Advocate for your Rail-Trail!

Why does Wakefield have a Rail-to-Trail Committee?

Wakefield has an abandoned rail line that runs through the center of town. The Committee is appointed by the Wakefield Board of Selectmen to transform this former rail road into a Rail-Trail. Browse our latest Committee Update to find out what we've been up to over the past year. To find out more about who we are and our mission, click here...

I would like to be a part. How can I get involved?

ADVOCATE! Until this rail-to-trail is built, we will always need support. If you would like to explore things that we need help with, please click here...

Our meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 7pm in the Wakefield Town Hall second floor conference room. Our meetings are open to the public. If you plan on attending, please contact us in advance so we can provide adequate space.

Do you have a map?

Yes, click on the link below for a pdf map of the proposed trail and surrounding area. Please be patient because the file is big (3+MEG) and may take a few moments to load.

Wakefield and surrounding area -- Town limits are in red and the proposed trail is in orange. (2004)
Newburyport Railroad -- larger view of rail line extending into Essex county. (2005)

Maps provided courtesy of the engineering firm Fay, Spofford & Thorndike, Inc. For more detailed information, please visit our Feasibility study page.

Notify your Representative

Now that the feasibility study is completed, we must focus on the engineering and design funding. To that end we are once again looking to our legislators. Please participate in our efforts by writing a letter (yes, an actual hardcopy letter) to be mailed to your respective state representatives.

Request their support for a funding earmark for the necessary $500,000 to keep this project moving. Phone calls after mailing to follow up with them would be a nice touch. And an actual face-to-face with them would be outstanding.

Below are the mailing addresses and phone numbers for Mark Falzone, Katherine Clark and Brad Jones. In addition, there are some suggested talking points which could build your letter and/or conversation with your legislator.

The State House address is:

Massachusetts State House
Boston, MA 02133
Representative Mark Falzone: Rm. 146, 617-722-2575
Representative Katherine Clark: Rm. 254, 617-722-2220
Representative Brad Jones: Rm. 124, 617-722-2100

District office:

Mark Falzone: Office phone number 781-231-8041
Katherine Clark: Beebe Library & Wakefield Senior Center, call 781-664-0030 for time and availability
Brad Jones: 249 Park St., North Reading 01864, 978-664-5936

Talking points:

The trail would serve as a connection to public transportation. Bicycle racks could be placed at the terminus for the MBTA trains at North Ave. and at the Lowell St. crossing for the bus route between Malden Station and Reading Depot.
The trail would be a safe route to school for students to ride their bicycles to 2 schools in Wakefield and 3 schools in Lynnfield.
The path would connect local playing fields and town centers in both Wakefield and Lynnfield.
The towns would enjoy the benefits of this neglected and trespassed area being reshaped into a well-planned and maintained linear park for family/community usage. One benefit being environmental enhancement, another benefit being access to a healthy exercise area.
The path would open up access to Reedy Meadow, a national bird sanctuary, by creating an outdoor recreation area that would include the walking/bicycling path, as well as interactive overlooks for viewing the meadow’s nesting and migratory birds.
The trail could serve both towns as an outdoor classroom for school children in and of itself, but also the access to Reedy Meadow and its natural environments.
Construction of the Rail-Trail would, as part of the process, provide some badly-needed flood mitigation measures in the Mill River and Saugus River areas within Reedy Meadow.
This trail has the potential of serving as the southern terminus of the 42 mile Border to Boston Trail extending from Wakefield to the New Hampshire border which would become a major segment of the East Coast Greenway.
There are pieces of railroad history that have been preserved and could now be seen by the public as an active part of our community. For example: granite railroad mileage markers that indicate mileage to Boston and Newburyport were used on the rail line.
Arm yourself with Rail-Trail benefits, fact-sheets and case studies.

If there are any other folks you know who are in support of the rail-trail, please forward some information to them and have them write and contact their reps. Any legislation must first initiate in the House, and then move on to the Senate. That is why we are focusing on the House right now.

