a four-month period. The Bourne Rail Trail would connect two of the top tourist destinations on Cape Cod - the Cape Cod Canal Bikeway and the Shining Sea Bikeway - and create a world-class and legacy-defining initiative that would link the villages of Bourne, Falmouth, and Sandwich. That change from a “rail-with-trail” design was supported at the meeting by a large delegation of legislators and state and federal officials.Įnvironment: Tribal, youth-led movement initiates a state of emergency for herring in Mashpee Healey to approve the pivot to a “rail-to-trail” plan for the BRT. On March 7, the Bourne Select Board voted unanimously to ask Gov. The BRT project would provide economic, health and environmental benefits that far exceed what’s generated now by this underutilized, taxpayer-owned resource. Mass Coastal leases the state-owned and maintained railroad tracks, and its president produced an opinion filled with inaccuracies and misleading statements about the widely supported effort to create the shared-use pathway. So, of course, these businesses oppose the removal of the track. Presumably, these private companies make a profit from the operation of this otherwise unused rail line. There is no removal of municipal trash from Falmouth, Mashpee, Sandwich or Bourne by train on the track that will be replaced by the rail trail.Įnvironment: 'Letting nature heal itself.' $24 million in federal climate change grants for Cape region It is important to realize that Mass Coastal Railroad is a private company whose for-profit operations benefit another private operator, Cavossa Disposal Corporation, all of which serve no public purpose. The project is now within reach thanks to forward-looking public officials who recently secured federal funding that will serve the interests of Bourne and the Upper Cape for decades to come. On April 2, the president of Mass Coastal Railroad, Christopher Podgurski, took to this paper to disparage the efforts of a coalition of residents, businesses, and local and regional legislators who have worked tirelessly for several years to make the Bourne Rail Trail (BRT) a reality.
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