Swampscott in talks to receive road funding

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Administrator Thomas Younger announced town counsel is working to get Swampscott recognized as a surrounding community of interest of the proposed Suffolk Downs casino.If the distinction is approved, Swampscott could receive funds by either the state or casino owners for use maintaining its roadways for traffic going to or from the site on the East Boston-Revere line.”If they build it, the entire North Shore is affected,” said Selectman Matthew Strauss at a meeting on May 22, when Younger first made the announcement.Younger said Wednesday that town counsel had reached out to the attorneys of the Suffolk Downs casino project to begin the discussion. Younger said the first step in the “elongated” process would be to ask for funding by the Suffolk Downs group for studies to determine any traffic impact on Swampscott.Younger joked that he would be the most impacted if the Suffolk Downs casino is approved. “In the morning I drive past Suffolk Downs, and in the evening I drive past the Wynn site,” he said.In order for Swampscott to get funding, the studies would have to conclude that drivers coming to and from the casino would be using Swampscott as a cut-through.”Obviously traffic would be flowing to either the proposed casino in Everett or Suffolk Downs from various parts of the commonwealth,” said Younger.Younger said the Wynn casino proposed in Everett would most likely not affect Swampscott roadways. He said he hadn’t heard if Suffolk Downs’ direct abutters such as Revere, Chelsea and Everett had filed as surrounding communities, but he heard from a secondhand source that Winthrop had filed.”The key here is to be up front about it and get an interest in early because I don’t want to be in a situation where if the project is approved, in a year or two down the road when it’s up and operating that we didn’t look into this,” said Younger.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].