Weston Already Has a 10-Foot Path. Route 30's Faces Its Review in December.

The Mass Central Rail Trail runs 2.5 paved miles through Weston along an open power line corridor, from the Wayland line past Merriam Street and Church Street to Jones Road. The Department of Conservation and Recreation opened the Weston–Wayland segment in 2019 as part of a corridor it is building out as a 10-foot-wide shared-use path.

The path proposed for Route 30 is the same 10 feet wide. On the rail trail, that width has been a fact of the place for seven years. On Route 30 it has drawn 116 letters, three public sessions and a committee review that will reach the Select Board in December.

That review covers trees, wetlands and traffic. It also has to deal with the fact that Weston never picked the 10-foot width for Route 30. The width comes attached to the state money, and the December recommendation is the first formal step in deciding whether the town wants that money on those terms.

How a sidewalk became a shared-use path

The project started small. Here is how it grew, based on the Weston Observer's May coverage of the listening sessions:

The project covers 3.7 miles of Route 30, from the Natick town line to Cutters Bluff Road. Plans call for a wider driving surface, better pedestrian crossings, updated drainage and connections to other sidewalks and paths along the route.

The vote counts tell the story. A sidewalk passed with about 94 percent support. The shared-use path passed with about 58 percent. Nothing about the road changed between those two votes. The design standard did.

The condition that comes with the money

The Observer's May coverage said the design was changed to include a shared-use path or buffered bicycle lanes, as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's "Healthy Design Standards" require, so the project could stay on the state- and federally funded Transportation Improvement Plan. Its October report, citing the 2024 warrant language, described the requirement more specifically as a 10-foot shared-use path.

At the May sessions, Bridget Myers of Howard Stein Hudson, the engineering firm behind the design, explained that MassDOT's guidelines "evolved" during the design process. The new rules call for separated bicycle facilities on roads that carry 10,000 or more vehicles a day or have speeds of 40 mph and up, "which is this roadway," she said, as reported by the Weston Observer. Myers also said the chosen option had the narrowest pavement width and the smallest footprint of the alternatives.

HSH principal Mark Gravallese described the tradeoff plainly at the May 19 session. "This town asked for state funding and there are caveats that come with state funding," he said, according to the Observer. "Ultimately, it's up to the town, and if the town does not want to advance the project, the state will take the money and gladly give it to other municipalities."

That is why the debate keeps coming back to the same point. If the path shrinks to a sidewalk, the project may no longer qualify for funding. If the funding stays, the 10-foot requirement stays with it.

What 116 letters asked the town to weigh

The Traffic and Sidewalk Committee, the Department of Public Works and the Select Board received 116 letters by the Sept. 30 comment deadline. The Weston Observer reviewed dozens of them and found that most opposed the project. About half cited the environment and safety.

Trees were the most concrete concern. The May design called for removing 360 trees. The 252 rated in "fair" condition or better would be replaced one-for-one, along with new shrubs, perennials and ground cover. At the May 14 session, Select Board member Lise Revers, who has recused herself from decisions on the project, said she was concerned about "replacing 20 feet of mature vegetation" with asphalt.

The letters raised other issues too:

• Who would use the path. Several writers doubted there is much demand to walk or bike along Route 30, including among students.
• Abutters. One South Avenue resident wrote about the trees that screen homes from the sight and sound of the Pike. Other letters raised noise, years of construction, and easements that would likely be needed from property owners.
• Local control. A few writers tied the state requirement to other statewide initiatives such as Chapter 40B and the MBTA Communities Act.

Ten letters supported the project. They pointed to the health benefits of walking and cycling, the chance to ease car traffic, and the activity that pedestrians bring to a street. A Wellesley Street resident cited multi-use paths in Boston, Manhattan, Copenhagen and Nantucket. Another supporter compared the pushback to the early resistance to the Mass Central Rail Trail.

"We all value the rural character of the town and our tree canopies. That said – we should not and cannot halt inevitable progress."

A Boston Post Road resident, in a letter quoted by the Weston Observer

What the committee is checking before December

The committee doing this review is not the same group as a year ago. Three new members joined over the spring and summer, and the committee extended the comment period on the 75% design through September so members could get up to speed. The Observer described it as the town "tapping its brakes."

Committee chair Richard Flynn said the volume of concern led the committee to "re-examine some of the project's prior assumptions," as reported by the Weston Observer. The review covers:

1. How steep parts of the path would be
2. How far the path would sit from the roadway
3. How many trees would be lost
4. Effects on wetlands
5. The traffic assumptions and projections behind the design
6. How other towns have handled similar projects

The tree count is already moving. "Our recent field checks have raised concerns about the tree counts, and it appears more trees would be removed than HSH has indicated," Flynn told the Observer. That means the 360 figure from May may turn out to be low.

Flynn said the committee will make a preliminary recommendation to the Select Board in December, with an assessment of the design, next steps and costs. In June, the Observer reported that the Select Board would decide whether the project moves forward once the committee finishes its review.

Walking the 10 feet that already exist

If you want a feel for the width at the center of this debate, the rail trail is the easiest place to get one. Weston's segment is paved, smooth and mostly flat, and it ties into the town's network of more than 60 miles of trails managed by the Conservation Commission and DCR.

Where to get on:

• Merriam Street, with roadside parking
• Church Street, with limited roadside parking near the Case Estates entrance
• Jones Road, at the end of the paved Weston section, with very limited parking

The Jones Road end got a new connection last year. DCR finished the Waltham–Weston phase from Route 117/Hillside Road to Jones Road in 2025, including a rehabilitated railroad bridge. A 10-foot path through a power line corridor is a different setting from one beside a state road carrying at least 10,000 cars a day, and the abutter, driveway and tree questions in the letters belong to Route 30 alone. The width, though, is identical.

The other state road project, already underway on paper

Route 30 is not the only MassDOT project in town. The rebuild of the Route 20, Boston Post Road and Wellesley Street intersection has moved on a separate track with little public argument. The plan turns the five-legged junction into a signalized four-way intersection with turning lanes, moves Windsor Way's connection south on Wellesley Street, and adds sidewalks and stormwater infrastructure.

The Weston Police Department counts more than 80 crashes at that intersection over the last five years, the most of any spot in town. MassDOT's project record lists a notice to proceed of July 1, 2026. In the Observer's September update, MassDOT had no set start date but said work was expected to begin soon. The Observer reported in July that construction would take about two years, with completion targeted for summer 2028.

Both projects are state-funded rebuilds of state roads, and both bring sidewalks to stretches that have none. Route 20 is moving toward construction. Route 30's path is still waiting on the committee's review.

Comments on Route 30 have gone to [email protected] throughout the process, with a name and address required. The next public step is the committee's December recommendation.

I'm following the Route 30 and Route 20 projects closely, because big road work in Weston affects how homes along those corridors show and sell. If you own on or near either road and want to talk through what the timeline could mean for you, McKenzie Howarth is happy to walk through it, starting with a free home valuation.