May 30, 2003
WAKEFIELD DAILY ITEM
By BOB BURGESS
WAKEFIELD - Should the MBTA ever consider abandoning the portion of its Boston to Newburyport railroad line through Wakefield, the town would like to control the right of way.
Those tracks run across Main Street in the Junction, cross Water Street and run parallel to Vernon Street before heading out into Reedy Meadow toward Lynnfield.
In a letter to the T’s director of Real Estate, Mark Boyle, dated May 23, Town Administrator Thomas Butler wrote, “The Town of Wakefield has considerable interest in obtaining rights to the abandoned Boston-Newburyport Line that runs through Wakefield. The Board of Selectmen requests that the MBTA consider a long-term lease or sale of this right-of-way to the Town of Wakefield.
“Many ideas are under consideration for the right-of-way. For many years, a proposal that a section of the right-of-way should be converted into a bypass road for the downtown, has received support from motorists. Another section of the right-of-way, if abandoned, could link several large parcels allowing redevelopment near the downtown. We also have an active bike path committee proposing a rail-to-trail bikeway to other communities north of Wakefield.
“We request an opportunity to explore these ideas to make better use of a right-of-way that appears to be abandoned and no longer of use to the MBTA.”
According to Selectmen Chairman John Gallucci, the letter was submitted yesterday to Paul Regan, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board.
The freight line tracks cut through critical sections of Wakefield’s downtown, and access to the right-of-way has been desirable for years.
At an April meeting of those involved in creating the Economic Development component of the town’s Master Plan, a consultant talked about one possible vision of the Junction area near the intersection of Main Street, Nahant Street and North Avenue, calling it the southern “gateway to the Square.”
Planners presented a conceptual vision of the Junction, replicating the area near the Upper Common, complete with a small green area and an unobtrusive condominium building. There would also be some sort of commercial building in the proximity of Jiffy Lube and the old, failing Kytron facility.
The improvements would require at the very least the cooperation of several different private landowners, a fact that would greatly complicate any other development there.
The abandonment of the train tracks that run through the Junction would also be a key element in furthering planning concepts.
The green space visualized for the Junction would also be a focal point for an increased presence of pedestrians in the area.