Two Upper Cape towns now want to build bike path next to rail tracks. But Bourne doesn't.

Two Upper Cape towns have recently weighed in on the proposed Bourne Rail Trail.

The proposal would connect the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth to the Cape Cod Canal bike trail in Bourne.

Both Falmouth and Mashpee leaders have now voted to support the idea of building the bike path alongside a set of existing railroad tracks known as the Falmouth Secondary Line, or F2.

But that's not what the town of Bourne wants: that town's leaders support the idea of pulling up the railroad tracks and putting in a bike path instead.

The project has drawn controversy in recent months from railroad stakeholders, state lawmakers, local officials and recreational cyclists alike.

“Why would you take the tracks up just to build an extension to the bike path?” said Falmouth Select Board Chair Nancy Taylor. “The board just didn't see that we needed to remove the tracks if we could come up with a plan of putting a trail in addition to the rail. I think they didn't see a reason to pull the trails.”

The Falmouth Select Board voted in December to send a letter to Gov. Maura Healey’s office supporting the "rail-with-trail" alternative, Taylor said. Three members voted in favor of the measure and two voted against, according to a review of the meeting minutes.

The tracks are being used to haul solid waste off-Cape, and because the tracks terminate within the boundaries of Joint Base Cape Cod, they can be used by military installations as well, Taylor said.

An official for the base did not comment but base spokesman Don Veitch told the Times in September the National Guard uses the tracks for large-scale troop and equipment movement.

During a November meeting of the Mashpee Select Board, the members voted to support the rail-with-trail proposal and sent a letter to Healey’s office expressing their position. The board cited a recommendation from Mashpee Director of Public Works Catherine Laurent, who said the F2 line is important for transporting solid waste in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.

Officials for the Town of Mashpee could not be immediately reached for comment.

More: Riding the rails with Mass Coastal Railroad to Falmouth

What is the Bourne Rail Trail project?

The proposed 6 1/2-mile bike path would run north and south parallel to the Buzzards Bay coastline.

The proposed bike path is part of a Cape Cod Commission project called Vision 88 — an initiative that aims to connect a network of 88 miles of multi-use paths and bike trails spanning the entire Cape, from Woods Hole to Provincetown.

Currently, $20 million in federal funding has been made available through the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority for the project.

What is the 'rail-to-trail' perspective?

Officials from the Town of Bourne and the community group Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail want the proposed "rail-to-trail" option, citing low use of the railroad tracks and the larger cost associated with keeping the tracks in place alongside a proposed bike path.

Ken Cheitlin, president of Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail, said the rail-with-trail option — keeping the railroad tracks alongside a bike path — would require building 11 new bridges. The railroad track crosses several roads and access ways and is too narrow to accommodate both a bike path and the train tracks in its current state, he said. The building and environmental permits would also take too long to acquire, he said.

The rail-with-trail proposal would also require taking some private land along the path in order to make it wide enough, Cheitlin said.

“We continue to believe that the interest in the trail far outweighs the utility, either now or in the future, of the Falmouth secondary rail line,” Cheitlin said.

Cheitlin said the rail-with-trail option is nearly $70 million more expensive, and the funding made available for the project could be lost if it isn’t used for the proposed rail-to-trail option.

Keeping the railroad tracks

Mass Coastal Railroad, the company who operates on the F2 line hauling freight of solid waste from an Upper Cape transfer station to an off-Cape location, has been starkly opposed to the idea of replacing the tracks.

Chris Podgurski, CEO of Mass Coastal, said in an email that support for the track has grown recently and keeping the railroad in place allows for the convenient removal of waste from the Cape.

Keeping the tracks makes sense, Podgurski said.

"Removing the tracks would create thousands of additional truck trips on local roads and highways, carrying debris over the canal bridges along with the ‘empty’ ride back,” he said. “Meanwhile, in the spirit of compromise, we continue to support the ‘Rail with Trail’ proposal as a way to realize the benefits of both freight rail and bike paths for the community.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bourne bike path plan gains supporters who want to keep rail tracks