I read your probative article on the Cordage train station and the subsequent responsive letter to editor.
I was on the North Plymouth Steering Committee when development decisions were made in North Plymouth. Some of us supported the rail trail, as well as mixed PUD zoning, shops, and a marina for Cordage, which long preceded its tragic rezoning for the placement of a Walmart. The myopic town fathers justified the changed plans at the time as creating a “more taxable commercial base” (history repeats itself). They remained deaf to the protests of myself and a small handful of others who argued that Walmart was only going there to drive out regional competition while waiting for better digs to relocate to within five years, and in the course of it, abandon the box store after wrecking historic features on the site essential to the success of the PUD zone and train stop. Clearly, we lost that argument, but history proved us correct.
Now, however, with a kernel of concentrated residential development there, and the continued capacity for parking and shuttle transport, Plymouth would do well to push for a full schedule restart of the station. The prospect of more congested housing in the area is far from a disincentive. It will attract a more affordable and diverse community in the village. A full schedule of trains, coupled with a frequent shuttle to at least the center of town, will greatly expand tourist access while alleviating the traffic congestion on Court and Main, altogether adding value to both residential and commercial establishments along that thoroughfare.
Getting anything like that done, as in all cases, depends on political clout. First, an independent analysis of the economic benefits is needed to gain local support, with an environmental assessment of the resulting lower carbon footprint and projected housing accessibility, then a round-up of allies, like Kingston and Duxbury, who want to see less congestion at Kingston, and conservation and public interest groups.
Lastly, it would help to have a spot on powerful transportation-related committees for each of your new state senator and representative, who must then press the position that rail transportation benefits inure to the public as a whole, not just users, and thus should not be evaluated by a mere user-fee cost-benefit formula, hence leading to more state funding for both train and shuttle.
Once done, that project will go a long way to realizing a large component of the solution for two of the biggest impediments to enhancing the fiscal health and quality of life in Plymouth.
– Theodore Bosen