Hudson council supports multi-purpose trail along inactive rail line through northern Summit County

Hudson council members say they want to see plans for a multi-purpose trail along inactive railroad tracks through northern Summit County move forward.

Resident Ron Brubaker, who is co-director of Trail Advocates of Summit County (also known as TASCForce), said his organization has been advocating for Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority to allow an abandoned railroad right-of-way to be converted into a multi-purpose bike and hike trail.

Brubaker, who spoke during the council meeting on Dec. 15, said he and his group members were surprised to see a recent article saying a company called Hudson and Southern Railway wants to reactivate the rail line for a small freight operation.

Jeff White, a founder of Hudson & Southern Railway, has said his company wants to reactivate a 12-to-15 mile railroad line that passes through Hudson, Stow, Silver Lake and Cuyahoga Falls. The tracks travel over Barlow Road near Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson, as well as Springdale Drive, Hudson Drive and Graham Road. The tracks also cross Broad Boulevard and run parallel to the CSX tracks next to state Route 8 in Cuyahoga Falls. Akron Metro RTA owns the majority of this section of tracks, but Norfolk Southern owns a portion, according to White.

Initially, White said his company would store rail cars for offline customers of Norfolk Southern and CSX and charge a fee for that service.

When reached for comment on Monday, White said he could not offer an update on the plan at this time.

Valerie Shea, director of planning and strategic development for Metro RTA, said her agency is planning to seek the Federal Transit Administration's concurrence to use the rail line land and its surrounding right-of-way as a bike and hike trail.

Brubaker noted his organization opposes reactivating the rail line because it believes:

• Train traffic is noisy, interferes with traffic, and can be dangerous.

• An active rail line lowers the property values for all nearby residents. He noted studies show that rail trails increase those values.

• The proposed bulk transfer station with piles of materials and heavy truck traffic coming in and out does not fit with the office/warehouse/light manufacturing business parks that people expect to find in a residential area.

• Heavy industries that require rail service are "not appropriate" in suburban settings.

• The proposed storage of rail cars, sitting for months at a time, along state Route 8 and in the backyards of private residences, is not something suburban dwellers want.

• Losing the opportunity to have a "first-rate" multipurpose trail connecting five communities in a densely populated corridor would be "most unfortunate." The city of Stow has been approved for $700,000 in funding for this trail and the funds would have to be given up if rail service was reactivated instead.

• The likelihood that the rail venture will be successful is "far from certain," and could potentially delay the development of a multipurpose trail for years.

• A multipurpose trail is a far "higher and better" use of this property because it allows all Summit County residents to enjoy a "beautiful trail rather than allowing a very few railroad employees and some unpopular businesses entities to benefit."

The reasons he listed also appear on the TASCforce website at www.tascforce.org.

Brubaker asked Hudson City Council to send a letter to Metro RTA requesting that the agency "dismiss the rail proposal and embrace the multipurpose trail instead." He also wants council to request that Metro RTA immediately send an application to the Federal Transit Administration to permit the railroad right-of-way to be "repurposed as a multipurpose trail."

Brubaker said TASCforce also wants Metro RTA to seek support offered by Sen. Rob Portman's office in the facilitation of the application and, once the application is approved, sign leases with Summit Metro Parks and/or local communities along the right-of-way to allow the trail to be built.

Brubaker said TASCforce provided a sample letter that council may revise based on their needs and then send to Metro RTA.

"This will help Metro RTA justify supporting a trail rather than rail service and these letters will become part of their application to the FTA demonstrating this is what the citizens of Summit County really want," said Brubaker.

Ward 3 Councilman Skylar Sutton said he wants to "keep a focus on rail-to-trail conversion."

"I'd be very interested in us as a collective body sending some sort of signal to Metro [RTA] that we're in support of that [multipurpose trail] project as well," stated Sutton, who added he would like to see the issue discussed at an upcoming workshop.

Ward 2 Councilman Chris Foster noted both he and Sutton have each sent letters to Metro RTA saying they support the multipurpose trail project.

Other members said they would also support sending a letter to Metro RTA expressing support for the multipurpose trail and opposing a reactivation of the rail line for rail service.

Assistant City Manager Thom Sheridan said he is working on gathering information to put in the letter. A discussion of a potential letter is expected to occur at the workshop on Jan. 12.

Reporter Phil Keren can be reached at pkeren@thebeaconjournal.com, or on Twitter at @keren_phil.