Weston Rail Trail Panel Directs Niche Parking Study, Prefers Town Center Access

WESTON — December 14, 2017 — Weston's Rail Trail Advisory Committee voted to commission a parking study from engineering firm Niche ahead of the trail's anticipated opening after Eversource construction resumes in spring 2018. The committee, working from a $73,000 budget, approved directing Niche to assess Town Center along Town Hall Lane as the primary publicly advertised parking destination, with secondary striping at Church Street and Concord Road, an analysis of right-of-way parking potential at Concord Road, no-parking sign placement along several abutting streets, and a safety assessment of bike and pedestrian access from Town Center to the trail. Recreation Director Chris Fitzgerald, attending at the committee's invitation, endorsed a gathering-space component to support potential programming, warning against a repeat of overflow situations seen at other trail access points. The committee also debated whether planning consultant UTIL, which had been allocated roughly $20,000 of the total budget, offers sufficient added value alongside Niche and landscape firm Richard Burke and Associates — a question left for the January 8 meeting after a member agreed to query UTIL directly about its specific deliverables.