Map of the Bradford Rail Trail
The Bradford Rail Trail will be named for Mayor James J. Fiorentini, in honor of what council President John A. Michitson calls his “legendary 24/7 tenacity.”
Councilor William J. Macek asked the board to reward Fiorentini’s dedication.
“The mayor has been the visionary,” Macek said. “Even when I wondered if he could pull this off, (he was) always successful, enlarging and getting this done for the rail trail.”
“You can’t knock the guy’s hustle,” agreed Councilor Andres X. Vargas.
At a chance meeting Tuesday morning at a Bradford doughnut shop, Councilor Thomas J.Sullivan and the mayor discussed the pending honor.
Fiorentini said he would watch the proceedings on TV, and joked that it would be “the equivalent of attending his own wake,” Sullivan said.
On a serious note, Sullivan said he believes too often people wait to honor the city’s outstanding community servants until after they’re gone.
“At the end of the day, the Bradford Rail Trail would not be completed today without the determination and persistence of our mayor,” Sullivan said.
Looking forward to the trail’s ribbon cutting in late June, Macek said it would be appropriate to dedicate the trail in advance. The official name will be the Mayor James J. Fiorentini Bradford Rail Trail and will encompass the current trail from the Comeau to the Basiliere Bridge, and any future sections to be developed.