Planning Board nears concept-plan sign-off on Riverside traffic improvements

WESTON — January 11, 2022 — Weston Planning Board nears concept-plan approval on Riverside Road offsite improvements as rail crossing costs climb. Consultants for developer Great Land presented revised Park Road plans and three feasibility concepts for a pedestrian crossing of the MBTA tracks, with the cheapest option — an underpass culvert to Recreation Road — pegged by VHB's Lorenzo Cornacchia at "at least $4 million." The Park Road southern corridor is now estimated at $1.3 million and a shared-use path extension to Route 30 across MassDOT bridges at $2.3 million, exhausting the $3 million development-agreement commitment before the rail crossing is funded. Chair Leslie Glynn said the board would defer to the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee on traffic engineering and questioned the tunnel option on safety grounds, saying it "looks like every spot to get mugged I've ever seen." A proposed right-turn lane onto the Mass Pike was removed at the committee's recommendation. Judy Nitsch of 17 Blake Road pressed for itemized cost backup and notification procedures during 25 percent design.