Mount Washington Cog Railway and owner Wayne Presby have presented their initial plans for a 14 million dollar luxury development near the top of Mount Washington. And as you can imagine, there are a lot of people that are not happy about the idea. Below is info on the proposed project and the Change.org petition to stop them.
Cog Railway Wants to Build Luxury Lodging on Mount Washington – How to Stop Them
At a recent Mount Washington Commission meeting, Presby outlined the company’s vision for the project. Which would consist of parking 18 rail cars at 5,800ft in elevation on the mountain. Nine of the rail cars would be sleeper cars offering lodging for up to 70 guests. The plan has the lodge operating from May – October and includes running sewage pipes and upgraded services for the development. In exchange the group would not seek any further develop of the summit.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway has run the historic railway on Mount Washington since 1869. Running up the mountain’s western slope, the train has become a popular tourist destination. Still taking people to the top of the tallest peak in the north east United States.
This will not be the group’s first attempt at developing the mountain. Previous plans for a 35 room, 25,000ft hotel were scrapped after a environmental petition put an end to the project. But clearly they have not been deterred.
As you can imagine, a lot of people are not happy about the idea. Beyond the added aesthetic impact, there are still major questions about the environmental impact the development will have on the areas wildlife and vegetation. And if you’re concerned about the impact this project might have, there is something you can do.
A Petition to Stop the Cog Railway Development
There is currently a petition going at Change.org that has taken off quickly. As we’ve learned, a petition was able to stop the Mount Washington Cog Railway from developing the mountain in the past. So let’s make sure we put the system to work for us, and stop them again.
Below is a link to the change.org petition. And I’ll update this if any news is released.
