Weston Rail Trail Committee Backs Friends Group, Eyes $156,000 in Screening Funds

WESTON -- May 14, 2018, Weston's Rail Trail Advisory Committee endorsed a new Friends of the Rail Trail nonprofit and authorized a $78,000 DCR matching-grant application that could double screening funds to $156,000. The committee voted unanimously to encourage the public to form the Friends organization, separate from the town panel, after one member disclosed that an organizing group had already formed, involving several well-known Weston residents and a potential charitable vehicle through Weston 300. The full grant application, covering trail-side plantings, fencing, and landscape improvements on DCR-managed land, is due June 30, with final project selections expected in August. The committee also identified nine priority screening properties from a 31-property matrix, including five treatment zones along Stonegate and four individual parcels, and agreed that landscape consultant Allison should present conceptual plans with cost estimates at the next meeting before any abutter outreach proceeds.