UPDATE: The Wakefield Rail to Trail Committee issued a letter to Governor Deval Patrick asking for his support. (February 20, 2008)

UPDATE 2: Mark Falzone sends his support! (February 28, 2008)

I am writing to inform you of the significant progress that has been made in securing funds for the Wakefield/Lynnfield Rail-Trail. This is an important project for the future of our community, and one that has my full support.
This week $500,000 of funding for engineering and design costs received preliminary approval from the state as part of a broader Transportation Bond Bill released by the Joint Committee on Transportation. This is an important step for the Wakefield/Lynnfield Rail-Trail. The bill next goes before the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets. As a member of this committee, I will work to see it receives a favorable report. In addition, I am a member of the House Ways and Means Committee that also reports on this funding, and again I will lend my full support to a positive recommendation for consideration by the entire House and Senate. If passed, the governor will have the final decision when to release the funds.
I have long been a proponent of this very beneficial project and helped acquire crucial funding for the initial $30,000 feasibility study and for protection for our local towns from liability due to any site contamination. I will continue to support the allocation of these funds for the Wakefield/Lynnfield Rail-Trail and hope that you will feel free to contact me with further comments or questions. Thank you for your ongoing concern on this important issue.
[signed] Mark Falzone
State Representative, 9th Essex District
Representing the People of Lynn, Lynnfield, Saugus and Wakefield

UPDATE 3: Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei sends his support! (March 4, 2008)

Meadow Walk Project

The Meadow Walk project at 427 Walnut Street (Colonial Golf Course property) is currently under review by Lynnfield, Wakefield and the Commonwealth. By providing a link through Audubon Road and the rail spur behild the former Alcoa building, Meadow Walk would have a safe, environmentally friendly link to the town center of Lynnfield and Wakefield.

There is a common link between our project, Meadow Walk and addressing the current flooding concerns on the commercial property owners off Audubon Road - the Saugus River. The lack of maintenance of the culverts and river channel has excerbated flooding conditions. This is an excellent opportunity for a public / private partnership that may be of great benefit to all concerned.

Click here for an overhead view of the Meadow Walk Project and vicinity.

Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School is a program that encourages walking and biking to school by establishing safety education programs, installation of new crosswalks, bike lanes and signs, construction and replacement of sidewalks, traffic calming around schools; and construction of multi-use trails connecting to schools. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and maintained by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Bill (H. 2121) aims to provide funding and programmatic support for making it easier for children to walk and bicycle to school. The legislation passed the Transportation Committee and is currently in House Ways and Means. It is based on laws adopted in California and Texas.

For more information, download the bill's summary, or go to the Safe Routes to Schools website.

Circulate a Petition

You can circulate a petition that states "We, the undersigned, feel that the livability of our town would be improved if the abandoned Rail Road Right-of-Way from the Junction at North Ave. to Reedy Meadow was developed as a linear park that would be used for pedestrian and non-motorized vehicles."

Be sure to include the person's name, address, signature, and date signed.

Wheels Around the North Shore

Wheels Around the North Shore is a periodic documentary piece on the latest Rail-to-Trail developments in the North Shore area. It is produced by our own Emmett Halpin in association with Wakefield Community Access Television (WCAT channel 03). The first installment is scheduled to air on Monday Dec. 12 at 1:30 pm and Friday Dec. 16 at 8 pm.

For additional viewings, copies, or program info, please contact Emmett Halpin, Vice-Chair, Wakefield Rail-to-Trail Committee.

Environmental Liability Insurance

Some of us have been peppering our legislators with requests for support on our bicycling issues for quite some time now. Our efforts came to a head in July 2006 when the legislature voted to override the Governor's veto of the bill that contained Environmental Liability insurance. It is time to thank them for their resounding support! Click here for legislator's contact info.

The premium for the RTT Environmental Liability Insurance quoted by AIG is $46,053 of which 50% would be reimbursable by the state. This is good news because we would have to raise only about $23,000 from private sources. View the liability statement and the liability quote.

This clears the way for action now on the part of any community concerned with signing the MBTA lease. The cloud of fear that the town could be liable for a huge settlement on an environmental issue has been eased with the passage of this legislation. Going forward with the projects will still not be an easy thing, but a very basic impediment has been moved.

WakefieldRail-to-TrailCommittee