Abbeville Mayor White says Rails to Trails is a non-issue because tracks not abandoned

Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White worked hard to persuade over 60 people who oppose the Rails to Trails project that it won’t happen for several years, if it ever happens. She also assured them that she had no intention of allowing the government to seize private land along the railroad for public use.
White attended the Vermilion and Iberia Railroad Development District Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday and addressed the more than 80 parish residents present. 
Two-thirds of the room was against Rails to Trails, while a third favored it.
The first words out of Mayor White’s mouth were that the railroad company did not abandon the railroad. Thus, there can not be Rails to Trails.
“As for Rails to Trails being an issue, it is a non-issue,” said Mayor White. “The railroad is not abandoned, but I will not stop having conversations that I think are good for Abbeville. If the railroad ever decided to abandon the rails, we better have a plan in place.”
Mayor White said that of the 25 city projects she is working on, Rails to Rails is not among her top 25. 
“It is not a project. It is only an idea, up to this point,” Mayor White said.
The train stopped running on the tracks in 2020. Since then, the railroad has started to fall apart, which has the Mayor worried.
Some people are concerned that if the railroad is left behind, the rocks and iron tracks will be removed,
leaving a flat piece of land. Some believe the railroad tracks helped prevent certain areas of the parish from flooding during storm surges.
Mayor White promised that a levee would always be maintained, even if the tracks were removed. She said she would never support anything that would cause homes to flood in Vermilion Parish.
Others worried that the government would use eminent domain (the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use) to take over the land on which the rail sits today.
Mayor White said she has not investigated the rails-to-trails project enough to determine whether it is possible. 
“I have no idea,” said Mayor White about the government implementing eminent domain. 
Some needed to understand the push to remove the railroad tracks instead of trying to bring businesses into the parish that could use the rail system.
“We should be looking for an alternative for the rails we have in our possession,” said Larry Campisi. “We need to use it as an economic engine for the development of our parish. I think you (Mayor White), this board, need to concentrate on getting grants for the railroad to do what they have to do to improve it and attract businesses.”