The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Mayor rails against blight
Joins chamber president in saying railway should not use the area as freight yard
MIDDLETOWN — The periodic appearance of rusty railroad cars covered in graffiti in the downtown area gives visitors and motorists a negative impression of the city, Middletown officials say.
Problems began after the Providence & Worcester Railroad was acquired by Darien-based Genesee & Wyoming in 2016, according to Mayor Ben Florsheim and Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh.
City leaders have been trying to persuade the railway to stop resting its freight cars between deKoven Drive and Route 9 for some time. They are visible to passing motorists for as long as 14 days, both men said.
McHugh said the railway should not use the area as a freight yard.
The cars issue has plagued the city since the prior administration, Florsheim said. “The official reasoning has been, ‘We don’t have anywhere else to put them,’” which didn’t seem to be that good of an explanation, especially with the coming and going. The coming and going was unpredictable. “It’s been many, many conversations with them, with a halfhearted response in many cases,” he said.
The Press reached out to Genesee & Wyoming Regional Coordinator, Northeast Region, Debra-Ann Bocash; and Director of Public Projects Jacob Smith by email and phone for comment on this story, but didn’t receive a response by print time.
McHugh said the cars have been sighted along deKoven — from Washington Street/Route 66 to the intersection of Union Street. Between 68,000 and 70,000 motorists drive up and down Route 66 daily, he added, making the issue a big concern.
“All they see is 30 to 40 freight cars with graffiti all over them. The line was not made as a drop-off,” he said.
The city and rail line had a great relationship early on, McHugh said.
When Florsheim looked into the issue after he took office, his administration “pushed pretty hard” on the railroad company, and, eventually, the cars disappeared for a time. “It looked like they were going to be gone.”
Over the years, officials began to feel they had made progress in negotiations, then the cars returned, he said. “It’s been kind of sporadic since then. It changed a little bit when it changed hands.”
Florsheim has seen up to a dozen freight cars at a time from his office, which has a view of Route 9 north and south. Other times, there are none.
“You look right out on it from City Hall. I was seeing it every day those first few weeks,” said Florsheim, who, like McHugh, has received myriad complaints
from visitors to the downtown, residents, and those who pass by the area.
McHugh has also fielded the public’s dissatisfaction.
“A lot of people I get emails from are just compelled — ‘I don’t live in Middletown but I drive through it every day. I really hate having to look at this train,’” people tell him, Florsheim said.
Former mayor Dan Drew worked on the issue during his tenure. In the past, McHugh said, he’d see just a couple of cars, but most recently, the Genesee & Wyoming cargo train was there between one and two weeks.
“It’s unseemly and doesn’t look good,” McHugh said. If the railroad company would rest its cars closer to Main Street, along Rapallo Avenue, however, he would be satisfied.
The tracks are parallel to the Connecticut River and Route 9, which separates the area from the water.
Ideally, the mayor would
like to find a short-term solution in conjunction with Genesee & Wyoming, which leases the tracks from the U.S. Department of Transportation, owners of the property.
“Unless there’s another operational use for these tracks, they have the right of way,” Florsheim said DOT officials have told him.
Once the issue is resolved, the mayor hopes the rail line could boost tourism to and from the shoreline, calling the railroad a “transportation asset.”
“These rail tracks right in the middle of our downtown have a lot of potential,” said Florsheim, who has been a part of preliminary conversations about whether the Essex Steam Train and Valley Railroad in lower Middlesex County would be interested in connecting to the city one day.
Meanwhile, Florsheim hopes to come to an agreeable solution to the problem.
“A big part of why these cars are being used for storage is because they’re really not being used for very much else right now.
Every once in a while, you’ll get cargo usage, but it invites the question: If we get rid of the cars, what comes next?
“It points us toward what we think the solution might be, which is, if we find another use for the tracks, we’re not going to have this blight issue anymore,” the mayor said.
The gateway to Middletown’s downtown is somewhat marred by the cars’ appearance, both men said.
“On some level, I hope people’s impressions of the city aren’t being informed by something ultimately such a small issue. At the same time, small issues can be big when it comes to how we’re pitching ourselves to folks we want to invite into downtown and have them come to our businesses,” Florsheim said.
Florsheim and McHugh hope all parties can arrive at an agreeable solution, wondering “if there’s a way they’d be willing to entertain any kind of arrangement that would allow us a little bit more control over what’s happening in our backyard,” the mayor said.