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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Railway Yard in Wetlands?

Article Submission: Please post as new:


Efforts by NH DOT, Mass DOT, MBTA, Rockingham Planning Commission and various officials of Plaistow have led to an application for funding to convert the old Westville Homes site to a rail layover yard with 6 sidings for passenger trains. This site in New Hampshire appears to be the trade-off for getting passenger trains to stop in Plaistow to pick up commuters.
The problem is that the layover site they chose is on the edge of a large wetland where Bryant Brook runs through and forms the border between Atkinson and Plaistow. It is one of Atkinson's Prime Wetlands, as voted by the Atkinsonian Voters. The proposed yard is a few hundred feet from many of the condos at Bryant Woods. Residents of that area are justifiably concerned about how their homes will be affected by noise and air pollution. Other sites were considered in Plaistow and Haverhill, with the potential for less impact to neighbors. Documents relating to this topic can be viewed at the Atkinson Selectmen's office. Please educate yourselves, and share your ideas; is this a good thing or a bad thing for Atkinson?

October 12, 2010 8:52 AM

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Atkinson has the layover yard (trains at night) and Plaistow get the stop?

No thanks. I live at the center of town and can hear the trains at night as it is.

tim dziechowski said...

Some corrections to the original post.

The layover as proposed is entirely in Plaistow.

The layover site would have five trains, not six.

The nearest house in Atkinson (on Bayberry Drive) is 1500 feet from the nearest locomotive, as measured in Google Earth.

Anonymous said...

This would result in constant overnight / early morning noise, rather than the occasional noise from a train passing thru. Not to mention the pollution.

Is there information about their time schedule available?

Anonymous said...

Trains will not be allowed to idle overnight. The lay over is moving from Bradford regardless of the train station being built. The question is do we want a train station in Plaistow or not. If it is some how blocked then the layover will be moved aprox 1/2 mile to the Hilldale Rd location in HAVERHILL which requires no imput from NH towns. It appears that either option will result in the layover in our backyard. The question is do we want the benefit of the station being close by or not? The problem in Bradford is the residents all sit above the layover area making it close to impossible to block the noise. This is not an issue in Atkinson/Plaistow since it is comparatively flatland. Go to the Bradford station and see if you are not familiar with the area.
Either way the layover IS coming so think hard before you make it into a worse situation than it is.
jmHO

Anonymous said...

Geez, I asked a question. Why is that worse?

I see no difference in having it at Hilldale over Plaistow, except they get the noise.

1/2 mile, big deal.

Anonymous said...

If you gonna get the noise no matter what then why not a station we can all use? duh

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Atkinson Selectmen will tell you that they can't (WON'T) do anything about it. We will have to go to Concord to get relief. If the State wants it, Atkinson voters can't do anyting about it.

Get ready for a train station! Like it or not!

Anonymous said...

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no thats not you know who having a drink

Anonymous said...

"If you gonna get the noise no matter what then why not a station we can all use? duh"

you couldn't use it 2 minutes away in Haverhill? duh?

Anonymous said...

TAKE THE MONEY PUT ASIDE FOR THE LAY OVER STATION IN PLAISTOW and let it remain in Bradford. Put the money towards the latest updates in noise and pollution technology in the area that it is now in. That could be the best way to stop all the attempts to eliminate the progress of our modern day local and distanced transportation needs. Everybody would gain from the proposed station stop in Plaistow and the local area towns growth.

Anonymous said...

Bradford station is a 20 minute ride accounting for traffic. DUH


Layover is on its way either in Plaistow or 1/2 mile back on the Haverhill side of the Atkinson/Haverhill border. Take your pick...

Anonymous said...

No matter where its located it is still a lay over place before engine use. It doesn't matter where it is any where along the line. All I want to see is that Plaistow is a stop for all to use.

Anonymous said...

Plaistow did not receive the ~$20M Tiger II grant from the feds that was needed to pay for this effort.

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