Debate in Bourne Over Use of Existing Rail Line for Bike Trail

BOURNE – A planned extension of the Shining Sea Bikeway to link North Falmouth to the Cape Cod Canal is drawing debate over the use of existing rail line.

Bourne’s representative on the board of managers for the Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station Daniel Barrett says the board would like to keep the rail line intact for a possible method of transporting trash off Cape.

Barrett says it’s better to have a negotiating tool.

“Somebody comes in and says we’ll take your trash across the bridge and we’re the only game in town. Well now you have a rail outlet so that’s not the only game in town – you can send it somewhere else,” Barrett said.

The board has chosen Cavossa Disposal to run the regional waste facility and negotiations are underway.

Selectmen are seeking legal options from town counsel to see if it can direct Barrett on how he should vote when it comes to matters regarding the regional transfer station.

The station’s board would like to keep the rail line intact as it could be important for the transfer station.

Barrett added that MassDOT officials have final say over the existing rail line and he believes they want to keep it operational.

That would affect plans to extend a bike path over the rail lines from North Falmouth to the Cape Cod Canal.

Pocasset resident, and proponent of turning the rail into a bike path, Kathy Regan wants to delay awarding the contract to run the waste facility until further discussions can be made on the possible bike path and more public input can be gathered.

“I would also suggest that perhaps the reason that the towns opted not to continue rail for their municipal waste was that it wasn’t cost efficient and I haven’t heard anybody suggest that it has become more cost efficient,” she said.

Barrett said he has heard an equal amount from residents who would prefer to have trash hauled off Cape Cod by train instead of over the bridges.

“I don’t know how true that is and I don’t want to go there either but use of the rail would take a little bit of pressure off the bridges, I think,” said Barrett.

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