There have been many crimes on area rail trails. In 2018 in Saugus, a man tried to rob a woman and then sexually assaulted her mother. In 2018 in Amesbury, a man exposed himself to young girls. In 2017, a cyclist on the Minuteman Trail was attacked by a group of men. In 2016, a woman on the Marblehead trail was sexually assaulted. In 2014, a high school girl was raped on a Malden trail and also in 2014, a woman was sexually assaulted on the Minuteman Trail. The list goes on and on.
The fact is that trails give easy access to people in remote areas, and a trail in Lynnfield would have several wooded areas where attacks could happen.
Just recently a man was arrested right at MarketStreet for taking pictures up a woman’s skirt. There are sexual deviants out there, and if they are bold enough to do something like that in a public place, what is to stop them from doing even worse when no one is around?
Because rail trails are public transportation routes sex offenders cannot be prevented from being on them. If we build this trail, we would invite people into our middle and high school parking lots, and they would watch our children go into the woods. Does that sound prudent to you? We have miles of sidewalks where people now walk, run and ride their bikes, but they are right next to the roads so that there is much less opportunity for attacks.
There is no misinformation in these facts. Lynnfield is a very safe town right now. Let’s keep it that way. Please vote no at the Special Town Meeting Sept. 26, 7 p.m., at the middle school.
Joe Rosberg