South Coast Route

More interesting than the uninspiring NIMBYISM of the 2 Middleboro Selectmen, Patrick Rogers and Steven Spataro, is the following fact based justification for the rail route --

Study: Stoughton rail route would draw most new riders

FALL RIVER —
A study of the proposed South Coast transit line to Boston released this week shows that a route through Stoughton, criticized by some groups for its potential environmental impact, would attract the most new riders.
South Coast Rail, the state project planning the transit line, gathered census information, other data and studies to find where people live and work and how they travel. It concluded that an electric-powered commuter train on the Stoughton route would attract 6,300 riders a day, almost half of whom would be people who otherwise would have driven to Boston.
The Stoughton line would extend through Easton, Raynham, Taunton and Berkley, where it would split into two lines ending in Fall River and New Bedford.
Such a trip would take 73 minutes from Fall River to South Station in Boston, a shorter commute than expected if the rail line went through the existing Attleboro or Middleboro lines.
A trip from Fall River through the Middleboro line would take an estimated 87 minutes. An express bus trip, another option under consideration, would take about 62 minutes.
Trip time was a main factor in figuring how many commuters would ride, said Christina Egan, the South Cost transit manager. The study also considered how many cars each option would take off highways.
Electric trains on the Stoughton route, for example, would remove an estimated 241,900 miles driven by cars each day. Electric-powered trains are faster than diesel, attracting more potential riders, Egan said.

Middleboro Rail Line

In evaluating the cost/benefits of a southcoast connection to New Bedford and Fall River, the following was presented --
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...the Middleboro route would only attract an estimated 700 new riders. Egan said a bus line would be even cheaper and attract 1,750 riders. Both the Attleboro and Stoughton lines would add more than 2,000 new passengers. The Middleboro route would cost an estimated $1 billion; Stoughton an estimated $1.4 billion; and the Attleboro line, $2 billion. Egan said the Middleboro line would rise to $3 billion if it included a one-mile tunnel through Quincy.
Few riders if rail line goes through Middleboro
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What is interesting about the article is the opinion of Mr. Saquet --

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Middleboro businessman Robert Saquet lobbied for a downtown station, calling it a “tremendous opportunity.”

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Mr. Saquet seems to have an opinion of all things Middleboro, including the hiring of a new Town Manager, you may recall --
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D'Agostino removal slippery slope for town

D'Agostino
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Mansfield's current Town Manager came with his own law suit and judgement. The court documents are available on the TalkMansfield site for any unwilling to accept Mr. Saquet's explanation that only a few in Mansfield opposed Mr. D'Agostino.
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In the course of considering the new Town Manager, in the last round, both Patrick Rogers and Steven Spataro would have voted for Mr. D'Agostino because they failed to conduct even a basic internet search that would have revealed the lawsuit, judgement and the Recall Election.

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What's even more interesting about the conduct of this dynamic duo, is that in the previous Town Manager search, the following was also a candidate who was being considered --

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CARVER —
Animal Control Officer Sheila Seery has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the town and Town Administrator Richard LaFond of civil rights violations, sexual harassment and retaliation.
Seery, in 2007, filed complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Those suits have been withdrawn and re-filed in federal court by her attorney, Joseph Gallitano.

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That was the Town Manager search during which Mr. Spataro made his insulting and embarrassing scene at one of the candidate's interviews.

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That they continue in lock-step regardless of facts presented to them defines their leadership and their lack of consideration of Middleboro's future.

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Board of Selectmen Chairman Patrick E. Rogers and Selectman Steven P. Spataro both oppose a station in Middleboro. Spataro nixed the idea of busing “casino-bound” riders through neighborhoods and Rogers said a line through town would be “terrible.”

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Earlier this month, Mr. Rogers had a bout of NIMBYISM. Trains Won't Smell In Everett Square

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Someone needs to tell Mr. Spataro the Bingo Parlor isn't coming. (He could start with carverchick, Gladys Kravitz, Carl's Casino Quotes, Bellicose Bumpkin or Fiferstone if he wanted the facts.)

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Neither of these Selectmen has expressed concern of the issues surrounding the proposed Brockton Power Plant that threatens to adversely affect air quality in a region with already poor air quality.

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Middleboro needs leadership that reserves opinion until the facts are in and formulates decisions based on what's best for the future.