Easton Officials Continue South Coast Rail Mitigation Process

Easton Town Planner Brad Washburn said this week that he received feedback from the , , and Department of Public Works regarding mitigation requests for the South Coast Rail.

He said the town is still seeking public feedback, though.

Mitigation requests and feedback are due to the state by Friday, May 27. Currently, Easton officials have created a list that includes 15 Easton-specific requests and seven common requests.

"We’re not just going to hand them a list," Town Administrator David Colton said. "We’re going to do some analysis of the document and why these things are important and how they relate to the list and how they relate to the documents."

Selectmen decided to to compose a list of mitigation requests that ease the train's impacts after a study by the Army Corps of Engineers identified the Stoughton route for the rail as the town's best option.

Other area towns,, chose to fight the train legally. Easton town voters chose not to fight the train through litigation.

Board of Selectmen members said that while they would not fight the train legally, they would do as much as possible to ease it's impacts.

"We’re not pleased about this train possibly coming through," Selectman Ellen Barlow said.

Currently, Easton's mitigation requests include the following:

Easton Specific Requests
1.    Upgrade Route 138 from Stoughton Line to Elm Street including signals at Union, Elm and sidewalks and bike lanes to enhance pedestrian safety.
2.    Upgrade Union Street from Route 138 to the Brockton town line.
3.    Provide traffic and pedestrian safety enhancements on Route 123 and Route 106.
4.    Traffic calming measures, including funding to improve and expand the municipal parking lot, in North Easton Village.
5.    Expand existing routes or create new routes for regional transit providers (e.g., BAT) to provide connections to new rail stations.
6.    A grant to upgrade North Easton Village to add period lighting, underground utilities, address off-street parking needs for businesses, the library and Oakes Ames.
7.    Funding to restore the existing historic railway station in North Easton Village.
8.    Full state funding of the traffic improvements at Belmont and Washington Street.
9.    An operating and emergency plan, including active monitoring, to prevent any contamination of wells from train operation and maintenance.
10. Full grade separation at Main Street with no visual impact resulting from any vertical or horizontal realignment of the tracks.
11. Granting without cost to the town of all rights needed to construct the North Easton Village sewer collection and treatment system.
12. Address drainage issues along the existing rail bed.
13. All at-grade crossings must have sidewalks and accessible crossings to meet existing plans for sidewalk expansion.
14. All wetland impacts must be mitigated or replicated within the Town of Easton, preferably within close proximity to any wetland disturbance.
15. No application of herbicides within the Town’s Aquifer Protection District.

Common Mitigation Requests
1.    Road improvements to Rt. 138 to be engineered, permitted and constructed by the State.
2.    Sound barriers and fences in accordance with Federal guidelines to protect residences along the route.
3.    Mitigation for homeowners whose property values are negatively affected by proximity of the rail line in the form of full market value.
4.    Safety education program for school children in public schools
5.    No whistles at grade crossings.
6.    Safety training for first responders on how to respond to and operate in and around the rail system
7.    Training on how to effectively extricate patients/victims from railcars that have been damaged in a derailment and or crash.

To submit feedback to town and state officials regarding the South Coast rail, click here.