Opposition against Rails to Trails in Vermilion Parish want to know if anyone is hearing their concerns

Audience member Ben Langlinais asked the million-dollar question at Tuesday’s Vermilion and Iberia Parish Railroad Development District Board and Commissioners meeting.
Langlinais, who lives next to the railroad track, stood up in the crowd and asked, “My question is, where is this [opinions against Rails to Trails] headed? Is it going to stay in this room?”
Langlinais wanted to know if the owners of the railroad company, government officials, or the group attempting to gather information for a future walking/biking trail would be informed about the occurrences and discussions at Tuesday’s meeting.
No one from the railroad board or in the crowd had a good answer for Langlinais. 
Of the more than 60 people in attendance at the meeting held in the LSU AgCenter Building in Abbeville, 56 are against removing the rails from Abbeville to Delcambre and replacing them with a bike/walking lane. The total distance from Abbeville to Delcambre is nine miles. 
Larry Campisi, the former mayor of Abbeville in the 1980s, baffled the crowd by estimating the cost of installing rails to trails. Campisi said the price would be around $4 million per mile or close to $30 million for nine miles.
In order for Rails to Trails to happen, a railroad track would have to be declared abandoned because there is on activity on the track.
In June, Larry Campisi emailed Ms. Dawn Davis Carpenter, the regional real estate manager for Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Service, which owns the Louisiana and Delta Railroad Line.  He wanted to know if the railroad in Vermilion Parish was abandoned or active.
Erath Mayor Taylor Mencacci also emailed her in March 2023, asking the same question.
On June 13, 2024, Campisi received an email from Dawn M. Davis-Carpentor. In the email, she wrote, “This is an active line, and it is not abandoned. For this reason, the Louisiana and Delta Railroad has no plans to abandon the segment.”
That was the same answer Mencacci received from Ms. Davis-Carpentor a year earlier.
Campisi said on Tuesday, “The railroad is not abandoned. It is active.”
Mecancci attended the Tuesday meeting and spoke about Ms Davis-Carpentor’s email response in 2023.
“Mayors are always looking for something to better the community,” Mencacci said. “People approached me and wanted to see if it (Rails to Trails) was possible. Could it be done?”
Ms. Davis-Carpentor responded to Mencacci on March 7, 2023, saying, “The existing line is still active and has not been abandoned. We don’t do rails to trails as it poses a significant safety hazard.”
Mencacci told the crowd that when he received Ms. David-Carpentor’s email, the idea of the rails to trails was “Dead Upon Arrival.”
But a different group, made up of parish citizens, has taken over where Mencacci stopped and is in the early stages of trying to get a Rails to Trails built from Abbeville to Delcambre.
Anita Levy, who enjoys walking all over Abbeville, wanted to know why the city needs another place to walk.
“We have five parks in Abbeville,” said Levy. “We just built Lafitte Drive-In Park with a walking trail. Why are they trying to build another walking trail?”
Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White was not at the meeting but did send a two-page letter that Mencacci read to the crowd.
In her letter, she explained that creating a walking trail takes years of planning and design, and it is still being determined where the finances would come from. 
Here is part of Mayor White’s letter:
“I have always saw potential in building trails as a means to grow tourism and improve community health. I am in full support of vetting the rails to trails project for feasibility and merit and I also believe this could be a transformative project for our local economy. I have seen the positive impact trails are having in communities both large and small around Louisiana and the United States.
 “As all of you already know, the railroad has not been abandoned, but I, like many, know that there will likely never be another train on the tracks for a variety of reasons, mostly lack of industry/demand and lack of maintenance by the railroad company.
“I have been involved in many discussions about  the potential rails to trails project,” she said. “It is currently an idea being vetted and explored to see if it is possible and/or feasible. There have been no meetings with the owners of the railroad, only information gathering to understand what it would take and what the process entails to know how it could happen and what funding sources might be available if it becomes a project. There have also been discussions with other public officials to gather knowledge, feedback, and hopefully one day support ahead of speaking to the railroad.”
Mayor White said in the letter that she is requesting a meeting with the railroad  to address  “The lack of maintenance of their asset in Abbeville, which is currently a hazard, and discuss future plans they may have for the segment.”
To read the entire letter, go to the Abbeville Meridional’s website, Vermiliontoday.com