Haverhill City Council Vice President Melinda E. Barrett.
Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives.
Discussions are slated to continue with local legislators and railroad officials over noise and engine exhaust odor complaints in the Bradford neighborhood near the MBTA’s commuter rail train layover facility.
Haverhill City Council Vice President and Citizens Outreach Committee Chairperson Melinda E. Barrett invited MBTA and Keolis representatives, as well as Sen. Kathleen A. O’Connor Ives (D-Newburyport) and Rep. Linda Dean Campbell (D-Methuen) to attend the committee’s next meeting. It is scheduled at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 28, in the council office, room 204, at Haverhill City Hall, according to an agenda submitted to City Clerk Linda L. Koutoulas.
The full council, during its April 5 meeting, approved Barrett’s motion to have the committee “revisit” an agreement reached two years ago among officials, in order to improve responses to residents’ noise and odor complaints. Barrett had pointed to, what she called, “underwhelming” responses from the rail agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency to a misfiring diesel train engine at the layover in February.
As WHAV reported, other councilors, including William J. Macek and Thomas J. Sullivan, expressed frustrations over “promises” from the MBTA the past 30 years to deal with the train layover issues, including relocation to other communities.
The MBTA will continue to turn their nose at the issue, no matter how many meetings there are and how many officials are involved. They always have and always will. Which as a Bradford resident I find unfortunate.
Not sure if people know but they build large barns or buildings to house these idling trains. They have ventilators and are basically sound proofed. Expensive yes but considering the expense of building a new site it would seem economically right and would solve the issue.