UPDATE A plan to build four monopoles, 75-feet high, along the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) railroad lines has been unanimously opposed by selectmen. The Local News reported that inMotion Wireless would install the towers to improve WiFi on trains and generate revenue. Leasing space on the poles to wireless carriers will earn the MBTA an estimated 7.5 percent of net revenues.
In November 2016, Inside Towers reported the MBTA commented during a zoning hearing that the, “Monopoles will be located within the MBTA right-of-way and do not infringe on historical properties.” But residents are still up in arms.
“The town’s viewscape will be dominated by unnecessary, technological, ugly structures. We cannot allow this to happen,” said Historical Commission Chairman John Fiske. He also noted one of the monopoles could disturb 11,000-year-old Bull Brook Native American paleo sites. And many residents within the historical district are complaining about the height of the proposed towers; double the height of the current tree lines.
Some residents are also alleging the MBTA has kept the project a secret. An email regarding the project was distributed by inMotion’s consulting firm in May, but no information can be found on the MBTA website, according to The Local News. “None of our communications have come from the MBTA,” Fiske said. “The information we received has been confusing and contradictory.”
In the meantime, residents are circulating a petition and also questioning the sophistication of the proposed technology. The contract with inMotion was signed four years ago.
According to state Rep. Brad Hill (R-Ipswich), the MBTA control board initially paused the project for the month of July, which has now been extended. “Legislators are doing what they can to advocate against” the towers, Hill said.
July 24, 2017
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