By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – One of the most frequently asked questions around town in recent years has been, “What’s going on with the Rail Trail?”
That question was answered in part at last week’s Town Council meeting, as the board authorized Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio to sign a long-awaited “Alternative Transportation Corridor Lease Agreement” with the MBTA.
The 24-page agreement will allow the portion of the Rail Trail between Main Street and Salem Street that has already been constructed to be officially opened. The Town of Wakefield coordinated the installation of approximately 4,800 linear feet of the shared use path between Main Street and Salem Street as part of a National Grid electric transmission line installation within the MBTA right-of-way.
The lease agreement will also allow the town to move forward with some of the testing and other work that needs to be done to advance the remainder of the project.
The Rail Trail project includes a shared-use path for pedestrian and bicyclists along an abandoned railroad corridor, beginning at the Main Street/Bennett Street intersection in Wakefield and extending northerly through Lynnfield to the Peabody city line. The proposed trail is approximately 4.4 miles long.
“It’s been many years in the making,” Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio said of the lease agreement. “This allows us to go forward with this very important project.”
Maio turned to Town Engineer William Renault to elaborate.
“This has been about two and a half years of pounding the MBTA to sign this document that we’ve had in front of them for a while,” Renault said. “This allows us to advance some of our design for the Rail Trail project and move forward with some of the testing and things we need to do to advance the project.”
Renault said that the design work will probably be completed in the next year or two and funding for construction of the remaining project is on MassDOT’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) list for Fiscal Year 2028.
The Lease Agreement allows the former railroad right-of-way to be revitalized “for use as a publicly owned, improved and maintained corridor for bicycle, pedestrian and other non-motorized public transportation, recreation and associated purposes.”
The agreement further stipulates that “The Corridor shall be open to the public, and no fee or other consideration shall be charged for use of the Premises.”
The term of the lease is for a period of 99 years. The MBTA may terminate the lease upon one year’s prior written notice to the town.
During the term of the agreement, the town is required to keep, repair, manage, operate and maintain the leased premises in good and clean order, condition and repair. The MBTA will have no responsibility whatsoever for the maintenance, repair or the condition of the premises during the lease term.
The MBTA will have no obligation to provide security services or lighting at the leased premises. The town will be responsible for providing public safety and emergency services. The town may install lighting and adopt time-of-use and other restrictions applicable to the public.
The Town Council voted unanimously to authorize Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio to sign the lease agreement on behalf of the town.