Weston Traffic Committee folds sidewalk continuity into Highland/Route 20 redesign

WESTON — February 28, 2024 — Weston Traffic and Sidewalk Committee presses consultants for interim Route 20/Highland fixes and folds sidewalk continuity into the design. Chair Jay Doyle directed Town Engineer Jason to push VHB, now under contract for pre-25 percent design, on short-term safety measures identified in a roughly five-year-old road safety audit while the long-range redesign advances. Member Linda Nelson and new member Ann Weedy described rush-hour backups reaching Chestnut Street and pushed for sidewalk continuity to the existing Highland Street network. On Route 20 at Wellesley Street, Jason said MassDOT has agreed to fund the Wellesley sidewalk extension within the TIP and that the 75 percent project may advance from 2026 to 2025 construction. Former committee member Clint Shuckle called the redesigned intersection's four-crosswalk plan "a huge overbuild." A Howard Stein Hudson proposal for Route 117/Merriam mid-range concepts arrived Wednesday.