One of of the reasons we are most likely hearing about it now is because of 1309. Sure there may have been something of note that was printed somewhere about the track issues prior to the restoration of 1309, but now with all the press around it running things come to light.
I know that before the BR&W started working on restoring the tracks to Lambertville, the town had been having meetings about turning the rails into a footpath like much of the old rails that ran along the Delaware River. I don't know if this was a ploy by the town's committee to put pressure on the railroad to forfeit the land in favor of the town or to pressure them to fix the rails. Either way it is a weak argument by the town's committee. I remember my late mother talking about it saying she didn't think it was a good idea. Most of the track goes through backyards and heavily wooded areas. Some areas have a ton of wildlife including bears. Eventually the town stopped talking about it. That probably was due to how much of tax payers money would be needed to go to converting the rails to path not to mention purchasing the path back from the railroad.
