David Dore | Leominster Champion | August 13, 2019
The Twin Cities Rail Trail has moved another step forward, following a unanimous vote by the Leominster City Council on Monday night.
Councilors approved spending $83,100 from the city’s Stabilization Account to reimburse property owners for use of their land — either temporarily during construction or permanently for needs such as utilities and sidewalks — for the first phase of the project.
The 24 temporary and seven permanent easements themselves will be discussed and voted on by councilors Monday, Aug. 26. Public hearings are scheduled for 6:05 and 6:10 that night in the City Council chambers at Leominster City Hall.
The rail trail would connect Mechanic Street in downtown Leominster and the Intermodal Transportation Center on Water Street in downtown Fitchburg. It would run through areas such as the South Fitchburg Playground and Fitchburg Municipal Airport in Fitchburg, and the Doyle Conservation Area, HealthAlliance-Leominster Hospital, Watertower Plaza, Doyle Field, Pine Grove Cemetery and Carter Park in Leominster.
The trail would follow the decommissioned Fitchburg & Worcester Railroad line, later owned by CSX Corporation and now mostly owned by the cities of Fitchburg and Leominster. CSX still owns the section in Leominster between Carter Park and Mechanic Street; the City of Leominster will seek grant funding and an agreement from CSX to buy that land for the project’s second phase.
To read the full story, please click here.