Trail Advocates of Summit County
Opposition to Reactivating Rail Service
On December 4, 2020, the Akron Beacon Journal ran a front page news article about a proposal to reactivate rail service on the long abandoned Metro RTA right-of-way. Yes, the very same right-of-way that is being considered for a multipurpose trail from Akron to Hudson known as the Veterans Trail. Over the next few days, the local papers also ran it on their pages.
Not surprisingly, TASCforce is opposed to reactivating the rail line. We talked to Metro RTA - who owns the right-of-way - and told them we would like to promote public opposition and communicate that to them. Metro suggested that people submit the letters in a separate document attached to an email. That way, Metro can file them in their project file.
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You can read the reasons why TASCforce opposes the rail reactivation in our blog post. It also describes specific actions that we would like Metro RTA to take. We encourage all those who support more multipurpose trails to submit a letter to Metro RTA. A sample letter in Word document format is attached below. Please download it, edit it to suit your needs, attach it to an email, send it to:
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Dawn.Distler@akronmetro.org and
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Please also send a copy to:
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If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact:
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Ron Brubaker
TASCforce Co-Director
330-221-3535
and/or
Bill Sepe
TASCforce Co-Director
330-801-7552
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Feel also free to send the letter to community leaders. And be sure to ask your friends and family to submit letters. This Veterans Trail project is truly a unique opportunity that has languished far too long.
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