Proposed South Coast Rail Route Hits Close to Home For Southeastern Regional

The Southeasern Regional School Committee voted Tuesday night to create an impact statement regarding the and its effects on the district and the school's campus.

The decision came after the for the South Coast rail which would connect Boston to New Bedford and run through Stoughton, Easton and other South Shore communities.

The route would also run directly through 's campus. A barrier, 50 feet from the rail bed, would cut through the left-handed batters box of Southeastern's varsity baseball field and come within two feet of home plate, according to Southeastern Superintendent Luis Lopes.

"It creates an issue," Lopes said. "Because, what’s going to happen is we’re going to lose a field."

Lopes said he and the school committee are most concerned with the safety of the students and being able to provide the athletic and environmental services provided now. In addition to having an impact on Southeastern's athletic fields, Lopes said many of the wetlands behind the athletic fields were used by Southeastern's environmental program for research and school work.

"If we can’t do enough of our field study work, we’re going to have to provide off-site locations," he said. "It was ideal because we had all these wetlands and we could be kind of good stewards and watch over them."

The proposed rail route would cut through the southwestern part of campus just behind all of the school's athletic fields. Lopes said the school's property extends to the wetlands behind the fields.

Southeastern's impact statement, which will be prepared by Lopes, will aim to mitigate the impacts of the rail and help with the cost of structural changes to Southeastern's campus.

Lopes said while the district is not fundamentally opposed to the rail, he doesn't believe the school or communities should have to pay for the rail's impacts.

"I’m not looking to block the rail from coming through here, but at the same time I don’t think that the community should have to pay for all the improvements that we’re going to have to make and all the changes that we’re going to have to make," he said.

Lopes said one possibility could be to turn the baseball field into a softball field and turn the field around so home plate faced the rail bed. He said, however, that safety would still be a concern. With Southeastern sports participation up nearly 20% this year, he worries about the many athletes and spectators using the campus.

"You’ve got parents with little kids who are trying to watch the game," he said. "If someone hits a foul ball over the fence into the train tracks, some little kid might try to crawl through the hole to go get the softball."

In addition to structural changes to Southeastern's athletic complex, effects on the school's environmental program, and safety, Lopes said noise would also be a consideration while preparing an impact statement. He said the district will be working with Easton and surrounding communities in its efforts. The town of Easton

"I’m hoping that they will be willing to be sensitive to our needs and be partners with us as it gets developed," Lopes said.