Residents and officials alike found little encouragement at a State Department of Transportation meeting regarding ethanol trains that would travel through Chelsea on existing commuter rail lines. State representatives indicated that options for halting the project are limited.
Chelsea is an older industrial city, a reality its residents know well.
Contaminated sites dot the municipal landscape.
Airport noise and pollution are ongoing concerns.
Additionally, the city serves as the primary freeway corridor into Boston for thousands of North Shore commuters.
Yet adding ethanol train deliveries to this existing burden seems unnecessary and unwarranted.
Opposition to the ethanol rail delivery proposal is strong among the city’s elected leadership.
Neighboring communities have mobilized alongside Chelsea residents in unified opposition to the proposed train route.
Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash has raised the question of whether ships might serve as an alternative means of transporting this hazardous material through Chelsea Creek.
The possibility of a different transportation method for moving this cargo into the community deserves serious consideration.