Worcester, Mass., City Council backs expansion of CSXT freight yard

The Worcester, Mass., City Council has overwhelmingly approved in concept CSX Transportation's plan to expand its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets and make the city its new rail freight hub for New England, the Telegram & Gazette reports. But the project is anything but finalized; in fact, final city action on it may not take place for at least another couple of months.

With its action last night,
the council referred to the Planning Board for a public hearing zone changes
and modifications to street layouts necessary for the freight yard expansion. The
Planning Board’s action on those matters would then have to be referred to the
City Council for another round of public hearings and a vote.

In addition, CSXT will be
required to submit a definitive site plan to the Planning Board. But the
definitive site plan cannot be submitted to the Planning Board until CSXT
completes all its necessary land acquisitions.

"This is not the end, it’s
the beginning," said District 3 Councilor Paul P. Clancy Jr. "This is the
beginning of a $100-million expansion of CSXT’s freight yard. Other approvals
will need to be gained, and a traffic study and environmental review will have
to be done. CSXT will also have to complete the property acquisitions that are
necessary. We are approving this in concept, also knowing that this is just the
beginning and other approvals will be needed."

To facilitate the $100-million
expansion project – the 28-acre freight yard will be increased to 51 acres –
CSXT has to acquire 11 parcels of private commercial properties, and acquire
portions of public streets. Also, Putnam Lane, which connects Franklin Street
to Shrewsbury Street, would have to be closed.

A key feature of the
project is that it would also allow increased commuter rail service, something
that has proved elusive for many years.

The council vote on the CSXT
project was 10-1, with Councilor-at-Large Konstantina B. Lukes casting the lone
vote in opposition.

Lukes said she voted
against the project because she feels the council moved too fast in reviewing
it and did not have enough information to make a decision. She also felt that
the economic spinoff projections related to the project were "puffed up.

"We’re dealing with a
freight yard, not the Taj Mahal," Lukes said. "This is not only a citywide
issue, it’s a regional issue. We have received no analytical study with data
telling us what the traffic and environmental impacts are going to be. There
are too many questions.

"Do we have control over our
future without that data and analysis?" she added. "I am concerned that we are
not ready for the short term or the long term. I feel uneasy about voting on
this project."

But Clancy pointed out that
it is often standard operating procedure for the council to approve development
projects in concept, prior to other approvals or studies being done, to get the
process moving forward. The CSXT expansion project was first presented to the
council in February and since then the joint committee, established to review
the proposal, held four public hearings.

Councilors-at-Large Joseph
M. Petty and Kathleen M. Toomey disputed the notion that the council acted too
quickly in reviewing the project, saying efforts were made to solicit public
input, either through public hearings or community meetings.

Petty, meanwhile, said the
City Council listened to concerns raised by neighborhood residents and business
owners and, as a result, significant changes were made to the original plan,
thus making it better.

Councilor-at-Large
Frederick C. Rushton said reservations about the scope of the CSXT project are
justified, but added that the "Debbie Downer" mentality about the project is
not appropriate.

City Manager Michael V.
O’Brien said he intends to work as expeditiously as possible with the Planning
Board on the project-related items it will have to take up. He would not project
when the zoning and street layout items might come back to the City Council,
saying he could not presume when they would be taken up by the Planning Board.

He added that his
administration is in the process of finalizing all necessary legal documents by
and between the commonwealth, CSXT and the city to memorialize all agreements
among the parties as they pertain to the CSXT terminal expansion project.

"The railroad has always
been a proud part of our history and the railroad is going to be a proud part
of our future," he added.