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Committee extends Mount Hope Greenway funding while rail-and-trail questions persist
Summary
The committee granted an extension so the city can continue work on the Mount Hope Greenway design; discussion centered on whether the corridor should remain a trail, be reactivated as rail for industrial users, or serve both functions, and committee members urged external partners to contribute funding for rail components.
The Community Preservation Committee on Monday approved an extension that keeps work alive on the Mount Hope Greenway project while the city and regional partners continue to study conflicts between an active rail component and a public trail alignment.
Dan Aguilar, director of engineering and planning for the City of Fall River, told the committee the project — first funded in 2018 — has been complicated by renewed interest from nearby businesses and Rhode Island partners in reactivating the rail line for industrial uses. Aguilar said the original CPC disbursement was $60,000 in 2018 and that the award was part of a bonded five-year program; he said the fund structure historically provided roughly $300,000 across five years for the project but that available balances and remaining funds were complex.
“The sewer treatment plant wants to be able to revitalize that rail and be able to take sludge … to the state pier and ship it off,” Aguilar said, describing stakeholders who want the rail operational. He said Gold Medal Bakery has expanded nearby and that Rhode Island has expressed interest in extending a rail-and-trail connection toward Newport and Tiverton.
Committee members discussed tradeoffs between a traditional rail-trail conversion and preserving capacity for freight or industrial rail. Members urged the city to require funding commitments from parties that want the rail reactivated before using CPC funds for rail engineering work. One committee member said the CPC funds should be used to prepare bicycle- and pedestrian-focused designs that become more competitive for state grants once construction-ready.
Aguilar said prior study work exists and that the city has used CPC funds as match on other trail projects to secure MassTrails and similar grants. The next step, he said, is to further define alignments where trail and rail must coexist and to identify where the path may need to be routed to streets because the railroad right-of-way is narrow.
The committee voted to approve an extension of the Mount Hope Greenway funding by voice vote. Members stressed that the extension does not obligate the CPC to pay for rail reactivation; one member said he would not authorize CPC spending on rail-design work unless proponents committed additional funding.
Staff will consolidate existing reports and maps, identify corridor locations with potential conflicts, and work with Rhode Island partners and local businesses to clarify funding commitments before the committee considers construction-phase funding.
