Lynnfield Voters Give Overwhelming Yes To Rail Trail

LYNNFIELD, Ma. - This time, it wasn't even close.

Almost 1,000 Lynnfield residents turned out at the middle school Thursday night and voted 585 Yes to 380 No to spend $348,000 to fund Lynnfield's share of the final design of the Wakefield-Lynnfield Rail Trail. The vote was a huge win for rail trail supporters and means construction of the trail could begin as early as the spring of 2022. The Special Town Meeting lasted just over an hour.

"I guess I was a bit surprised by the amount of of people who voted yes," said Town Administrator Bob Dolan. "From my point of view we've been preparing for the funding. We have the funding for this proposal out of the overlay that's dedicated to one-time expenses. It's fitting that it's used for this project. I'm sure our friends in Wakefield are happy that this has won."

The last two votes on the rail trail were nail biters by any definition. At the April 2017 Town meeting the rail trail advanced by a 342-341 vote. Last April in a non-binding vote, 52 percent of residents supported the rail trail.