Personally, I think the trail is a great idea, however not with an ugly fence. While I understand the state's perspective in requiring a fence, it seems that whatever entity came up with that requirement is not too familiar with much of the geography of the line.
The sheer number of grade crossings for roads, driveways, paths, as well as narrow causeways would make so many gaps in the fence it would be pointless anyway...an argument further strengthened by the leisurely pace of the existing rail traffic.
For some numbers about existing rail-with-trails endeavors, check the following link:
http://www.americantrails.org/resour...railStudy.html
Based on the URL, I would assume that there is some bias in the study, but it's interesting nonetheless.