condition of old railbed in 2015, photo courtesy Dave Brigham
Abutters claiming ownership of portions of an old railroad line through Newton Lower Falls lost their appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court, as reported by UniversalHub. The SJC affirmed a Land Court ruling against the plaintiff. The Newton Lower Falls Branch, dating back to the mid 1800’s, once ran passenger service, including a Ping Pong Trolley shuttle to the Boston and Albany Railroad at Riverside. Penn Railroad granted the unused property to the Commonwealth in 1982.
The right of way connects a system of trails in Wellesley Hills over a recently rebuilt pedestrian bridge over the Charles, through the Newton Lower Falls neighborhood and over 128. It has long been discussed as a potential recreational path connecting to public transit at Riverside.
The footnote at the end of the ruling suggests this matter could be taken to the Feds, so it could still be a while before DCR can build a rail trail.
Creating a path that can be used for exercise, recreation and transportation is amazing. It will benefit the health and mental wellbeing of many. Just look at what the Upoer Falls Hreenway has done for Lower Falls and the Blue Heron Trail has done for Newtonville. Wellesley has trails winding all through the town. This is one time I would love to see Neton be more like Wellesley.
Oh how I wish I could edit my comments. I meant Greenway.
This is good news
Why someone would rather have an overgrown and littered railbed next to their house than a recreational path is beyond my comprehension.
Great news!!
Except for that pesky last sentence. Hopefully they will give up and drop it!
This is good news, although it seems it could be a while before work on the trail gets under way. And thanks for linking to my blog (The Backside of America) in this post! I believe that’s my photo, as well. I have no problem with my photo being used, but could I get a credit for it, please? Thanks!
Sorry, Dave, I actually tried putting creds in the caption on the home page, but our new template doesn’t seem to show it. I will fix on the post page.
Dave, I enjoy your blog, The Backside of America.
In addition, the blog, Urban Vistas linked above, is a great one too.
Thanks for your quick response, Adam!
Thanks, Marti! Hoping to get Village14 to allow me to share some of the Newton-specific posts.
This is a good reminder of the everyday role our Massachusetts courts play, even on issues that don’t typically come to mind first for most people. Right now the SJC is in the middle of unprecedented turnover in the modern era, with 5 of 7 justices retiring in an 18 month span.
Hi Alicia, you caught the typo in Upper Falls Greenway, but keep your Upper and Lower straight, lol.
You typed: “Just look at what the Upoer Falls Hreenway has done for Lower Falls” It’s what the Upper Falls Greenway has done for UPPER Falls.
I saw that too. It’s confusing having Upper and Lower Falls particularly since upper is south of lower.
To keep it straight, just remember that Lower Falls is below Upper Falls on the Charles River.